Emily Flippen

They get all the headlines about robo-taxis, but oh my gosh, Baidu has self-driving robo-taxis already in operation in 22 cities across the world.

In many locations, this is 100% fully driverless, actual commercial services being used by the Chinese public on a daily basis.

This is not in a controlled environment.

This is not something that is otherwise being heavily scrutinized or regulated.

This is just a part of everyday life.

I think the fact that

Baidu and the opportunity that being a leader in robo-taxis has gives a lot of home country bias, because American investors just don't see that the way we see it with Waymo or Tesla.

What can I say, Toby?

I'm an optimist at heart.

I hesitate again to say that.

Yes, you're right.

Again, these are right at face value.

I certainly have my work cut out to me to make a bull case for either of these businesses, but I love to play devil's advocate.

To your point, Jason, two sides do make a market.

They're a lot less clear-cut than Baidu or PDD.

I try to see the forest through the trees.

In the case of iQiyi, the financial risk of the debt and the lack of profits are basically non-existent for exactly the reason Toby mentioned.

They're fully backed by the cash-generating giant that is Baidu.

Baidu won't, in my opinion, really let this company fail.

And iQiyi does have some really valuable properties.