Xiaomi

Xiaomi is a Chinese multinational technology company based in Beijing. It is primarily recognized for its consumer electronics, software, and electric vehicles. As of 2025, it ranks as the world’s third-largest smartphone seller, trailing only Apple and Samsung. Most of its smartphones run on the Xiaomi HyperOS operating system (formerly MIUI). The company reported 754.1 million global monthly active users in December 2025. It is the youngest company on the Fortune Global 500, sitting at rank 232, and has been nicknamed the "Apple of China."

The company was founded in Beijing in 2010 by Lei Jun and six associates. Lei previously served as an executive at Kingsoft and helped found Joyo.com, which Amazon bought for $75 million in 2004. Xiaomi released its first smartphone in August 2011. By 2014, it held the largest market share for smartphones in China. Initially, it sold products only online, but later opened physical stores. By 2015, it was producing a broad range of consumer electronics. In 2020, it sold 149.4 million smartphones, and MIUI had over 500 million monthly active users. As of August 2024, according to Counterpoint, Xiaomi was the second-largest smartphone seller worldwide, with about 12% market share. The company also produces wearable devices and a variety of appliances—such as televisions, flashlights, unmanned aerial vehicles, and air purifiers—through its Internet of Things and Xiaomi Smart Home ecosystems. Xiaomi keeps prices close to its manufacturing and bill-of-materials costs by keeping most products on the market for 18 months, longer than typical smartphone companies. It also uses inventory optimization and flash sales to maintain low inventory levels. **History**

**2010–2013** Xiaomi was co-founded on April 6, 2010, by Lei Jun and six others: Lin Bin (former vice president of the Google China Institute of Engineering), Zhou Guangping (senior director of the Motorola Beijing R&D center), Liu De (department chair of Industrial Design at the University of Science and Technology Beijing), Li Wanqiang (general manager of Kingsoft Dictionary), Huang Jiangji (principal development manager), and Hong Feng (senior product manager for Google China). At the time, Lei was dissatisfied with other mobile phone makers and believed he could create a better product. On August 16, 2010, Xiaomi launched its first Android-based firmware, MIUI (now Xiaomi HyperOS). That same year, it raised $41 million in a Series A round. In August 2011, it released its first phone, the Xiaomi Mi 1, which ran both MIUI and Android. In December 2011, it raised $90 million in a Series B round. In June 2012, it raised $216 million in a Series C round at a $4 billion valuation, with investors including Temasek Holdings, IDG Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and Qualcomm. In August 2013, Xiaomi hired Hugo Barra from Google, where he had been vice president of product management for Android; he was tasked with expanding Xiaomi outside mainland China, making it the first smartphone company to poach a senior Android team member. Barra left in February 2017. In September 2013, Xiaomi announced the Mi 3 smartphone and a 47-inch 3D-capable Smart TV assembled by Sony TV manufacturer Wistron of Taiwan. By October 2013, it was the fifth most used smartphone brand in China. That year, it sold 18.7 million smartphones. **2014–2020** In February 2014, Xiaomi announced its international expansion, setting up a headquarters in Singapore. In April 2014, it bought the domain mi.com for a record price—the most expensive domain ever purchased in China—replacing xiaomi.com as its main domain. In September 2014, it acquired a 24.7% stake in Roborock. In December 2014, it raised $1.1 billion at a valuation over $45 billion, making it one of the world’s most valuable private tech companies; the round was led by Hong Kong-based All-Stars Investment Limited. In 2014, Xiaomi sold over 60 million smartphones, with 94% of its revenue coming from phone sales. In April 2015, Ratan Tata acquired a stake in the company. On June 30, 2015, Xiaomi expanded into Brazil, launching the locally manufactured Redmi 2—its first smartphone assembled outside China—but left Brazil in the second half of 2016. On February 26, 2016, it launched the Mi5 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. On March 3, 2016, it launched the Redmi Note 3 Pro in India, the first phone with a Snapdragon 650 processor. On May 10, 2016, it launched the Mi Max with a Snapdragon 650/652 processor. In June 2016, it acquired patents from Microsoft. In September 2016, it began sales in the European Union through a partnership with ABC Data. Also that month, Roborock released the Xiaomi Mi Robot vacuum. On October 26, 2016, it launched the Mi Mix with a Snapdragon 821 processor. On March 22, 2017, Xiaomi announced plans to set up a second manufacturing unit in India with Foxconn. On April 19, 2017, it launched the Mi6 with a Snapdragon 835 processor.