Chinese internet giant Baidu isn’t having the best of times at the moment. As the company’s stock slides they’ve introduced a wide-ranging management shuffle and been overtaken by Meituan in terms of value, prompting some to suggest that the era of BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) is now that of ATM.
And now, founder Robin Li has been doused with water live on stage during a conference on AI and self-driving vehicles.
Li, who was showing off Baidu’s advancements in self-driving technology, could be heard saying, “what’s your problem?” in English after an unidentified delegate decided to rush the stage and empty a bottle of water over the CEO’s head.
When live broadcasts go wrong: #Baidu CEO Robin Li drenched in water by a delegate during a conference on autonomous driving. pic.twitter.com/7l5VwDlf2G
— Thomas Skelton (@TDSkelt) July 3, 2019
Chinese media reports have stated that the perpetrator was quickly removed from the venue by security (though Li may feel not quickly enough). His motive remains unclear.
He posted this yesterday:
“My wife dropped me off at the bus stop. She has no idea what I’m going to do.”https://t.co/VSSRQPDpW4 pic.twitter.com/saGd7gU1Mt
— ?Fergus Ryan (@fryan) July 3, 2019
After wiping himself down, Li stated, “As you can see, there will be problems along the way when it comes to AI, but it will change everybody’s lives.”
Related:
Baidu recently unveiled its Apollo 5.0 self-driving system, which includes upgrades for “complex” driving conditions. The company has also driven the most autonomous miles in Beijing so far and this week was granted the first “T4” license to start tests on public roads in the capital.
