Baidu cancels launch event for cloud services integrated with Ernie Bot
- The Beijing-based internet search giant called off the press event at the last minute, turning it into a closed-door meeting for corporate clients
- Baidu’s ChatGPT-like Ernie Bot has faced scepticism over its capability, with investors questioning the lack of a live demonstration at launch
The Beijing-based tech giant had announced it would host the press event on Monday, but in a last-minute statement, it said the event had been replaced by a “closed-door communications meeting” for potential corporate users “to help clients make better use of the Ernie Bot cloud services”.
A special session, open to the media, will be held at a later time, Baidu said.
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Baidu unveils China’s answer to ChatGPT, sends stocks tumbling
The company also said on Monday that it has opened the world’s first “big model platform” for enterprises, supported by Ernie Bot.
Baidu, which became the first major Chinese tech companies to roll out a ChatGPT-like service in the country with the launch of Ernie Bot on March 16, has only made its bot available to a select group of individuals so far. Corporate clients hoping to use the service in their software are still waiting for an application programming interface.
Baidu’s peers, including Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings, have also said they are developing technologies similar to ChatGPT, but they have yet to release their products to the public. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
The release of Ernie Bot was not without hiccups, with investors initially expressing disappointment over the lack of a live demonstration of the technology. Shares of Baidu tumbled as much as 10 per cent during the launch event, before paring some losses the following day after several investment banks gave more bullish views.