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Baidu Partners with Switzerland’s PostBus to Launch Apollo Go Robotaxis in Europe

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Baidu (9888.HK) announced a partnership with Switzerland’s PostBus on Wednesday to bring its Apollo Go autonomous vehicle service to the country, marking the Chinese tech giant’s first robotaxi deployment in Europe. The deal highlights Baidu’s rapid international expansion in self-driving technology amid slowing growth in its traditional advertising business.

Under the partnership, PostBus, a subsidiary of Swiss Post and one of the country’s major public transport operators, will collaborate with Baidu to introduce driverless vehicles to eastern Switzerland. The service will cover the cantons of St. Gallen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, and Appenzell Innerrhoden, with a trial fleet set to begin testing in December 2025 and full operations expected by early 2027, according to Baidu’s statement.

The agreement follows Baidu’s recent partnerships with Lyft and Uber, under which the company will deploy thousands of its Apollo Go robotaxis across several European and international markets beginning next year. The Swiss launch signals Baidu’s ambition to become a key player in global autonomous mobility, challenging U.S. and European rivals such as Waymo, Cruise, and Mobileye.

Baidu said its Apollo Go platform now operates more than 1,000 fully driverless vehicles in 16 cities worldwide, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Hong Kong. The company has positioned Apollo Go as one of the largest autonomous ride-hailing services in the world, with millions of rides completed.

As China’s economy cools, Baidu has increasingly shifted its focus toward artificial intelligence and autonomous transportation technologies to diversify its revenue. The collaboration with PostBus gives Baidu a foothold in the European market, where regulatory approval for driverless vehicles has been gradually expanding.

Industry analysts say the partnership could make Switzerland a testing ground for wider European adoption of Baidu’s robotaxi systems, blending Chinese innovation with Swiss public transport infrastructure.

ABB CEO says data center demand for AI power will keep growing for years

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Swiss engineering giant ABB remains highly optimistic about the long-term growth of data centers driven by the global artificial intelligence boom, CEO Morten Wierod told Reuters on Thursday.

Wierod said ABB has seen double-digit growth this year in orders for its electrification products, which include switchgear and uninterruptible power systems that ensure servers stay online. “Over the next five years I am very confident about demand from data centers,” he said.

Rejecting suggestions of an AI bubble, Wierod argued that the challenge lies in construction capacity, not in demand. “We are talking about trillions in investment, but there are not enough people and resources to build all this,” he noted.

AI remains in its early stages, he added, meaning continued expansion of data infrastructure as more companies — beyond the tech giants — invest in new facilities. Data centers accounted for about 7% of ABB’s revenue in 2025, up from 6% the previous year.

Earlier this week, ABB announced a partnership with Nvidia to develop new electrification systems for next-generation chips used in high-performance computing centers. “That’s not for 2025 or 2026, it’s a long-term investment,” Wierod said.

He also highlighted growing opportunities in retrofitting and upgrading older data centers to handle the increased power demands of modern AI systems. “That is a big opportunity,” he said.

Swiss Inquiry Exposes Oversight Failures in Credit Suisse Collapse but Blames Bank Leadership

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Swiss lawmakers have released a scathing report detailing the collapse of Credit Suisse in March 2023, highlighting systemic failures in the oversight of the financial sector while laying the primary blame on the bank’s mismanagement. The 569-page document, published after months of investigation, criticized Swiss regulatory authorities for lacking transparency and acting inconsistently during the crisis, though it acknowledged their role in averting a global financial meltdown.

Credit Suisse, a 167-year-old institution and Switzerland’s second-largest bank, was rescued by arch-rival UBS in a government-brokered deal for a fraction of its value. The collapse left Switzerland with only one major international bank, UBS, whose balance sheet now exceeds the size of the country’s entire economy.

A parliamentary committee, known as PUK, was formed in June 2023 to examine the government’s response to the crisis. While the inquiry determined that “years of mismanagement” by Credit Suisse leadership caused the crisis, it found no direct misconduct by Swiss authorities. However, it sharply criticized their lack of record-keeping during crucial crisis meetings involving the finance ministry, the central bank, and the financial regulator FINMA.

Key Findings and Recommendations

The report chronicled the bank’s chaotic final days, revealing that discussions about Credit Suisse’s potential demise had been ongoing for months. However, these discussions were often informal, unstructured, and poorly documented. Former Finance Minister Ueli Maurer and ex-Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan were singled out for initiating “non-meetings,” which bypassed established crisis-management protocols and created a “parallel format” to avoid leaks.

The committee recommended reforms closely aligned with the government’s initial “too-big-to-fail” proposals from April 2023. These include:

  • Strengthening FINMA: Bolstering the financial regulator’s oversight powers and limiting its ability to grant concessions on capital requirements for banks.
  • Reevaluating Capital Buffers: Ensuring that systemically important banks like UBS hold sufficient capital to weather future crises.
  • Incentive Realignment: Addressing excessive bonuses in the financial sector, noting that Credit Suisse management had received bonuses exceeding 34 billion Swiss francs ($37.9 billion) between 2010 and 2022, despite the bank incurring equivalent losses during that period.
  • Improving Governance: Mandating better communication and handover protocols within government departments, especially during periods of financial instability.

The report criticized the transition between former Finance Minister Maurer and his successor Karin Keller-Sutter. Maurer downplayed Credit Suisse’s vulnerabilities, assuring Keller-Sutter that the bank was stable just months before its collapse. The committee concluded that the handover of information was insufficient and contributed to delays in addressing the crisis.

Keller-Sutter, who took office in January 2023, was credited with injecting urgency into the government’s response. However, the report found that she failed to keep the Swiss cabinet adequately informed about the evolving situation, leaving many members unaware of the bank’s dire state until its final days in March 2023.

Broader Implications for Switzerland’s Financial Sector

The inquiry highlighted how Credit Suisse’s collapse has left Switzerland grappling with the risks posed by “too-big-to-fail” institutions. UBS, now the country’s sole global bank, has argued against further capital requirements, warning that excessive regulation could harm its competitiveness and deter investment in Switzerland.

Nevertheless, the PUK report underscores the need for stricter oversight and systemic reforms. It urged the government to prioritize transparency, accountability, and proactive risk management to prevent a repeat of such a crisis.

As Switzerland’s financial sector faces calls for reform, the report serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between fostering market confidence and ensuring robust regulatory safeguards.