In Baidu's future Li sees what he calls "box computing," a ubiquitous and smart search-like box that replaces traditional operating systems in devices that boot up instantly. Via the box, users can search, launch applications and do a wide variety of computing tasks.

"The box understands your intentions," he said. "We're developing technology to support this."

Li doesn't foresee Baidu crashing the U.S. search market, because it's a mature market, but the company does have intentions to expand beyond China. It already has operations in Japan.