Singapore, 23rd February 2012 – The Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), a research institute of the Agency for Science and Technology Research (A*STAR), signed an agreement to establish a joint laboratory with Baidu, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU), the leading Chinese language Internet search provider. The joint-laboratory agreement was signed by Ms. Wang Mengqiu, Vice President of Baidu, and Dr. Tan Geok Leng, Acting Executive Director of I2R, today in Beijing.
The joint laboratory, which will be named Baidu-I2R Research Centre (BIRC), will operate as an R&D unit in I2R at Fusionopolis in Singapore. BIRC will concentrate on areas such as Southeast Asian Language Resources, Natural Language Processing, Information Retrieval and Information Extraction, Speech Information Processing and Multimedia Processing. The launch of BIRC marks an important step in Baidu’s commitment to enhance its products in Southeast Asia.
BIRC’s initial research focus will involve foundational Natural Language Processing (NLP) technologies for Southeast Asian languages. I2R’s natural language processing technology allows users to input their native language into the search engine and Baidu’s “Box Computing” will be able to return precise results to the user. BIRC will focus on the Vietnamese and Thai languages in the initial phase.
“Baidu is thrilled to be joining forces with I²R for this joint laboratory. Our overlap and complementary expertise in our research areas make us perfect partners,” said Wang Mengqiu, Vice President, Baidu. “Our knowledge of Chinese allows us to deliver the best possible user experience to our Chinese users and was fundamental to winning the market,” Ms. Wang continued. “Now, together with I²R we are laying the foundations to deliver an equally good user experience to users in other markets,” she said.
Dr Tan Geok Leng, Acting Executive Director of I²R said: “Baidu has some of the world’s leading search core technology, and I²R is very excited about establishing BIRC together with such a strong technology partner. We hope that the innovative achievements this partnership yields will enable us to fulfil the constantly evolving needs of netizens from different regions.”
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For more information, please contact:
Mr. Kaiser Kuo
Director, International Communications
DID: (86-10) 5992-8419
Email: [email protected]
Ms. Connie Wong
Institute for Infocomm Research
DID: (65) 6419 1147
Email: [email protected]
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About Baidu
Baidu, Inc. is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider. As a technology-based media company, Baidu aims to provide the best and most equitable way for people to find what they’re looking for online. In addition to serving individual Internet search users, Baidu provides an effective platform for businesses to reach potential customers. Baidu's ADSs currently trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "BIDU". Each of Baidu's Class A ordinary shares is represented by 10 ADSs.
About Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R)
The Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R pronounced as i-squared-r) is a member of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) family. Established in 2002, our mission is to be the globally preferred source of innovations in `Interactive Secured Information, Content and Services Anytime Anywhere’ through research by passionate people dedicated to Singapore’s economic success. I²R performs R&D in information, communications and media (ICM) technologies to develop holistic solutions across the ICM value chain. Our research capabilities are in information technology, wireless and optical communication networks, interactive and digital media, signal processing and computing. We seek to be the infocomm and media value creator that keeps Singapore ahead.
About the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is the lead agency for fostering world-class scientific research and talent for a vibrant knowledge-based and innovation-driven Singapore. A*STAR oversees 14 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering research institutes, and six consortia & centres, located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis as well as their immediate vicinity. A*STAR supports Singapore's key economic clusters by providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its partners in industry. It also supports extramural research in the universities, and with other local and international partners.
