Baidu rises as China’s leading AI chip maker amid Nvidia shortage

Baidu, long known as China’s dominant search engine, is now redefining its future around artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced semiconductors.

With Nvidia unable to ship its top-end chips to China due to US export controls, Baidu is pushing aggressively to establish itself as the country’s leading AI chip developer. 

Its Kunlunxin subsidiary, central to this strategy, has gained fresh momentum as analysts upgrade forecasts and predict a surge in domestic demand.

Earlier this month, Baidu outlined a five-year roadmap for its Kunlun AI chips, beginning with the M100 in 2026 and the M300 in 2027. 

The company already uses both its in-house chips and remaining Nvidia hardware to power its ERNIE models across China’s expanding data centers. 

Baidu is also pitching itself as a full-stack AI provider, offering chips, cloud infrastructure, servers, and applications.

As China pushes for technological self-reliance, Baidu’s chip orders have climbed, including wins from suppliers to China Mobile. 

Analysts noted that Kunlunxin is now among the best positioned to capture the void left by Nvidia, with revenue projected to soar in the coming years.

With Huawei constrained and Nvidia blocked, Baidu is increasingly seen as China’s next major AI chip powerhouse.