Baidu's Intelligent Driving Business Group changes leadership, Wang Yunpeng takes over to accelerate commercialization

Baidu recently released an internal email announcing a new round of cadre promotions and rotations, the most notable of which is Wang Yunpeng, the new head of Baidu's Intelligent Driving Business Group (IDG). Wang Yunpeng was also promoted to vice president of Baidu Group and reports to Baidu CEO Robin Li.

Wang Yunpeng joined Baidu in April 2012 and served as senior director and deputy general manager of Baidu's search division. He has served as general manager of Baidu's autonomous driving division since February 2018, responsible for Baidu's autonomous driving technology research and development, product design, and commercial operations. Under Wang Yunpeng's leadership, Baidu's autonomous driving division has achieved a series of achievements, including:

The Beijing Apollo Park, the world's largest autonomous driving and vehicle-road collaborative application testing base, was established and opened, providing advanced facilities and services for the testing and verification of autonomous driving.

Organized the research and development of Baidu's sixth-generation mass-produced driverless car Apollo RT6, which has the characteristics of high performance, high safety, and high reliability, and is a landmark product of Baidu's autonomous driving.

Baidu has built its autonomous driving travel service platform, LuoBoKuaiPao, which has carried out trial operations of driverless taxis and buses in multiple areas of cities including Wuhan, Chongqing, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, providing more than 4 million passenger services in total, making it the world's largest autonomous driving travel service provider.

Wang Yunpeng has a technical background and has many years of product development and management experience in leading technology companies. He holds more than 20 patents in the field of autonomous driving. His professional knowledge and practical experience in the field of autonomous driving have laid a solid foundation for Baidu's technological innovation and commercialization of autonomous driving.

Baidu Intelligent Driving Business Group (IDG) is one of Baidu's core business groups, responsible for Baidu's business and strategy in the fields of autonomous driving, smart cars, and smart transportation. Li Zhenyu, the former head of IDG and senior vice president of Baidu, will rotate to the position of assistant to the CEO and chairman of the Group's Technology Ethics Committee, reporting to Robin Li. Li Zhenyu has been the head of IDG since August 2017, and as a leader, he has built a strong team for the intelligent driving business. Baidu thanks Li Zhenyu for his important contributions to IDG and looks forward to his continued role in his new position.

Baidu said that it hopes Wang Yunpeng will lead IDG to continue its efforts, combine Baidu's deep accumulation and years of layout in the field of artificial intelligence, persist in technological innovation, build a transportation platform, accelerate commercialization, and look forward to the intelligent driving business climbing to the top of Mount Everest, and contribute to Baidu's mission of "using technology to make the complex world simpler."

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.