Over the next five years, the Chinese Xiaomi bag will invest some USD 7 billion (EUR 6.3 billion) in three areas from which it is expected to benefit significantly. Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G and the Internet of Things will receive a substantial cash injection in the coming years.
CEO Lei Jun made that announcement this week. “We must turn our constant advantage in the Internet of Things and AI into a convincing victory to confirm our status as rulers in the smart era.”
Chinese competition
The $7 billion investment is not entirely unexpected: in recent years, competitor Huawei (also Chinese) managed to grow significantly in the smartphone market. Recently, the manufacturer announced that it owns about 42 percent of the Chinese phone market. Xiaomi has also partly shifted to other markets, such as the manufacture of laptops and smart TVs. The latter is something to which Huawei also responds by now.
Last year, Xiaomi also announced a substantial investment, which amounted to ten billion yen over the next five years. That amount would go entirely to AIoT, or a combination of AI and Internet of Things.
For 2020, there is already a promise to deliver on the calendar: in 2020, ten 5G phones should be launched under the flag of Xiaomi. Lei announced this in October (2019).