Baidu Ventures partners with Comet Labs as both double down on artificial intelligence

Baidu Ventures exists on the front-lines of the Chinese search giant's push to brand itself as an artificial intelligence company. In an effort to bridge the AI ecosystems of China and the United States, Baidu Ventures is partnering with Comet Labs, a San Francisco-based fund specializing in machine intelligence. Unlike other venture capital firms looking to diversify into AI, Comet Labs lives exclusively in the space -- providing capital, technical resources and mentorship to its startups. Wei Liu, now head of Baidu's $700 million venture arm, was part of the founding team at Comet Labs before he was poached into the world of corporate venture. "Baidu founded Baidu Ventures to build an ecosystem around AI technology and do investment to help AI startups with money, technology and connections to industrial players," asserted Liu.