Rumor: Baidu Establishes LBS Business Division
Netease Tech, 10/10/12
A source at Chinese internet company Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) confirmed on October 10 that the company has spun off its LBS division as a new business division led by former Baidu Phoenix Nest deputy director Shen Li. Shen reports to Baidu VP of technology Wang Mengqiu. The new LBS division will be responsible for mobile internet projects including Baidu Maps, Baidu Shenbian ("Baidu Local"), and a soon to be released Baidu service providing real-time road condition updates.
Plans to spin off the LBS division have been underway for some time, the source said, and will be officially completed in the near future. The Baidu LBS division and Baidu Mobile Cloud division will be two major business units within the company.
Baidu said today that it will release version 4.0 of Baidu Maps this month, and will have a major announcement on October 17. A source inside the company said that the announcement in question will be of the splitting-off of Baidu Maps and other services as the new LBS division.
The source confirmed that Baidu Shenbian will be promoted through Baidu Maps. The service was launched in 2010. Previous reports had stated that Baidu founder Robin Li was unsatisfied with the service's performance and had considered shutting it down.
Keywords: Shen Li wireless corporate restructuring Wang Mengqiu Robin Li Baidu LBS BIDU mobile Internet Baidu Maps Baidu Shenbian
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