DigitalGlobe, a leading global provider of high-resolution earth imagery solutions, today announced that China’s most influential internet search portal, Baidu.com Inc., has signed a subscription for DigitalGlobe high-resolution imagery covering 344 cities in China.
This agreement will enable Baidu to provide its end-users with a more robust online mapping experience in Baidu Maps and its third-party developers with increased functionality in its Baidu Maps application programming interface (API) for location-based services.
Baidu is the world’s largest Chinese search engine and is China’s largest online advertiser, with 80 percent market share and over 50 percent year-over-year growth.
“Baidu is excited to enter into a new relationship for DigitalGlobe imagery as we continue to grow and expand our online location-based services,” said Dongchen Zhang, head of business development at Baidu. “With this agreement, Baidu can offer new ways for users to engage with the Internet while continuing to solidify Baidu’s presence at the heart of China’s Internet ecosystem.”
DigitalGlobe’s industry-leading ImageLibrary offers customers over 85 million square kilometers (km2) of highly accurate imagery in China, and over two billion km2 of imagery worldwide.
“China is one of DigitalGlobe’s most strategic geographic markets, and establishing this relationship with Baidu is an important step in strengthening our position in the Chinese consumer segment,” said Rafay Khan, senior vice president at DigitalGlobe. “Our ever-growing ImageLibrary continues to outpace our competition, and gives us a considerable edge in rapidly changing countries like China.”