China's Xiaomi to invest nearly $7 bn in chips

Beijing: Chinese tech giant Xiaomi will invest 50 billion yuan ($6.9 billion) in developing high end smartphone chips, the firm s founder said on Mond...

Beijing: Chinese tech giant Xiaomi will invest 50 billion yuan ($6.9 billion) in developing high-end smartphone chips, the firm's founder said on Monday.

Xiaomi, which sells goods from smartphones to vacuum cleaners and EVs, is one of China's most prominent consumer electronics firms.

Writing on social media platform WeChat to mark the 15th year since the company's establishment, Lei Jun said: "chips are the underlying core track for Xiaomi to break through in cutting-edge technology, so we will definitely make an all-out effort".

In pursuit of Xiaomi's semiconductor ambitions, the firm has developed an investment plan involving "at least 10 years of investment and at least 50 billion yuan", Lei added.

Xiaomi took initial steps into semiconductors for smartphones with the launch of the firm's first in-house chip -- the Surge S1 -- in 2017.