This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is positioning itself as a major domestic AI chip player as it ramps the Kunlunxin unit and a multi-year Kunlun roadmap, according to recent reports.
Nvidia (NVDA), on the other hand, dominates China’s AI accelerator market but has faced restrictions on advanced chip exports, opening space for domestic alternatives such as Baidu’s Kunlun processors.
The Chinese company plans the Kunlun M100 for 2026 and the M300 for 2027, and to cluster chips into high-performance Tianchi nodes, steps designed to boost inference and training capacity.
Kunlunxin has already won commercial orders, including contracts tied to China Mobile’s AI projects, signaling early market traction for third-party sales.
Analysts say Beijing’s push for domestic chips and export limits on U.S. suppliers create a captive market that could accelerate Kunlun sales; J.P. Morgan projects Kunlun revenue could rise roughly sixfold to about RMB 8 billion in 2026.
The move helps Baidu monetize cloud and compute assets by selling chips and renting capacity, but gaps remain in China’s foundry ecosystem and advanced-node manufacturing.