Bloomberg , citing an anonymous source, reported that the domestically developed chip will give Xiaomi more control and differentiate itself in the Android market. Mass production of the chip is expected to begin in 2025.

Thus, Xiaomi joins the growing list of major tech companies investing in semiconductors, a key focus of Beijing's trade war with Washington. Chinese officials have repeatedly urged domestic businesses to reduce their reliance on foreign partners as much as possible. Xiaomi's move will help achieve this goal.

Xiaomi Bloomberg
Xiaomi will develop its own chips to reduce its reliance on Qualcomm and MediaTek. (Image: Bloomberg)

For Xiaomi, it marks its entry into another high-tech field. Previously, the company invested heavily in electric cars.

However, according to Bloomberg , breaking through in the mobile chip market is no easy task. Intel, Nvidia, and Oppo have all failed. Only Apple and Google have succeeded by switching their entire product line to self-designed chips. Even giants like Samsung have to rely on Qualcomm chips because of their superior performance and network connectivity.

Developing expertise in chips will help Xiaomi in producing smarter electric car models. Founder Lei Jun once revealed that the reason the company ventured into this new field was fear of US sanctions.

According to Lei, Xiaomi will invest approximately 30 billion yuan (US$4.1 billion) in R&D in 2025, up from 24 billion yuan this year. The company will focus on core technologies such as AI, operating systems, and chips.

(According to Bloomberg)