Chinese internet search giant Baidu to shut online-to-offline platform Nuomi, rival to Meituan
- Baidu says the Nuomi app, which provided restaurant reservation and film ticket purchase services, will cease operations due to business adjustments
- Despite billions of yuan of investment by Baidu, Nuomi has failed to make a dent in Meituan’s position in the market
Chinese search engine giant Baidu said it would retire its local services platform Baidu Nuomi by year’s end, concluding an eight-year attempt to carve out a foothold in a market largely dominated by Meituan.
A notice on Nuomi’s website attributed the decision to “business adjustments”, adding that the app, which has already been removed from app stores, will stop operating in December. Users have been asked to withdraw any remaining money from their Nuomi accounts before then.
Baidu’s move comes as other Chinese Big Tech companies, including Tencent Holdings and ByteDance, have also retreated from non-core businesses to focus on areas with strength with prospects for profitability.
Baidu, which is known as China’s Google, is investing heavily on autonomous driving.
Nuomi was founded in 2010 by the Facebook-like social media platform Renren, which has since lost favour among Chinese internet users.
