Xiaomi Corporation is one of the most popular and fastest-growing electronics companies in the world, known for its high-quality and affordable products. However, how much do you know about the company’s history and the people behind it? In this blog post, we’ll dive deep into the background of Xiaomi and explore the story of its founder, Lei Jun. From the company’s inception to its rapid expansion in the global market, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Xiaomi and its journey to becoming a major player in the consumer electronics industry. So, if you’re interested in learning more about this innovative and forward-thinking company, keep reading!
About Xiaomi (Intro)
Xiaomi Corporation is a multinational electronics company headquartered in Beijing, China. Founded in 2010, Xiaomi has quickly become one of the world’s leading smartphone manufacturers, as well as a major player in the global consumer electronics market.
The company’s products include smartphones, laptops, tablets, wearables, smart home devices, and other consumer electronics products. Xiaomi is known for offering high-quality products at affordable prices, as well as a commitment to customer satisfaction and user experience.
Xiaomi’s global expansion has been driven by its focus on emerging markets such as India and Southeast Asia, as well as partnerships with major retailers in Europe and the United States. The company has also developed its own Android-based operating system, MIUI, as well as a range of services such as Mi Cloud, a cloud storage service.
With its innovative products, commitment to customer satisfaction, and focus on affordability, Xiaomi is poised to continue its rapid growth and become a major player in the global consumer electronics market.
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Products and Services
Xiaomi is best known for its smartphones, which are sold under the Mi and Redmi brands. The company’s latest flagship smartphone, the Xiaomi Mi 11, boasts a large AMOLED display, high-end cameras, and fast charging capabilities.
Xiaomi also offers a range of other consumer electronics products, including laptops, tablets, and smart home devices. The Xiaomi Mi Notebook is a popular laptop that offers high performance and a sleek design at an affordable price.
In addition to hardware products, Xiaomi also provides a range of services, including MIUI, the company’s Android-based operating system, and Mi Cloud, a cloud storage service.
Brands
Who founded Xiaomi Corporation?
Xiaomi was founded in Beijing by Lei Jun, a well-known entrepreneur in China. The company’s first product was the MIUI firmware for Android smartphones, which was released in 2010. In 2011, Xiaomi released its first smartphone, the Xiaomi Mi 1, which was well-received in China for its low price and high specifications.
Innovation and development
Xiaomi was ranked 2nd in the world for industrial design registrations under the Hague System in 2020, according to the World Intellectual Property Indicators report by WIPO. The company had 216 designs published, up from its 3rd place ranking with 111 designs in 2019.
Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei, announced plans to enter the high-end smartphone market and surpass Apple as the top seller of premium smartphones in China within three years. To achieve this goal, the company plans to invest US$15.7 billion in R&D over the next five years and benchmark its products against Apple’s. Xiaomi’s market share in China has decreased over the past few quarters, reaching 13.2% as of Q4 2021.
According to Canalys, Xiaomi leads in smartphone sales in India in Q1, and the company maintains device affordability.
In 2022, Xiaomi unveiled a humanoid robot prototype to the public, demonstrating the company’s ambition to integrate AI into its product designs and develop the robot project further in the future. However, the current state of the robot’s abilities is limited.
History
Xiaomi is a Chinese word that means “millet”. However, the company’s CEO, Lei Jun, suggested in 2011 that the name has more meaning. He explained that “Xiao” (小) is linked to the Buddhist concept that a single grain of rice is as valuable as a mountain. This suggests that Xiaomi wants to start with small things rather than striving for perfection right away. The “mi” (米) in Xiaomi stands for Mobile Internet and “mission impossible,” referring to the challenges the company faced when starting up. Lei Jun also mentioned that he thinks the name is cute. In 2012, he added that the name is about revolution and innovation in a new area. Some sources have linked the name to the Communist Party of China’s “millet and rifle” (小米加步枪) revolutionary idiom during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Xiaomi’s new “Rifle” processor lends weight to this interpretation.
2010-2013
Xiaomi Corporation was founded on 6 April 2010 by Lei Jun and six others, including Lin Bin, Zhou Guangping, Liu De, Li Wanqiang, Huang Jiangji, and Hong Feng. Lei Jun had previously founded Kingsoft and Joyo.com, which he sold to Amazon for $75 million in 2004. Dissatisfied with the products of other mobile phone manufacturers, Lei Jun decided to create a better product.
