Baidu buys into credit rating firm

Search engine giant hopes the move will spur its development in internet finance

Baidu Inc has invested in a US financial technology company to transform its massive search data into credit scores, a move to fuel its development in internet finance where the Chinese online search giant trails behind its rivals Tencent Holdings Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

Los Angeles-based ZestFinance Inc, which uses machine learning to transform vast amounts of complex data into credit scores, said on Monday that it had received a strategic investment from Beijing-based Baidu. Baidu did not disclose the details of the investment.