Baidu-Backed Kunlunxin Lands $139M AI Chip Deal Amid China's Nvidia Pivot

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) is one of the best very cheap stocks to buy according to hedge funds. On August 22, Kunlunxin, a Chinese semiconductor firm majority-owned by Baidu (59%), announced it had secured over 1 billion yuan ($139 million) in AI chip orders for China Mobile. The chips, compatible with Nvidia’s CUDA platform, will be supplied to top-tier vendors like H3C Technologies and ZTE, as China intensifies efforts to build domestic alternatives to Nvidia’s GPU dominance.

China Mobile also awarded contracts to a Huawei-linked firm using its CANN architecture, a CUDA equivalent. While developers still rely heavily on Nvidia’s ecosystem, Kunlunxin’s chips offer strong CUDA compatibility, making them more cost-effective for developers transitioning away from foreign tech.

Earlier this year, Baidu revealed it had deployed 30,000 third-generation P800 Kunlun chips to support large-scale AI model training. Alongside Huawei’s Ascend, Baidu’s Kunlun chips are part of a growing wave of Chinese-made GPUs aiming to challenge Nvidia’s market share and bolster national tech self-sufficiency.

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) is a major technology company in China, best known for operating the country’s most popular search engine. It’s also a leader in artificial intelligence, investing significant effort and resources in developing smart technologies that power everything from online services to self-driving cars.

While we acknowledge the potential of BIDU as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.