BEIJING: Chinese tech giant Xiaomi will invest 50 billion yuan (US$6.9 billion) in developing high-end smartphone chips, the firm’s founder said on Monday (May 19).
Xiaomi, which sells goods from smartphones to vacuum cleaners and EVs, is one of China’s most prominent consumer electronics firms.
Writing on social media platform WeChat to mark the 15th year since the company’s establishment, Lei Jun – who is also the company’s CEO – said “chips are the underlying core track for Xiaomi to break through in cutting-edge technology, so we will definitely make an all-out effort”.
In pursuit of Xiaomi’s semiconductor ambitions, the firm has developed an investment plan involving “at least 10 years of investment and at least 50 billion yuan”, Lei added.
Xiaomi took initial steps into semiconductors for smartphones with the launch of the firm’s first in-house chip – the Surge S1 – in 2017.
But the group was forced to halt production of the chip due to technical and financial obstacles, and has since refocused on other components as well as a move into the electric vehicle sector.
“That is not our ‘dark history’. That is the path we have travelled,” wrote Lei on Monday.
Since 2021, Xiaomi’s chip development program has already received 13.5 billion yuan in research and development funds for a team of more than 2,500 employees, said the billionaire entrepreneur.
The announcement comes in the face of heightened technological tensions between Beijing and Washington as both nations seek to ensure access to the most advanced components.
A number of Chinese firms are racing to develop their own chips with the aim of freeing themselves from reliance on foreign suppliers in the face of that rivalry.
“Xiaomi has always had a ‘chip dream’,” Lei wrote, adding: “I earnestly request everyone to give us more time and patience to support our continued exploration on this road.”
