Baidu, investors in talks to raise US$2b for biotech startup

Beijing/Shanghai

CHINESE tech giant Baidu is in talks with investors to raise up to US$2 billion over three years for a biotech startup, which will use AI technology to discover new drugs and diagnose diseases, a source said. Baidu is unlikely to be the controlling investor.

Baidu's plans come at a time of increased investment in the healthcare sector since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, with many companies expanding into online diagnosis options to fill the gaps left by overstretched, overcrowded hospitals. It plans to focus more on areas like drug discovery and development, and early tumor diagnosis, by mobilising Baidu's powerful artificial intelligence technology that can perform complex computing to produce biological innovations. REUTERS