A Chinese search engine giant Baidu Inc. is pushing for its vision of the metaverse. As its first step, Baidu plans to make its XiRang Platform the enabler of the metaverse.
With this, it intends to provide technological capabilities in Application Programming Interface (API) and Software Development Kit (SDK) that are needed to build a vibrant metaverse. Such that everybody can move ahead without having to spend energy to do the basic tasks, according to Ma Jie, vice president at Baidu.
Also, XiRang can not be equated with Creator City, a futuristic virtual world created by Baidu. Whereas, XiRang is an invisible web of technological capabilities that Baidu is developing to support the development of the metaverse.
Many media reports previously described XiRiang as a mobile app which was later found to be wrong. In fact, Creator City was used to showcase the XiRang platform capabilities to demonstrate what XiRang is capable of doing.
Think of XiRang as a SaaS (Software as a Service) provider, but for the metaverse. Content creators and developers can license or buy these capabilities to assist their metaverse projects. This will help metaverse game companies as well as metaverse social networking apps to develop their products or games.
Just like Baidu Brain, the firm’s open AI platform, offers hundreds of core AI capabilities and models for developers, XiRang wants to be the enabler to metaverse builders.
Well, Baidu appears to be accommodating and evolving with today’s fast-paced crypto world. In March, Baidu announced the airdrop of 20,000 NFTs and became the third Chinese tech giant to enter the NFT market.
Its latest initiative carries a lot of ambiguity around, considering China increasing speculation of metaverse and NFTs. Nevertheless, the Chinese search engine at the very least is unique in its metaverse strategy.
