Xiaomi, Chinese technology company that manufactures smartphones, lifestyle products, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, as well as offering Internet services. Xiaomi was founded in April 2010 by Chinese entrepreneur Lei Jun, a graduate of Wuhan University and former president of the software company Kingsoft, along with seven partners. The company consistently ranks among the world’s top smartphone manufacturers. It is headquartered in Beijing.
In 2010 Xiaomi made its market debut by creating a customized version of the Android operating system, which allowed users to expand its functionalities and personalize their smartphones’ interfaces. The Xiaomi version of Android, named MIUI, was being used by 30 million users by 2013 and more than 600 million users by 2023.
One year after its founding, Xiaomi released the Mi 1, its first Android-based mobile phone. The next year, it followed up with the Mi 2, which saw sales of more than 10 million devices within a year. Xiaomi solidified its success as a mobile phone company with the launch of the later versions of the Mi line (the Mi 3 and Mi 4), as well as the launch of a budget line (Redmi). Xiaomi had become the most popular smartphone brand in China by 2014, overtaking Samsung, and achieved the fourth position worldwide in 2015.
In 2016, however, Xiaomi’s sales plunged. Within China, its industry position fell from first to fifth, and its annual global sales declined from approximately 70 million devices in the previous year to 40 million devices that year. Lei attributed Xiaomi’s losses to distribution-chain difficulties.
Even so, the company rapidly bounced back, and in 2019 Xiaomi appeared on the Fortune Global 500 list for the first time, notably being the youngest company on the list. Moreover, in 2020 the corporation outperformed Apple as a top smartphone vendor by selling 47.1 million units. Xiaomi subsequently regained and exceeded its former global position. In 2020, 55 percent of Xiaomi’s total revenue came from overseas markets, which was a record high for the corporation. By 2023 more than 600 million people were using Xiaomi’s MIUI-based devices, which included both phones and tablets, and the company had more than 650 million other types of smart devices available for purchase.
Xiaomi’s product offerings have expanded well beyond smartphones to include power banks, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, security cameras, electric scooters, and even products such as backpacks and umbrellas. Xiaomi’s diversification is reflected in its revenue sources. In 2022 approximately 60 percent of Xiaomi’s revenues were attributable to mobile phone sales, 30 percent to IoT devices and lifestyle products, and 10 percent to Internet services. Furthermore, though Xiaomi’s original direct-to-customer strategy allowed it to save on costs, it has since opened more than 6,000 stores outside China. In October 2023 Xiaomi announced the release of a new operating system called HyperOS.