Xiaomi to invest 100 billion yuan in research over the next five years

Xiaomi Corp will invest 100 billion yuan (US$15.6 billion) in research over the next five years, including research on chip technology, the Internet of Things and other developmental areas.

Hong Kong-listed Xiaomi released its new flagship Xiaomi 12 models with self-developed power management chips and various new technologies. It makes the 2022 flagship model "completely competitive" with Apple's iPhone 13 models, said Lei Jun, Xiaomi's chief executive.

"Xiaomi is making complete efforts to enhance core technology development," Lei said in an online event on Tuesday night.

In the next five years, Xiaomi will invest 100 billion yuan in research, double its original planned amount. In 2021, Xiaomi invested 13 billion yuan, a 30 percent increase from last year.

The investment figure doesn't include acquisitions, such as Xiaomi's latest acquisitions of vehicular and robot technologies, the company said.

By November, Xiaomi had 500 million smartphone users. The monthly active users of its MIUI system, which links smartphone and intelligent devices, also hit 500 million.

With enhanced research investment and a huge user base, Xiaomi aims to take the top position in the world's smartphone market within three years. The new Xiaomi 12 models will help the company compete in high-end global markets, Lei added.

In the third quarter, Xiaomi ranked the third with a 13.4 percent share in the global smartphone market, trailing only Samsung's 20.8 percent and Apple's 15.2 percent, according to researcher IDC.

Chinese firms Vivo and OPPO tied for fourth place with about 10 percent market share each.