Xiaomi: The Popular Chinese Electronics Company
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‘Quality products at honest pricing’ is almost everyone’s need. Xiaomi has a separate fan base for its high-grade products built with cutting-edge technology at reasonable prices. Xiaomi is a Chinese company that has its major ground in electronics. The company has a presence in over 100 countries and regions and has been hailed as the world's most-valued tech startup already in 2014. Xiaomi currently ranks in the 70th position on the Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands in 2021 by Kantar BrandZ.
Xiaomi Mobiles have also gained much popularity in India, which has only seen growth year on year. The company tops the list of the best-selling phones in India. Xiaomi India even made it to the ‘GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS’ by building the largest light mosaic (logo) in the world. It was set by placing 9,690 bulbs and this momentous work is found on the terrace of Xiaomi’s head office in Bengaluru. Here are some more interesting facts and figures about Xiaomi.
This article is all about the journey and functioning of Xiaomi. Know more about Xiaomi and its history, its Founders and Team, origin, Startup Story, background, Business Model, revenue model, IPO, Funding and Investors, Revenue Model, Competitors, and more.
Xiaomi – Company Highlights
| Startup Name | Xiaomi |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
| Sector | Consumer Electronics |
| Founders | Lei Jun |
| Founded | April 2010 |
| Parent Organization | Xiaomi.Inc |
| Website | Mi.com |
About Xiaomi
Xiaomi - Founders/Owners
Xiaomi - History
Xiaomi - Name, Tagline & Logo
Xiaomi - Funding & Investors
Xiaomi - Competitors
Xiaomi - Revenue Model
Xiaomi - Growth & Revenue
Xiaomi - Future Plans
About Xiaomi
Xiaomi is an electronics company based in Beijing, China. It was founded by Lei Jun in April 2010, and in 2014, Xiaomi was the largest smartphone company in China. Today, Xiaomi is one of the top five smartphone vendors in the world. The smartphone commodities of Xiaomi include different series such as Mi Series, Mi Note Series, Mi Max Series, Mi Mix Series, Mi NoteBook Series, Redmi Series (Redmi 9, Redmi 8, Redmi 9i, Redmi 9a), Blackshark, and Pocophone. Xiaomi has around 291.6 million active users for its MIUI updates. Besides, the company also offers laptops, mobile apps, mobile accessories, wearables, home appliances, and smart-home devices.
In 2019, Xiaomi even started selling accessories such as caps, bags, glasses, backpacks, and also lunchboxes, pillows, cups, filters, umbrellas, and screwdrivers.
In 2018, Xiaomi launched Mi Credit in India for easy accessibility of personal loans. The Xiaomi company also offers various value-added-internet services like 'Mi Music', 'Mi Video', and 'Mi Game'.
Pooja Uniyal
Xiaomi - Founders/Owners
Lei Jun
Lei Jun is the founder, CEO, and President of Xiaomi. The other co-founders are Lin Bin, Dr. Zhou Guangping, Liu De, Li Wanqiang, Wong Kong-Kat, Hong Feng, and Chuan Wang.
Lei Jun is a graduate in computer science from Wuhan University. In 1992, Lei Jun joined Kingsoft, a Chinese software company as an engineer. In 1998, Lei Jun became the CEO of Kingsoft. In December 2007, he resigned from Kingsoft for health-related issues. While he was still working with Kingsoft, Lei Jun founded an online bookstore named Joyo.com. Joyo.com was acquired by Amazon.com in 2004.
After resigning from Kingsoft, Lei Jun became an angel investor and invested in over 20 companies. He still invests in various companies through Shunwei Capital. In 2008, he joined UC Web as Chairman, and in 2010 Lei Jun founded Xiaomi.
Xiaomi co-founder & Vice Chairman, Lin Bin is a graduate in radio electronics and holds a rich experience of working with companies like ADP, Microsoft, and Google. Lin Bin is also a member of the board of advisors of Tufts University School of Engineering located in Boston (USA).
Dr. Zhou Guangping, who has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, worked with Motorola and held various pivotal positions in the company before joining Xiaomi. Dr. Zhou led the hardware and BSP teams at Xiaomi. Currently, Dr. Zhou Guangping works with Motorola as Director of Engineering.
Liu De is an M.S. and an expert in Industrial design. He is the co-founder and Senior Vice President of the company. He established the Industrial Design Department at the University of Science and Technology Beijing. In 2003, Liu De founded 'New Edge', an Industrial Design Company. Mr. Liu currently looks after the industrial design and Ecosystem Development teams at Xiaomi.
