Tech firm Xiaomi Corp. raises $1.1 billion in funding round
Lei Jun of Xiaomi Corp. attends the first World Internet Conference in Wuzhen in November 2014.
Xiaomi Corp. raised $1.1 billion in a new funding round that values China’s largest smartphone vendor at $45 billion, or about triple closest competitor Lenovo Group Ltd.
Investors in the financing include Yuri Milner’s DST, Singapore’s GIC Pte., and All-Stars Investment Ltd., according to a statement posted Monday on Xiaomi Chief Executive Lei Jun’s blog.
Lei is expanding overseas and unveiling new products, including an air purifier, to build on growth in China, where Xiaomi leads Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc. in smartphone sales. The company uses a combination of high-end features and low prices to lure customers from Samsung and Apple, and now is expanding into content and services.
In the September quarter, Xiaomi was the world’s third-largest vendor behind Samsung and Apple, according to Strategy Analytics. Lei plans to sell 100 million phones next year after expanding into India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
In China, Xiaomi had 15% market share in the third quarter followed by Lenovo at 13%, according to International Data Corp.
