Baidu and Intel Launch Joint AI and 5G Innovation Lab to Integrate 5G Networks into AI Applications

Baidu and Intel co-launched an AI and 5G Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) innovation lab at Intel’s 5G Network Summit in Beijing. The joint venture aims to explore converged edge and cloud services to deliver 5G and AI applications in the areas of IoT, AR/VR, entertainment, search engines and automobiles.

The Chinese Internet giant and the leading chip maker will launch Over The Edge (OTE) platform to centralize management on MEC, cloud edge infrastructure, distributed computation and intelligent terminal and speed up development on their applications.

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In addition, the two companies will collaborate on validation of 5G MEC application scenarios, deployment of 5G Network OTE platform, and development of general principles for mobile edge service APIs.

Hou Zhenyu, Baidu‘s Chief Architect on Mobile Cloud Computing, said at the event that 5G is not only a technological change, but also an opportunity for new industrial cooperation. The joint venture with Intel is a big step for Baidu AI since it serves as the company’s first step into the 5G territory. The OTE platform is meant to bridge the gap between AI and 5G.

Earlier this month, Baidu and Intel outlined new AI collaborations on applications ranging from financial services to shipping to video content detection at the Beijing 2018 ABC Summit in Shanghai. Specifically, Baidu Cloud has been leveraging Intel processors, toolkits and technologies to develop solutions on financial services, video and object storage.

Raejeanne Skillern, VP of Data Center Group and general manager of Cloud Service Provider Platform Group at Intel, commented that adopting a new chip or optimizing a single framework is not enough to meet the demands of the new AI workloads. What’s required is system-level integration with software optimization, and Intel is enabling this through its expertise and extensive portfolio of AI technology.

Intel has also announced collaborations with China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, H3C, Huawei, Tencent, Unisoc and ZTE at the 5G Network Summit.