(Yicai Global) March 15 – The founder of Chinese tech giant Baidu, Inc. expects autonomous cars to emerge on China's open roads within three to five years.

Driverless vehicles, driven by artificial intelligence, represent the biggest challenge that the auto industry has faced in the last hundred years, said Robin Li, head of the Beijing-based firm, in an interview on the sidelines of the Two Sessions in Beijing.

More and more tech companies, including Baidu, choose to make their technology platforms open-source and share AI technology with the public, Li said on the subject of the future competitive landscape of the auto sector. As a result, virtually all auto factories will have access to the most sophisticated AI technology. This will not only enable them to keep afloat but also provide more options for consumers.

The use of AI represents a vast transformation comparable to the industrial revolution, Lee said.

"Unimaginable products are on the horizon," he said adding that AI will be one of China's most important driving forces of economic growth in the coming two to five decades, and Baidu aims to facilitate this process.