Asia Tech Wire (June 7) -- Baidu Inc. (9888.HK) is rebuilding its ecosystem with artificial intelligence amid an uncertain macro environment, Jefferies analysts Thomas Chong and Zoey Zong said recently in a research note.

Baidu accelerated the pace of upgrading its search products and improving user experience in April and May, they said.

The company's AI cloud revenue has accelerated year-on-year since the second half of 2023, driven by incremental revenue from generative AI and foundation model ERNIE.

Baidu aims to break even on a per-unit economic basis at the regional level and replicate its success in other cities after launching fully driverless operations in four Chinese cities, the analysts said.

Jefferies maintained its Buy rating on Baidu and kept its price target at HK$173.00.