Li Wanqiang is known as one of the earliest UI and HCI experts in China. He is a former Senior VP/Chief Brand Officer at Xiaomi Corp. After completing his graduation in Industrial Engineering in 2000, Mr. Wanqiang joined Kingsoft, where he led many important and well-known software projects. In 2010 Wanqiang joined Xiaomi as a co-founder.
Wong Kong-Kat graduated in computer science in 1997 and joined Microsoft, where he worked till 2010. Mr. Wong is now in charge of the Mi wifi and Mi Cloud teams.
Hong Feng holds a post-graduate degree in computer science. He started his career with Siebel System as a Lead Software Engineer. In 2006, Mr. Hong joined Google as a Senior Software Engineer. Later he also looked after the development of the various localized products of Google (in China) like Google Music and Google Pinyin Input as a Senior Product Manager at Google China. Mr. Hong now looks after the MIUI division at Xiaomi.
Xiaomi co-founder Chuan Wang is a seasoned entrepreneur. In 1997, Mr. Wang founded Thunderstone Technology, which grew to be the largest VOD (Video on Demand) system provider in China. In 2007 Chuan Wang founded a digital book company named Beijing Duokan Technology of which he is currently the CEO. In 2012, Mr. Wang joined Xiaomi as the co-founder and Vice President. Presently he manages the Mi TV and Mi Box teams at Xiaomi.
Rishabh Rathi
Xiaomi - History
Lei Jun founded Xiaomi in 2010, as a software company and created MIUI ROM based on Google's Android. The idea behind developing MIUI was to offer more functionalities and a better UI than Android. MIUI indeed got the popularity it deserved. As per reports in March 2020, the MAU ( Monthly Active Users) of MIUI increased to 330.7 million worldwide.
In 2011 Xiaomi entered the hardware segment by launching the Mi One phone. The Xiaomi team's focus has been on creating quality hardware devices and selling them at comparatively lower costs than those available in the market while they intended to make revenue through their services and content. The company today not only sells mobile phones but more mobile apps, wearables, home appliances, and smart home devices.
Xiaomi - Name, Tagline & Logo
The meaning of the word ‘Xiaomi’ is ‘Millet’ and few reports show that it also means ‘Rice’. Lei Jun relates the word ‘Xiao’ to the Buddhist concept that, a single grain of rice is as great as a mountain’, indicating the company’s endurance. “Only for fans” was its tagline before.
The logo of the company shows the word ‘MI’. It is the abbreviation for “Mobile Internet”, but Xiaomi has mentioned that it can also be read as “Mission Impossible”, representing all the challenges the company has faced so far.
Xiaomi - Funding & Investors
Xiaomi has raised funding worth approx. $7.4 Billion over 15 different funding rounds. Xiaomi went public in 2018.
| Date | Stage | Amount | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2, 2020 | Post-IPO Debt | $855M | - |
| December 2, 2020 | Post-IPO Equity | $3.1B | - |
| April 2018 | Secondary Market | $800K | Qualcomm Ventures |
| July 28, 2017 | Debt Financing | $1B | Morgan Stanely, Deutsche bank, NGP Capital |
| March 1, 2016 | Secondary Market | - | - |
| April 27, 2015 | Funding Round | - | Ratan Tata,DST Global,HOPU Fund,GIC,All-Stars Investment,YunFeng Capital |
| December 22, 2014 | Series E | $1.1B | - |
| October 29, 2014 | Debt Financing | $1B | Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase |
| August 22, 2013 | Series D | - | DST Global |
| June 2012 | Series C | - | Morningside Venture Capital |
| June 2012 | Series C | $216M | Morningside Group |
| December 2011 | Series B | $90M | IDG Capital, Shunwei Capital, Morningside Venture Capital |
| December 2010 | Series A | $41 Million | - |
Xiaomi - Competitors
Top competitors of Xiaomi include Samsung Electronics, Apple, Huawei, Samsung, OnePlus, and Oppo. Xiaomi sustains its paramount position with constant updates and optimization along with marketing at reasonable prices. Apple and Samsung provide good quality phones but have high prices. Whereas Xiaomi provides a number of features at reasonable prices.
Redmi smartphones are priced at as low as 6000 rupees on Amazon, and Xiaomi continues to have the highest market share for smartphone shipments in India. One of Xiaomi's strongest competitors is Realme. Realme is a daughter brand of Oppo also coming up with equally great phones like Xiaomi. And thus there is strong competition between Realme and Xiaomi. Motorola and Samsung are increasing the competition. Samsung released the M series where they did focus on value for money without compromising necessary specs.
