Disruptive Forces: Baidu
By Chris Gonsalves | Posted 2008-03-27
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Baidu
Location: Beijing
CEO: Robin Li
Revenues: $107 million
What they do: The second of the twin dragons is the Google of China
Disruptive qualities: Baidu is also closely tied to the swell in China’s Internet users. Through search and savvy social networking, Baidu now boasts a 60 percent market share and a spot among the world’s top 10 Web sites.
The tech that makes them tick: For Baidu, the secret sauce is its vast data center assets coupled with algorithms that outperform Google in Mandarin, allowing the company to introduce paid search in China.
Who they are disrupting: Again, American companies such as Google, Yahoo and Apple are the main competitors. And with Baidu’s designs on music downloads, communications and e-commerce, it might even try to muscle out domestic brother Alibaba.
