Chinese technology giant co-founded by Lei Jun in 2010. Only Apple and Samsung sell more smartphones worldwide. Xiaomi also sells a vast array of connected devices, from air-conditioners and robo-vacuums to scooters and televisions. The company claims around 700m monthly users across its devices globally. Its market value nearly quadrupled from the start of 2024 to reach HK$1.5trn ($190bn) by mid-2025, with revenue up 35% in 2024.
Xiaomi announced its carmaking ambitions in 2021 and launched its first EV, the SU7 sporty sedan, in 2024. The breadth of China's innovation ecosystem allowed it to build a successful EV business in about three years; within 15 months it had put more than 300,000 EVs on Chinese roads. Its second model, the YU7 electric SUV, attracted more than 200,000 orders within three minutes of going on sale. Mr Lei took personal control of the car project, unlike Apple, which ditched its own EV plans after spending billions over a decade.
A fatal crash involving an SU7's driver-assistance system in 2025 sparked heated discussion about China's fast roll-out of autonomous driving technology. China's industry ministry subsequently gathered 60 automakers to warn them against marketing L2 systems as "autonomous driving". Regulators later required Xiaomi to fix 117,000 SU7s over shortcomings in the driver-assistance system; the firm issued an over-the-air update.
Unlike its smartphone business, which relied on contract manufacturing, Xiaomi chose to build its own EV factory in Beijing. It is expanding this approach: it began producing smartphones at a second Beijing facility in 2024 and is building a plant in Wuhan for connected devices. The EV division has so far been unprofitable, but Mr Lei has said he expects it to turn a profit. Xiaomi plans to start selling EVs abroad by 2027 and intends to open 10,000 shops overseas (up from a few hundred) to display cars alongside consumer electronics.
Xiaomi's marketing relies heavily on Mr Lei's cult following in China. Devoted "Mi Fans" collect company memorabilia and race to buy each new product. Wuhan University reportedly enjoyed a surge in interest because Mr Lei attended it some 30 years ago. Many of Xiaomi's earliest Chinese smartphone customers, who were in their early 20s a decade ago, are now in their mid-30s—the target demographic for its EVs.
Xiaomi has started including satellite-call functions in its smartphones.
Roughly half of Xiaomi's staff work in research and development, on which it spent $3.4bn in 2024—more than its net profit. It has unveiled an advanced three-nanometre chip of its own design, and has developed a humanoid robot called CyberOne. Nearly half of its smartphone and connected-device revenue comes from overseas, primarily developing markets such as India and Indonesia.
One would like to stroke and caress human beings, but one dares not do so, because they bite.