Baidu expands augmented reality beyond brand marketing

Chinese search engine Baidu plans to expand its AR focus beyond brand marketing to the travel, architecture and healthcare industries, as it shifts focus away from its online advertising business.
Baidu has identified artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR) as key strategic priorities, as it moves to become an AI-first company. The shift has seen it allocate $200m to fund AI, augmented reality and deep learning research and hire ex-Microsoft executive Qi Lu to head up its AI divi