(Yicai Global) Nov. 20 -- China's largest commercial bank China Citic Bank Corp. Ltd. [SHA:601998;HKG:0998] and internet giant Baidu Inc. [NASDAQ:BIDU] announced on Nov. 18 that they had founded CITIC aiBank Corp. Ltd. in Beijing to provide financial services using artificial intelligence, online media outlet Souhu reported.

The new firm will focus on services for individuals, small- and micro-sized businesses and farmers and agricultural companies in rural areas. Citic released three new products the same day it unveiled the new company, including consumer finance products and lending for small- and micro-sized enterprises, both purely online, and wealth management products.

AI will be the driving force of infrastructure and other key areas' development in the era of intelligent finance, said Lu Qi, Baidu's president and chief operating officer. The search giant will offer its artificial intelligence technology to the new company to help make it an intelligent financial services platform.

The new bank will seek to provide intelligent and inclusive finance by developing smart accounts, intelligent risk control and other features through online and offline banking. It will integrate its services into various life scenarios and industrial ecosystems, said Lin Rudong, president of Citic aiBank.