Baidu Acquires Kitt.ai, A Natural Language Startup
Baidu, China’s leading search engine, has acquired Kitt.ai, a Seattle-based startup known for its chatbot and voice-based application development platform. This acquisition strengthens Baidu’s commitment to artificial intelligence (AI) and positions the company as a leading platform for chatbot developers.
Kitt.ai, founded in 2014, has developed a framework for building and powering chatbots across various platforms and devices. Their technology powers applications ranging from smartphones and speakers to appliances, cars, and even telephone lines. The company has a proven track record of success, with paying customers on four continents and profitability.
Kitt.ai’s technology includes three key products: Snowboy (a customizable hotword detection engine), NLU (a multilingual natural language understanding engine), and ChatFlow (a multi-turn conversation engine). These products will continue to operate independently.
Baidu has been actively investing in AI for several years, aiming to power its own services and expand into new areas like automotive. The acquisition of Kitt.ai represents a strategic move for Baidu to enhance its AI capabilities and attract developers to its platform.
