Hello from Beijing!

Today is a big day for Uber and our teams in China. We couldn’t be more pumped to announce a strategic investment partnership with Baidu, a world-class technology company. We look forward to joining forces in pursuit of a common vision to make online-to-offline (O2O) services inspiring and effortless.

Uber has been changing the way people move around Chinese cities for the past year, but we are just getting started. Through innovation, we can fulfill a shared vision of using technology to take you places, create memories and live better lives. We look forward to many great things to come!
-Travis

 

[新闻稿如下 Full Press Release below]

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百度、Uber宣布达成全球战略合作及投资协议

 

12月17日，百度与硅谷新兴创业公司Uber在北京签署战略合作及投资协议，Uber宣布接受百度的战略投资，双方达成全球范围内的战略合作伙伴关系。协议签订后，百度和Uber将在技术创新、开拓国际化市场、拓展中国O2O服务三个方面展开合作。这也是中美领先的互联网公司之间首次达成的深度战略合作，具有里程碑意义。

对于Uber而言，合作意味着Uber有望将百度领先的多媒体交互、大数据和人工智能技术融入产品与服务，增强核心竞争力，迅速扩大新兴市场的市场份额；对于百度而言，合作则标志着百度进一步强化“连接人和服务”的战略，利用Uber丰富的用户资源和线下服务能力，百度将加速其移动业务的全球布局，进一步加强百度移动的商业化。

Uber创始人兼CEO特拉维斯·卡兰尼克亲赴北京，在百度大厦会晤了百度创始人兼CEO李彦宏，并共同签署协议。

李彦宏在签约仪式上表示，“百度和Uber的合作有着深远的里程碑意义。此前中美两国互联网公司的合作大多是在投资层面，比较早是美国公司投资中国公司，后来也有一些中国公司到美国去投资美国公司。但中美互联网公司之间进行深层次战略意义上的合作，百度和Uber的模式是一个开创式的创新。”

“这次合作是Uber发展的一个重要里程碑，”卡兰尼克表示，“Uber目前已在全球250多个城市开展业务，而亚太是最重要的增长区域。与全球领先科技企业百度的战略合作，进一步体现了我们对亚太市场发展的承诺，也加强了Uber与用户和合作司机的紧密连接。”

百度作为中国移动转型最为成功的互联网公司，近年来加快国际化步伐，目前在东南亚、中东和北非、拉丁美洲等地区开展业务。创办于2009年的Uber是目前硅谷估值最高的创业型公司，已经在全球52个国家和地区的250多个城市发展业务，包括中国的北京、上海、广州和深圳等城市。

 

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Baidu and Uber Announce Strategic Partnership

China’s leading search engine takes strategic stake in car-hailing platform

Beijing, December 17, 2014 – Baidu, China’s leading search engine, and Uber, the global technology platform that connects riders to drivers, today announced a strategic investment and cooperation agreement. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and Baidu chairman and CEO Robin Li announced the agreement at a signing ceremony at Baidu headquarters in Beijing.

Under the terms of the agreement, Baidu will invest in Uber and enable users of Baidu Map and Mobile Baidu, Baidu’s flagship mobile search app, to connect easily with Uber driver-partners. Uber will leverage Baidu’s strengths in mobile search, mobile mapping and app distribution.

“Baidu’s mission has always been to provide the best and most equitable way for people to find what they’re looking for. In the age of the smartphone, more and more that’s about connecting people to services. People are searching for the services they want, and they’re looking for the most convenient way to get where they want to go,” said Robin Li. “Uber’s rapid growth in the last four years is testimony to the tremendous demand for easy, reliable, and inexpensive transportation. We’re delighted that we can work together to help meet that demand—and we’re excited by this pioneering strategic partnership between a Chinese and an American Internet company.”

“This collaboration marks a milestone for Uber,” said Travis Kalanick. “We’re currently in 250 cities around the world, and the Asia-Pacific region has been a key area of growth for us. Our partnership with Baidu—a premier global brand—reflects our commitment to the region and the growing community of Uber riders and driver-partners here.”

Uber currently operates in nine cities in China—Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Chengdu, and Hangzhou.

Baidu leads in the key mobile gateways of mobile search, mobiles maps and app distribution. Baidu mobile search has over 500 million monthly active users, and Baidu Map has over 240 million monthly active users. Baidu is China’s largest mobile app distribution platform, distributing an average of 160 million apps on a daily basis.

In recent years Baidu has expanded into multiple markets outside of China, focusing on Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America. In July, Baidu launched its first western-language search engine—in Portuguese in Brazil.