As the relationship between Chinese companies and the administration across the Atlantic is strained, Xiaomi has massively stepped up its investments in local technologies. While Huawei has been a bit caught off guard by decisions made in Washington DC, its main Chinese competitor, Xiaomi, has been able to anticipate certain events.
According to the daily Nikkei Asia, Xiaomi would have significantly increased its investments in at least 34 Chinese companies linked to mobile chips between 2019 and March 2021. The firm would also have invested in some 25 other technological hardware companies, beyond the semi- drivers, which concerns start-ups, display manufacturers, camera specialists and other automation and precision equipment.
A first in-house chip unveiled in March The economic newspaper specifies that the investments made by Xiaomi the were mainly through a subsidiary called Hubei Xiaomi Changjiang Industry Fund Partnership, a fund created in 2017 but not very active in its early years before investing in six semiconductor-related companies in 2019. The Last March 30, Xiaomi unveiled its first home chip, called Surge C1, which is used for processing images for photographic modules. It will be used in some of its new devices, including the Mi MIX Fold, its first foldable smartphone.
As a result of North American policy towards them, Chinese companies seem to be investing more and more in local technologies. Huawei, obviously forced by its chaotic situation, has itself invested in more than 20 companies related to chips in 2020.
Oppo , recently landed internationally, is also looking to develop its own chips and has recruited specialists in the Recall that Xiaomi was blacklisted by the US administration earlier this year on suspicion of having ties to the Chinese military. Xiaomi then counter-attacked in court in early February, a federal judge in Washington DC temporarily overturning this decision.
