Baidu follows Tencent’s lead in building ‘super app’ ecosystem with new service
The initiative accelerates advances made by China’s major internet companies in building platforms that can host multiple services
Baidu chairman and chief executive Robin Li Yanhong is taking a page out of fellow tech billionaire Pony Ma Huateng’s playbook, by pushing to introduce mini-programs, which have helped Ma’s Tencent Holdings surpass 1 billion users and boost engagement time.
But Li could not resist taking a dig at the competition – “We design to enrich people’s lives, not to help them kill time”.
Nasdaq-listed Baidu, China’s largest search engine operator, is “gaining share”, compared to most “super apps”, according to Li in a conference call with analysts on Wednesday after the company posted quarterly profit that topped analyst estimates.
Baidu’s super app initiative further accelerates advances made by China’s major internet companies to build platforms that can host multiple services, delivering greater convenience to consumers in the world’s largest smartphone market.
Mini-programs refer to applications typically smaller than 10 megabytes that can run instantly on the main app’s interface. These offer speed of access to users because a program does not have to be downloaded from an app store, but simply run from within the app.