In August 2010, Xiaomi launched its first Android-based firmware MIUI, and in the same year, it raised $41 million in a Series A round. The company launched its first phone, the Xiaomi Mi1, in August 2011, which had the MIUI firmware along with Android installation. In December 2011, the company raised $90 million in a Series B round.
Xiaomi continued to grow and raise funds, with a Series C round raising $216 million of funding in June 2012 at a $4 billion valuation. Institutional investors participating in the first round of funding included Temasek Holdings, IDG Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and Qualcomm.
In August 2013, the company hired Hugo Barra from Google, where he served as vice president of product management for the Android platform, to expand the company outside of mainland China. This move made Xiaomi the first company selling smartphones to poach a senior staffer from Google’s Android team. However, Barra left the company in February 2017.
In September 2013, Xiaomi announced its Xiaomi Mi3 smartphone and an Android-based 47-inch 3D-capable Smart TV assembled by Sony TV manufacturer Wistron of Taiwan. By October 2013, it had become the fifth-most-used smartphone brand in China. In 2013, Xiaomi sold 18.7 million smartphones.
2014-2017
In February 2014, Xiaomi announced its expansion beyond China, setting up an international headquarters in Singapore. In April 2014, they acquired the domain name mi.com for $3.6 million, which became the company’s main domain name. In September 2014, they purchased a 24.7% stake in Roborock, and in December 2014, raised over $1.1 billion at a valuation of over $45 billion, led by All-Stars Investment Limited.
Xiaomi sold over 60 million smartphones in 2014, with 94% of its revenue coming from mobile phone sales. In April 2015, Ratan Tata invested in Xiaomi, and in June of the same year, they entered the Brazilian market.
The company launched new smartphones such as the Mi5, Redmi Note 3 Pro, and Mi Max, which were powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. In September 2016, Xiaomi began sales in the European Union, and in the same year, acquired patents from Microsoft. In 2017, Xiaomi entered into a patent licensing agreement with Nokia and opened Mi Stores in various countries, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Greece.
In Q3 2017, Xiaomi became the largest smartphone brand in India, selling 9.2 million units during the quarter. On 7 November 2017, they started selling products in Spain and Western Europe.
2018-2021
In April 2018, Xiaomi launched a gaming smartphone brand called Black Shark with 6GB of RAM and Snapdragon 845 SoC, priced lower than its competitors. In the same month, the company also announced the launch of Mi Music and Mi Video in India, as well as a partnership with 3 to sell smartphones in several European countries.
In May 2018, Xiaomi started selling smart home products in the United States through Amazon. The company went public in June 2018 through an initial public offering in Hong Kong, raising $4.72 billion.
In August 2018, Xiaomi announced POCO ↗ as a new smartphone line and in Q4 of the same year, POCO F1 became the best-selling smartphone sold online in India. In October 2019, Xiaomi revealed plans to launch over 10 5G phones in 2020, including the Mi 10/10 Pro with 5G functionality.
In January 2020, POCO became a separate sub-brand of Xiaomi, and in the same year, Xiaomi launched its first foldable phone, Mi Mix Fold, and showcased its 40W wireless charging solution.
Xiaomi became the third-largest smartphone maker in the world by shipment volume in October 2020, and in March 2021, the company announced plans to invest $10 billion in electric vehicles over the following ten years. In July 2021, Xiaomi became the second-largest smartphone maker globally and surpassed Apple for the first time in Europe.
In August 2021, Xiaomi acquired autonomous driving company Deepmotion for $77 million, and in December 2021, the company announced the release of Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12 Pro powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset.
2021-present day
In April 2022, Xiaomi joined the Car Connectivity Consortium board. In May 2022, a court in India lifted a $725 million freeze on Xiaomi by federal agencies. In June 2022, Xiaomi established Zhuhai Xinshi Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd., a joint venture with Hubei Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Fund Management and others. In July 2022, Xiaomi and its sub-brand POCO had a 42% market share in the Russian smartphone market. In August 2022, Xiaomi India appointed COO Murali Krishnan B as president. In December 2022, Xiaomi announced that global sales of the Redmi Note series had exceeded 300 million units. On 28 February 2023, Redmi released a 300W fast charging technology that can fully charge a 4100mAh battery within 5 minutes.
