Core Viewpoint - Baidu's founder, Li Yanhong, is actively pursuing an IPO for Baidu's biotech venture, Baitus Biotechnology, which aims to leverage AI in drug development and has already secured significant funding and partnerships [1][4][6]. Company Overview - Baitus Biotechnology, co-founded by Li Yanhong and former Baidu Ventures CEO Liu Wei, focuses on AI-driven life sciences, boasting a cross-modal biological language model with 210 billion parameters [1][4]. - The company has successfully developed over 200 state-of-the-art task models in drug development, biomanufacturing, and healthcare, serving over 300 clients and generating more than $2 billion in total customer orders [1][4]. - The core team includes experienced executives from major companies and top universities, with a strong emphasis on attracting high-end talent through competitive compensation packages [6][7]. Funding and Investment - Baitus Biotechnology has received over $200 million in venture capital, with a strategic partnership established with a Hong Kong investment management company, which will also serve as a potential listing location [2][4]. - Li Yanhong has personally invested heavily in the company, aiming to maintain control over its direction and funding, with plans to raise $2 billion within three years [5][6]. - The company plans to invest "hundreds of millions" to build a self-sufficient bio-computing platform, indicating strong financial backing from its inception [6]. Market Context - The AI pharmaceutical market is experiencing rapid growth, with global market size projected to reach nearly $3 billion by 2026, and the Chinese market expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 56.8% [10][11]. - AI in drug development is seen as a transformative technology, capable of reducing clinical development costs by 20-30% and significantly shortening development timelines [9][10]. Challenges and Future Outlook - Despite the promising growth, the AI pharmaceutical sector faces challenges, including a lack of high-quality data and the need for successful drug approvals to validate AI-designed drugs [13][16]. - The collaboration with Sanofi, which involves a significant financial commitment, highlights the potential for AI companies to leverage traditional pharmaceutical expertise while addressing data scarcity issues [15][16]. - The industry is still in search of a sustainable business model, with various approaches being tested, including AI SaaS, AI CRO, and AI biotech [13][14].