Xiaomi

Xiaomi is a Chinese technology company based in Beijing. It makes consumer electronics, software, and electric vehicles. By 2025, it had become the world’s third-largest smartphone seller, trailing only Apple and Samsung. Most of its phones run on the Xiaomi HyperOS operating system, which was previously called MIUI. As of December 2025, the company reported 754.1 million global monthly active users. It ranks 232nd on the Fortune Global 500 and is the youngest company on that list. It has often been referred to as the “Apple of China.”

The company was founded in 2010 in Beijing by Lei Jun and six partners. Lei had previously been 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 sold 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, Counterpoint reported Xiaomi as the second-largest smartphone seller worldwide, with about 12% market share. The company also makes wearable devices and appliances such as televisions, flashlights, drones, and air purifiers, all part of its Internet of Things and Xiaomi Smart Home ecosystems.

Xiaomi keeps its prices low by selling most products for 18 months—longer than typical smartphone cycles—and by using inventory optimization and flash sales to minimize stock.

**History**

**2010–2013** Xiaomi was co-founded on 6 April 2010 by Lei Jun and six others: Lin Bin (vice president of Google China’s Institute of Engineering), Zhou Guangping (senior director of Motorola’s 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). Lei was unhappy with other phone makers’ products and believed he could create something better. On 16 August 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 joined to lead international expansion, becoming the first senior Android staffer poached by a smartphone maker. He left in February 2017. In September 2013, Xiaomi announced the Mi 3 smartphone and a 47-inch 3D-capable Smart TV assembled by Wistron. 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 set up an international headquarters in Singapore for expansion outside China. In April 2014, it bought the domain mi.com for a record $3.6 million, the most expensive domain ever purchased in China, replacing xiaomi.com as its main site. 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 All-Stars Investment Limited. In 2014, Xiaomi sold over 60 million smartphones, with 94% of revenue coming from phone sales. In April 2015, Ratan Tata acquired a stake in the company. On 30 June 2015, Xiaomi entered Brazil by launching locally manufactured Redmi 2 phones, its first assembly outside China, but left Brazil in the second half of 2016. On 26 February 2016, it launched the Mi5 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. On 3 March 2016, it launched the Redmi Note 3 Pro in India, the first phone with a Snapdragon 650 processor. On 10 May 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 selling in the European Union through a partnership with ABC Data. That same month, Roborock released the Xiaomi Mi Robot vacuum. On 26 October 2016, it launched the Mi Mix with a Snapdragon 821 processor. On 22 March 2017, it announced plans for a second manufacturing unit in India with Foxconn. On 19 April 2017, it launched the Mi6.