Devashish Shrivastava
Xiaomi - Revenue Model
Xiaomi’s primary source of revenue is from smartphones, the Internet of Things (IoT) and lifestyle products, internet services, and other miscellaneous products and services that the company offers.
A major portion of Xiaomi's revenue comes from the sale of smartphones. In 2018, the company is reported to have sold 119 million smartphones. Around 25% of Xiaomi's revenue comes from IoT and Lifestyle products. The company deals in a wide variety of IoT-enabled products like smart TVs, electric scooters, vacuum cleaners, cameras, rearview mirrors, etc. As regards the internet-based services provided by the company, pre-loaded apps and services form a good part of Xiaomi's revenue. Besides the company offers monthly subscriptions to its TV shows, games, and movies, and also earns by providing advertisement services.
Xiaomi - Growth & Revenue
In the third quarter of 2024, Xiaomi achieved record revenue and strong earnings growth. Total revenue for the quarter reached RMB92.5 billion, marking a 30.5% year-over-year increase. Within segments, the smartphone × AIoT segment generated RMB82 billion in revenue during the same period. Xiaomi has grown in sales and product ranges.
However, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the smartphone company saw a decline in the Q1 of 2020. However, Xiaomi has also been declared as the only brand among the top five smartphone sellers, to achieve comparatively sound sales in the first quarter of 2020. It saw a 1.4% YoY from 2019, during the first quarter of 2020.
In 2019, Xiaomi’s total revenue was approximately RMB 205.84 Billion, and gross profit was nearly RMB 28.55 Billion. In the Q4 of 2019, the company’s total revenue grew by 27.1% to RMB 56.5 Billion with an attuned net profit of RMB 2.3 Billion and a 26.5% YoY increase.
“Despite headwinds from the Sino-US trade war and global economic downturn, Xiaomi stood out in 2019 with a commendable set of results as our revenue exceeded RMB 200 billion for the first time. We also celebrated several key milestones, ranging from the successful launch of our dual-brand strategy as Xiaomi and Redmi are spun-off and independently operated, the affirmation of ‘5G+AIoT’ as our strategic roadmap, to our inaugural entries into the prestigious ranks of the Fortune Global 500 and BrandZ’s Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands” says, Mr. Lei Jun, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Xiaomi.
According to reports dated September 1, 2021, Xiaomi has revealed that it would not be launching any more of its products with the Mi brand. The Chinese tech giant has decided to withdraw the "MI" name from all their future products.
Devashish Shrivastava
Xiaomi - Future Plans
Xiaomi has ambitious future plans:
- Market Expansion: Xiaomi aims to open 2 more stores in Singapore by 2025, reaching 10 stores, and expand to 219 sales stores and 143 service centers by 2024.
- R&D Investment: The company plans to invest 30 billion yuan (US$4.1 billion) in 2025, focusing on AI, operating systems, and chips.
- Electric Vehicles (EVs): Xiaomi is developing smart EVs with advanced features, though it currently faces net losses despite a strong profit margin.
- Carbon Neutrality: Xiaomi targets carbon neutrality by 2040 and will transport 2.32 million products via sea and rail in 2022 to cut emissions.
- Smart Device Ecosystem: Xiaomi is dedicated to creating a connected world of smart devices.
Xiaomi’s vision is to make quality technology accessible to everyone, i.e., “Innovation for everyone”. The company makes this possible with its high-quality products and remarkable services.
Alan Joseph
According to reports, Xiaomi has 7 factories in India, four of which are in Andhra Pradesh, two in Tamil Nadu, and one in Noida. As claimed by the company about 99% of Xiaomi phones are produced in India. The company has also started a pilot project whereby the company is exporting Xiaomi phones made in India to Bangladesh and Nepal. Besides smartphones, the company claims that almost 100% of smartphone chargers, USB cables, and batteries are made in India. Xiaomi also has a smart TV manufacturing plant in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
FAQs
Xiaomi company belongs to which country?
Xiaomi is a company based in China.
What is Xiaomi?
Xiaomi is a Chinese multinational company that designs and manufactures smartphones, smart home devices, laptops, and consumer electronics. It was founded in 2010 by Lei Jun and is known for offering high-quality products at affordable prices. Xiaomi also develops software, including its MIUI operating system based on Android.
What is Xiaomi HyperOS?
Xiaomi HyperOS is Xiaomi's new operating system that replaces MIUI. It offers faster performance, AI features, and better connectivity across devices like phones, tablets, and smart home products.
Which is Xiaomi parent company?
Xiaomi Corporation is its own parent company. It was founded by Lei Jun in 2010.
