Baidu to Raise US2$ Billion For a Biotech Start-up

(South China Morning Post, September 10, 2020)

Chinese tech giant Baidu is in talks with investors to raise up to US$2 billion over three years for a biotech start-up, which will use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to discover new drugs and diagnose diseases, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. Baidu’s plans come at a time of increased investment in the health care sector since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, with many companies expanding into online diagnosis options to fill the gaps left by overstretched, overcrowded hospitals. The start-up under discussion plans to focus more on such areas as drug discovery and development, and early tumour diagnosis, by mobilising Baidu’s powerful AI technology that can perform complex computing to produce biological innovations.