The company, one of the world’s largest smartphone makers, has rapidly expanded since its launch in 2011 to produce electric vehicles, tablets and home appliances, and is now eyeing the AI market.
“In the field of AI, our plan for the next three years is to invest at least 60 billion yuan,” founder Lei Jun said late on Thursday at the launch event for its latest SU7 EV model, without specifying what the investment would target.
“There’s no doubt that we are entering a new era,” he said later that evening, adding that “individuals and companies all need to actively embrace this AI era”.
Xiaomi unveiled three new AI models earlier in the day, two of which had previously been tested anonymously on a third-party developer platform.
“We have perhaps kept a relatively low profile, but our actual progress may be much faster than people from the outside realise,” Lei said of the company’s AI efforts.
Xiaomi’s AI push, which began last year with the launch of its first large language model – MiMo-V2-Flash – is spearheaded by former DeepSeek researcher Luo Fuli, now heading a team whose average age is 25.
However, the three latest AI models are “truly built for the agent era”, Luo said on social media.
Agents – programmes that execute real-life tasks such as sending emails or booking flights – are being touted as AI’s next frontier after chatbots such as ChatGPT.
Xiaomi joins other Chinese tech giants racing to release similar AI agent tools.
Chinese media has speculated about the release of DeepSeek’s next-generation V4 model, which could reportedly launch as early as April.
Unicorn startups Zhipu AI and MiniMax have also been seen as a litmus test for China’s rapidly developing AI sector, drawing huge interest when they listed in Hong Kong in January.
Xiaomi also announced this month that it was testing a smartphone-based AI tool called MiClaw, allowing users to control their phones and home appliances using simple oral instructions. (AFP)
Edited by Tony Sabine
