Xiaomi

Xiaomi (/ˈʃaʊmi/; Chinese: 小米集团) is a Chinese multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Beijing, China. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and electric vehicles. It is the second-largest manufacturer of smartphones in the world, behind Samsung, most of which run on the Xiaomi HyperOS (former MIUI) operating system. The company is ranked 338th and is the youngest company on the Fortune Global 500. It has been called the "Apple of China".

Xiaomi was founded in 2010 in Beijing by Lei Jun along with six associates. Lei had founded Kingsoft as well as Joyo.com, the latter of which he sold to Amazon for $75 million in 2004. In August 2011, Xiaomi released its first smartphone and, by 2014, it had the largest market share of smartphones sold in China. Initially the company only sold its products online; however, it later opened brick and mortar stores. By 2015, it was developing a wide range of consumer electronics. In 2020, the company sold 149.4 million smartphones and its MIUI (now Xiaomi HyperOS) mobile operating system has over 500 million monthly active users. As of August 2024, Xiaomi is the second-largest seller of smartphones worldwide, with a market share of about 12%, according to Counterpoint. It has come up with its own range of wearable items. It also is a major manufacturer of appliances including televisions, flashlights, unmanned aerial vehicles, and air purifiers using its Internet of things and Xiaomi Smart Home product ecosystems.

Xiaomi keeps its prices close to its manufacturing and bill of materials costs by keeping most of its products in the market for 18 months, longer than most smartphone companies. The company also uses inventory optimization and flash sales to keep its inventory low.