Baidu bets it's got upper hand in self-driving race

Baidu Inc expects to have the edge in autonomous driving after years of running China's biggest search engine, arming it with expertise in machine learning and mapping.

The internet giant is sticking to a plan to have self-driving cars ply China's roads by 2018, then mass production by 2020. The company will focus on its home market despite road conditions there being much more complex than in developed countries, Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Li told the Bloomberg Markets Most Influential Summit in Hong Kong.

Baidu is banking on artificial intelligence and automobiles to provide much-needed engines for growth as its search business decelerates. This year, it's expected to post its slowest pace of revenue growth since going public, as Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd draw advertisers away. Baidu however hasn't outlined a business plan for AI.