Xiaomi plans to increase its R&D budget to $29 billion, urging competitors to follow suit.

Xiaomi — a new player in the automotive industry

By global standards, Xiaomi is considered a young automaker, but it has already completed the production of its first generation electric vehicle SU7, which recently underwent a restyling. The company’s management stated that for private business in China it is critically important to invest more funds in developing new technologies and plans to double R&D spending over the next five years.

Explanation by Lei Jun

These words were spoken by Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun during an interview with China News Service. He noted that the main strength of private companies lies in their closeness to the market and users: “We can react quickly and implement new technologies in real scenarios, creating scalable products.”

Investment history

Over the past five years, Xiaomi has spent approximately $14.5 billion on research and development. At this stage, the company has released not only electric vehicles but also its own semiconductor chips, as well as a number of technological innovations.

Future plans

- This year: combine an in‑house processor, AI model, and operating system into one device.
- Next five years: double R&D expenses to $29 billion. Some of these funds will be directed toward robotics development. The company has long discussed creating a humanoid robot; a prototype called CyberOne was unveiled in 2022.

Other directions

- 3‑nm processor for smartphones: first introduced last year.
- Stationary energy storage systems: Xiaomi views them as a way to repurpose used electric vehicle batteries and meet the demand for power sources in data centers.

Competitors

Automakers Li Auto and Xpeng are also investing in creating humanoid robots. Xpeng plans mass production of such robots by the end of this year.