Xiaomi is betting on synthetic intelligence to future-proof its sprawling {hardware} empire, pouring large assets into open-source fashions to make sure its subsequent technology of smartphones and electrical autos (EVs) doesn’t get left behind in an AI-driven market.
The Beijing-based agency’s newest AI mannequin, MiMo-V2.5-Professional, launched final month, was ranked by third-party benchmark platform Synthetic Evaluation because the world’s high open-source mannequin for agentic capabilities – referring to an AI system’s means to autonomously perform complicated, multistep duties.
Topping the benchmark alerts early progress for an organization that solely began releasing open-source AI programs a yr in the past. It additionally comes as Xiaomi not too long ago dedicated greater than 60 billion yuan (US$8.8 billion) to AI investments over the following three years, underscoring its ambition to develop frontier AI fashions.
Analysts mentioned Xiaomi’s massive guess on AI was essential to serving to the corporate seize new alternatives because the rising know-how turned more and more embedded throughout {hardware} and units.
“AI is probably the most crucial issue for all tech shopper items corporations,” mentioned Hayden Hou, principal analyst at analysis agency Canalys.
On the Synthetic Evaluation benchmark, Xiaomi’s MiMo-V2.5-Professional got here in second and third in total intelligence and coding exams, trailing solely DeepSeek and Moonshot AI – two of the main AI labs in China – amongst open-source programs.
Hou mentioned Xiaomi’s AI playbook was not essentially meant to out-compete pure AI companies. As an alternative, having its AI know-how prepared may “make sure that at any time when new AI-hardware integration alternatives emerged”, Xiaomi may “launch corresponding merchandise immediately”, Hou mentioned.
Lei Jun, co-founder and CEO, mentioned on the firm’s investor day in Beijing on April 27 that Xiaomi wanted to grab the historic alternative introduced by AI, touting its “Human × Automotive × Dwelling” ecosystem and broad product portfolio – spanning smartphones to rice cookers – as a powerful basis for integration.
This aggressive ecosystem growth marks a definite departure from Xiaomi’s historic repute. For years, the corporate and its founder have been seen as imitators of US tech large Apple and its late co-founder Steve Jobs, from comparable consumer interfaces to Lei’s apparel selection of black T-shirts and denims at product launches.
Xiaomi, nevertheless, has carved out an edge in two development areas the place Apple has stumbled: AI integration and EVs. Whereas Apple’s long-rumoured automobile ambitions by no means materialised and its “Apple Intelligence” software program has struggled to maneuver the needle for customers, Xiaomi has entered the EV market to a heat home reception.
Three years after asserting its foray into EVs, Xiaomi in early 2024 launched the SU7, its debut electrical sedan that comes with a modern design and a powerful emphasis on in-car software program and sensible ecosystem integration with different Xiaomi merchandise. These embrace sensible glasses that might be used to reflect navigation data to cut back drivers’ reliance on in-vehicle screens.
Final yr, the corporate delivered greater than 410,000 autos – together with the SU7 and the YU7 sport utility automobile launched later – greater than tripling the 136,000 deliveries in 2024. The SU7 and the YU7 begin at 219,900 yuan and 233,500 yuan, respectively.
By comparability, main Chinese language EV makers Xpeng, Nio and Li Auto delivered greater than 429,000, 326,000 and 406,000 autos, respectively, final yr.
Phate Zhang, founding father of Shanghai-based knowledge supplier CnEVPost, credited China’s EV provide chain – “probably the most mature” on the earth – and deep expertise pool for Xiaomi’s profitable entry into the nation’s crowded EV market.
Zhang added that Xiaomi’s sturdy provide chain administration capabilities, constructed over a long time within the smartphone enterprise, enabled it to combine assets within the EV sector and develop aggressive fashions.
From AI to autos, Xiaomi’s growth was a calculated strategic transfer that might assist the corporate’s long-term improvement, despite the fact that it carried short-term dangers, in line with business consultants.
China’s EV sector remained in speedy improvement, offering additional development room in addition to attracting consideration that gave Xiaomi vital model publicity at a time when the Chinese language smartphone market was saturating and know-how developments have been peaking, Zhang mentioned.
He added that Xiaomi was capable of unfold sure analysis and improvement (R&D) prices by transferring cellular software program experience to EVs, lowering total bills.
Xiaomi has additionally developed its personal chips, with XRing O1 utilized in a few of its premium units, together with the Xiaomi 15S Professional handset and the Xiaomi Pad 7 Extremely.
At a launch occasion final yr, the corporate mentioned the XRing O1, constructed on a 3-nanometre lithography course of and packing 19 billion transistors on the system-on-chip – a density on par with Apple’s A18 collection – outperformed Apple’s newest A18 Professional chip in sure benchmarks.
Hovering investments may pose dangers, with restricted short-term returns and lengthy payback cycles, mentioned Hou of Canalys. Xiaomi had mentioned its R&D funding would practically double to 200 billion yuan over the following 5 years, in contrast with 105.5 billion yuan within the earlier five-year interval.
However the large capital outlay and Xiaomi’s three-pronged push into AI, EVs and chips have been a long-term technique and a needed step for any know-how firm that needed to outlive, Hou mentioned. South China Morning Put up