Baidu Partners with Lenovo in 3rd China AI Smartphone Deal

The Baidu logo is seen outside the company headquarters in Beijing on February 2, 2024. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)
The Baidu logo is seen outside the company headquarters in Beijing on February 2, 2024. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)
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Baidu Partners with Lenovo in 3rd China AI Smartphone Deal

The Baidu logo is seen outside the company headquarters in Beijing on February 2, 2024. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)
The Baidu logo is seen outside the company headquarters in Beijing on February 2, 2024. (Photo by Jade GAO / AFP)

China's Baidu has partnered with Lenovo to feature its generative artificial intelligence (AI) technology on Lenovo's smartphones, in the latest team up with a phone manufacturer as it seeks practical applications for its AI model.
A spokesperson for Beijing-based Baidu told Reuters this week that the partnership involves Lenovo using its Ernie large language model (LLM) and is similar to collaborations with Samsung and Honor announced last month.
Lenovo sells its own branded phones and also owns the phone brand Motorola. Ernie is already embedded in the browser and app store apps of Lenovo's personal computers and tablets.
Lenovo did not respond to a request for comment.
Selling smartphones that offer generative AI features for services such as chatbots and real-time translation have become a new global trend after the technology became popularized in late 2022 with the launch of ChatGPT.
Google is seen to be a leader in AI smartphones with its Pixel phones and robust cloud-based AI while Apple has been reported to be working to bring generative AI models to the iPhone.
Research firm Canalys expects that 5% of smartphones shipped globally in 2024, or 60 million devices, will be AI-capable smartphones.
But AI services powered by US firms like ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Google are unavailable in China, leaving the market to Chinese firms. The Chinese market has now over 200 AI models on offer, including from Baidu's chief rivals Alibaba and Tencent.
Baidu CEO Robin Li said last November that firms now needed to focus on developing practical applications. China's top phone brands including Vivo, Xiaomi and Huawei are also working on their own on-device AI models but have not disclosed details.
Such smartphone collaborations could not only help Baidu in this arena, but having its AI features deeply bundled with smartphones could also give the company exposure to a vast amount of data which could help Baidu's LLM catch up to rival AI companies in the US.
"Adapting LLM on smartphones is the right moment to promote AI-powered features, although they may be limited now. In the long run, they may become a 'must-have'," said Ivan Lam, an analyst at research firm Counterpoint.



France, Germany, Sweden Urge EU Battery Sector Push to Avoid China Reliance

Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Ebba Busch addresses the "Summit of the Future" in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2024. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/File Photo
Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Ebba Busch addresses the "Summit of the Future" in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2024. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/File Photo
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France, Germany, Sweden Urge EU Battery Sector Push to Avoid China Reliance

Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Ebba Busch addresses the "Summit of the Future" in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2024. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/File Photo
Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden Ebba Busch addresses the "Summit of the Future" in the General Assembly Hall at United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, September 22, 2024. REUTERS/David Dee Delgado/File Photo

France, Germany and Sweden called on the incoming European Commission on Thursday to ensure the future of battery production in Europe and avoid relying on China to meet its needs for the green transition.

In a paper released ahead of an EU ministers' meeting to discuss EU competitiveness on Thursday, the three EU members said European battery companies faced common challenges of scaling up in a global playing field that was not level.

The EU needs to cut red tape, speed up approval processes, create better routes to funding and markets for new companies in the sector and allocate more EU funding for the battery industry, they said.

"If we are to succeed with the green transition we need to get the European battery sector flying and taking a proper share of the market," Swedish Industry Minister Ebba Busch told reporters before the meeting in Brussels, Reuters reported.

The issue is acute for Sweden after Northvolt filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States last week. The Swedish government has repeatedly said it won't invest in Northvolt to save the company, which has been Europe's biggest hope for an electric vehicle battery champion.

Busch said a strong message from Brussels that European battery making had a solid future would increase the chances for Northvolt to secure new capital from other sources.

China has taken a huge lead in powering EVs, controlling 85% of global battery cell production, International Energy Agency data shows. Busch said the European Union needed to learn from its previous reliance on Russian gas and not become dependent again on an economic rival.

"The green transition might end up becoming a Chinese transition in Europe... Just look at solar cell or wind power sector, a lot of that has been taken over by third-country investment," she said.

The new European Commission, which takes over on Dec. 1, plans in its first 100 days to issue an outline of how the bloc can compete economically while meeting its climate targets.

Busch said the three countries behind the paper were calling for improved regulation to promote new projects and conditions to allow companies to scale up.

German state secretary Berhard Kluttig said the EU also needed to look to sources other than China for key raw material inputs.

"There are many options, Australia, Canada and even Europe, we have lithium projects, so it is also important that we focus on these alternative sources for battery materials," he said.