Xiaomi to Invest $1 Billion in 100 Indian Startups
Xiaomi plans to invest $1 billion in 100 Indian startups during the next five years, focusing on the construction of its smartphone ecosystem, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said in an interview with India Livemint on November 20.
Xiaomi and Shunwei would invest in finance, technology, in-depth localization services and manufacturing, and would popularize mobile Internet in India, Lei said. Xiaomi and Shunwei have invested in six Indian Internet companies, including Hungama and KrazyBee.
SEE ALSO: IDC: Xiaomi and Samsung Tie for India’s No. 1 Handset Maker
“Over the last four years, we’ve invested $4 billion in more than 300 companies in China,” he said, “In the next five years, we will invest in 100 companies in India. We will replicate China’s successful ecosystem business model in India. We will have various types of services and products and integrate them. This is Xiaomi‘s business model. We focus on a few key things, while bringing in partners to provide everything else. Through the partnership model, we have achieved a huge scale in the past seven years.”
“Any application that increases the frequency of smartphone use is of interest to us. As long as it promotes the mobile Internet. We will only acquire small amount of stock. The objective is to work closely with these companies on the business side,” Lei said.
Xiaomi entered the Indian market in 2014. According to IDC, in the third quarter of this year, Xiaomi shipments accounted for 23.5 percent of the Indian smartphone market, making it the country’s top smartphone manufacturer. Samsung’s market share in India in Q3 was also 23.5 percent. In Q2, Xiaomi controlled 17 percent of the Indian market. India is currently Xiaomi‘s biggest market outside China.
