Baidu’s self-driving car business has gone seven years without making money; it says it’s ready to stick with it for seven more

Since it started developing self-driving technologies in 2013, Baidu has yet to make money from autonomous driving. The company is committed to continuing to invest in the sector for at least the next seven years, the head of its autonomous driving unit Apollo says. — SCMP

Chinese internet giant Baidu has been developing self-driving technologies for seven years without making money, but the company is committed enough to the future of transport to keep going for at least another seven more, the head of its autonomous driving unit Apollo said on Wednesday.

“We are very confident internally that we will persist and continue investing in autonomous driving for another seven years,” Li Zhenyu, Baidu’s corporate vice-president and general manager of Apollo said at a press conference on Wednesday. “Whether this investment makes sense, we will only know at the end of the game.”