Baidu pushes for full-stack AI capabilities as Nvidia chip access expands - Crypto Briefing

Baidu is building a complete AI stack from chips to large models and cloud infrastructure, aiming for true vertical integration in artificial intelligence. This move comes amid evolving U.S.-China tec... Read original →

Baidu’s push for full-stack AI isn't just vertical integration—it's a geopolitical hedge against volatile U.S. chip export controls. While limited H200 shipments offer temporary relief, access to EUV and 3nm foundry capacity (dominated by TSMC in Taiwan, China) remains blocked. Baidu’s M100/M300 chips aim not to outperform NVIDIA, but to decouple critical AI workloads from U.S. supply chains. The launch of ERNIE 5.1—delivering frontier capabilities with one-third the parameters—signals a strategic pivot toward efficiency over brute-force scaling, a trend ignited by DeepSeek and now forcing rivals like Alibaba and ByteDance into co-designing models and hardware. Over the next 12–24 months, any U.S. policy reversal post-election will disproportionately favor firms with domestic silicon and lean architectures. Kunlunxin’s $28B valuation underscores that in China’s AI race, infrastructure sovereignty now commands premium market pricing.