Baidu CEO Soaked by Stage-Invader During Keynote Speech
(Bloomberg) --
A routine keynote address by Baidu Inc. chief Robin Li morphed into a public humiliation when an unidentified man jumped onstage and doused him in water.
The billionaire founder was 10 minutes into introducing an AI-powered valet parking service when a man in a black T-shirt upended a small bottle of water over his head. The Chinese internet tycoon froze in place for a few seconds, wiped his face, then plowed ahead with his speech as if nothing had happened.
“What's your problem?” Li said in English to the perpetrator, who was wearing an event pass. “As everyone has just seen, there will be a variety of unexpected happenings on the road to AI,” said the CEO, who was headlining a Baidu artificial intelligence developers' forum in Beijing.
It's unclear who the prankster was. Li, who created China's largest search service en route to a personal fortune estimated at $8.7 billion, wrapped up his speech in about 40 minutes before departing the stage. Li is considered among the country's foremost tech pioneers, a captain of the domestic internet industry alongside the likes of Alibaba's Jack Ma and Tencent's Pony Ma.
Baidu “strongly” condemned the act in a statement posted on Weibo, calling it “shameful” and “disturbing.” The man has been taken away by police for investigation.
Baidu has weathered a plethora of troubles. In 2016, a university student died after pursuing a cancer treatment he'd found through Baidu's search engine, fostering mistrust of the brand. China's slowing economy is hitting the company because it's heavily reliant on the competitive advertising market. It has also lost several key senior executives in past years. In May, it posted a loss for the first time since going public in 2005.
The incident follows a number of similar occurrences around the world. In June, animal-rights activists rushed on stage at a conference in Las Vegas where Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos was being interviewed. A few days prior, a man snatched the microphone from California senator and presidential candidate Kamala Harris at a forum.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Gao Yuan in Beijing at ygao199@bloomberg.net;Colum Murphy in Hong Kong at cmurphy270@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Edwin Chan at echan273@bloomberg.net, Peter Elstrom
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
With assistance from Bloomberg
-
Indians Stay With Family, Not In Hotels | The Reason Why
India still lacks enough clean, reliable and affordable hotels for budget-conscious travellers.
-
The Economic Imperative: Analysing The Material Driving Force Behind India-Canada Strategic Reset
This economic complementarity is further reinforced by deep institutional investment ties and talent mobility, which form the bedrock of the bilateral framework.
-
Medicine Pricing: Where Must Profit Stop?
India must confront excessive margins, hidden incentives and regulatory gaps that threaten the integrity of medicine.
-
Why Amazon And Flipkart Are Struggling To Beat Meesho In India's Smaller Cities
With 274 million users and lowest-cost logistics, Meesho is defending its value commerce crown against giants like Amazon and Flipkart.
-
High US Salaries, No Green Card Certainty: The Financial Calculation Facing Indian H-1B Families
The suspension of PERM processing at eight technology employers does not cancel existing H-1B visas. What it does is force a question many Indian families have been avoiding: is the US salary worth tying your career and family plans to one employer?
-
Swiggy vs Eternal: Food Delivery's Two Rivals Are No Longer In The Same Race
Eternal is building a private AI assistant, dark.ai. Swiggy is still working out how to make Instamart pay, with an operating loss of Rs 895 crore in the July-September quarter while Blinkit stayed profitable.
-
Where You Live Shapes How You Get To Work | The Reason Why
Two-wheelers are the most popular way to get to work in India, accounting for nearly 43% of workplace commutes.
-
Unhedged Position: Can India See An Indonesia-Style Time Correction?
The Nifty is trading below levels it first clocked in 2024. Is there, then, as I have suggested in the headline, potential that the current time correction drags on painfully for the next three-five, even ten years?
-
Navigating Friction And Energy Realities: An Analysis Of Marco Rubio's October Visit To India
Occurring at a critical juncture marked by stalled trade negotiations and escalating geopolitical pressures over global energy supplies, the visit offers a profound window into modern US-India relations.
-
India Exports Capital. Why Not Export Trusteeship?
The big question, then, is whether India can build an institution that global borrowers, investors, banks, and lawyers can trust, even without an Indian connection.
