Miranda Zhuang

Miranda Zhuang sought an update on Apollo Go's goals for next year and beyond, including global expansion plans, unit economics across different markets, and management's view on the long-term profitability potential of the robotaxi business.

Answer

CEO Robin Li detailed Apollo Go's status as one of the world's largest robotaxi providers with over 17 million cumulative fully driverless rides, dominating the China market. He noted the business has reached a 'tipping point' with increasing public acceptance and regulatory loosening. For 2026 and beyond, Li outlined plans for rapid scaling in ride volumes, geographic expansion (currently 22 cities globally), and adoption of asset-light business models, aiming for more cities to achieve positive unit economics in 2026 and long-term profitability.

Miranda Zhuang requested an update on Apollo Go's goals for 2026 and beyond, including global expansion plans, unit economics across different markets, and the long-term profitability potential of the robotaxi business.

Answer

CEO Robin Li highlighted Apollo Go's position as one of the world's largest robotaxi providers, with over 17 million cumulative rides as of November and a 15x higher ride volume than its nearest domestic peer in Q1-Q3 2025. He outlined 2026+ goals: rapid growth in ride volumes and geographic expansion (more cars, more cities, more fully driverless mileage), continuous technology improvement through data, and driving down cost per mile to achieve positive unit economics in more cities. Li noted Apollo Go's global footprint expanded to 22 cities by October, expressing confidence in its continued global expansion and long-term profitability.

Miranda Zhuang of Bank of America Merrill Lynch questioned the sustainability of AI-driven cloud demand amid economic softness and asked about the GPU supply situation, including any improvements from eased restrictions.

Answer

EVP Dou Shen confirmed that AI cloud demand remains strong and is broadening from tech to traditional industries. He attributed this to Baidu's cost-effective, full-stack solutions. Regarding GPUs, Shen stated the focus is on a flexible architecture that maximizes utilization across various chips, including domestic ones, to ensure resilience against supply constraints.

Miranda Zhuang from Bank of America Securities asked for an analysis of the drivers behind the strong advertising business performance in Q2, the outlook for the second half of the year, and upcoming new products or technologies.

Answer

Management, translated by Juliet Yang, explained that the 20% YoY ad revenue growth was driven by their 'one horizontal and vertical' strategy, enhanced ad infrastructure, and improved efficiency from LLM integration. Key factors included integrated seeding and conversion campaigns, better ad delivery via multi-modal models, and optimized deep conversion capabilities. For H2, the focus is on broader product application across endpoints like PC and OTT, and deeper AI integration for ad creation and automated placement, with confidence in sustaining above-industry growth.

Miranda Zhuang from Bank of America Merrill Lynch inquired about NetEase's marketing and operational strategies for both new and legacy games, asking for any notable changes and the outlook for sales and marketing expenses.

Answer

Bill Pang, VP of Corporate Development, explained that NetEase has a mature methodology for game marketing and operations developed over two decades. He highlighted the company is now embracing new methods, including social media and AI, to make marketing investments more precise and effective, stating they know when to spend and when to be frugal.