Baidu
The AI and internet company behind the Apollo development platform and Apollo Go passenger service.27
- Founded
- 20003
- Headquarters
- Beijing, China5
- Founders
- Robin Yanhong Li, Eric Yong Xu3
- Chairman and CEO
- Robin Li, co-founder, chairman and CEO6
Baidu connects two different sides of autonomous driving. Apollo gives developers a platform for building driving technology; Apollo Go is the service passengers use for a journey. The business behind both is Baidu, Inc., headquartered in Beijing. Knowing which name you are looking at helps you find the right information about the technology, a possible trip or the company financing it.1257
Visit Baidu ↗From search technology to driving
Robin Yanhong Li and Eric Yong Xu founded Baidu in 2000. The company was incorporated in the Cayman Islands on January 18, a separate detail from its Beijing headquarters. Li brought experience from Infoseek, where he had worked on search technology, and IDD Information Services. He remains Baidu’s chairman and chief executive.3456
Baidu announced Project Apollo in April 2017, seventeen years after the company’s founding. The open autonomous-driving platform gave developers and automotive partners a starting point for work on driving technology. That history explains why 2017 belongs to Apollo’s story. It is not the founding year of the listed business.37
Baidu’s second-quarter 2026 reporting describes AI cloud infrastructure, AI applications, AI-native marketing and online marketing alongside robotaxi work. Apollo Go sits within this broader technology business, whose group results cover more than passenger journeys.12
Expansion has several stages
In its August 18, 2026 update, Baidu reported driverless commercial operations in Dubai through Apollo Go and Uber. London, Switzerland and Hong Kong were described as testing locations. Its reported 28-city footprint included different stages of development, rather than 28 open passenger markets.2
Apollo and Apollo Go
The shared Apollo name connects a development platform and a ride service. Each has its own audience and practical questions.29
Apollo open platform
Apollo’s open platform is aimed at developers integrating driving software with a vehicle and computing hardware. Calibration and configuration are part of that work. For someone exploring the technology, the useful starting point is the exact installation being described. A platform name alone does not identify the software running in a particular Apollo Go car.29
Start with the journey
Imagine the journey you want to make: where you will be picked up, who is coming with you and where you need to arrive. Then check whether the local service can accommodate that trip. A developer assessing Apollo has a different starting point: the vehicle, hardware and operating environment needed for an installation.279
Which information will help you next?
For a journey, look for local service coverage, passenger rules and help if plans change. For the technology, look for a description of the driving platform and its installation. For the business, read Baidu’s dated reports. Keeping those questions separate makes each source more useful, especially when a promising announcement has yet to become a service you can use.27
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Sources and notes
- Baidu dual-primary listing announcement
Baidu’s completion announcement identifies the issuer and securities. It gives August 31, 2026 as the effective date; the earlier regulatory notice specifies September 1. The exact day remains unresolved and is omitted from the company history. Includes reported information. Source checked 2026-10-26.
- Baidu second quarter 2026 results
Three months ended June 30, 2026, not the six-month column. Table amounts are in RMB millions; the cash and investments disclosure is in billions. Display conversion uses full CNY without foreign exchange. Includes reported information. Includes editorial interpretation. Source checked 2026-10-26.
- Baidu historical prospectus corporate history
Corporate History, page 43, records January 18, 2000 incorporation and names Robin Yanhong Li and Eric Yong Xu. This historical document supports origins, not present ownership percentages. Source checked 2026-10-26.
- Baidu Aug27 2026 Form 6-K listing notice
The August 27, 2026 filing identifies the Cayman issuer and a September 1 conversion date. That date differs from the subsequent completion release’s August 31 statement; both accounts are retained without an editorial resolution. Includes reported information. Source checked 2026-10-26.
- Baidu FY2025 annual filing notice
The March 17, 2026 annual-filing notice gives Baidu’s Beijing address. The notice establishes the filing, not an independent examination of the full annual accounts. Source checked 2026-10-26.
- Baidu Robin Li biography
Baidu’s management biography identifies Robin Li as co-founder, chairman and CEO and describes his earlier Infoseek and IDD Information Services roles. No founding motive or testing experience is inferred. Source checked 2026-10-26.
- Baidu 2018 prospectus: Apollo origin
The 2018 prospectus dates the Project Apollo announcement to April 2017. This is a platform milestone, separate from Baidu’s incorporation in 2000. Source checked 2026-10-26.
- Baidu current release index
The release index checked October 26, 2026 identified Q2 as the latest released quarterly results. It supplies no later-quarter figures or live valuation. Source checked 2026-10-26.
- Apollo official open-source repository
The official repository describes development software and vehicle, computing and calibration requirements. It does not identify the production software in any particular Apollo Go vehicle. Source checked 2026-10-26.
- Apollo Go Dubai Privacy Notice
The Dubai privacy notice identifies a local data controller. It does not establish one legal ride operator for all Apollo Go markets or substitute for a local passenger contract. Source checked 2026-10-26.
We use official disclosures and other identified sources. Company claims are attributed; these profiles do not represent hands-on product testing. Our editorial and AI-use policy.