Baidu Hires Microsoft's AI Expert as New President

Former Microsoft Corp. executive Lu Qi has been named as Baidu Inc.'s brand new president and chief operating officer, China Daily reported.

Lu's appointment is part of Baidu's big push to develop artificial intelligence, the search giant's latest venture. A known AI expert, Lu recently headed Microsoft's apps and services business. He also led the company's search division after staying for more than a decade with Yahoo.

The 55-year-old Lu has a doctorate degree in computer science from the Carnegie Mellon University. He also has more than 40 U.S. patents under his name.

"Dr. Lu possesses a wealth of leadership and management experience, and is a leading authority in the area of artificial intelligence," Baidu chairman and CEO Robin Li said in a statement.

"To achieve our goals, especially in artificial intelligence, which is a key strategic focus for the next decade, we will need to continue attracting the best global talent. With Dr. Lu on board, we are confident that our strategy will be executed smoothly and Baidu will become a world-class technology company and global leader in AI."

Lu will join Coursera chairman Andrew Ng on board. Ng is the head scientist at the Baidu Research center located in Silicon Valley.

Baidu has been looking at AI as its next big cash cow. Last October, it rolled out a $200 million fund to specialize in augmented reality and artificial intelligence. A $3 billion fund followed suit, targeting startups.

The Chinese tech titan's other businesses have not been performing well. Its search engine business has been waning, prompting the company to refocus its strategies, Business Insider reported.

In addition, the advertising regulations introduced last year that targeted the medical field also inspired a 16 percent drop in ad clients.

The company has projected a 4.6 percent drop in revenue in the quarter ending in December.