Xiaomi: whose company it is, the history of the brand and its owners

The question of whose company Xiaomi is often raised by users who are just getting acquainted with the world of Chinese gadgets. Despite the fact that smartphones and appliances of the manufacturer are ubiquitous, many still confuse the country of origin, confuse the brand with sub-brands or attribute it to other corporations. In fact, behind the logo hides one of the largest technology companies in the world, based in the People's Republic of China.

The founder and main face of the brand is Lei Jun, often referred to in China as “China’s Steve Jobs,” whose vision has transformed a small software company into a global giant that produces not only phones, but also smart TVs, electric scooters and even household appliances. Understanding the ownership structure helps to better navigate a huge range of devices.

In this article, we will take a closer look at the company’s history, find out who owns it now, and answer the most popular questions about Xiaomi’s origins, explain why the name is spelled exactly as the logo stands, and what place the brand occupies in China’s modern economy.

Historical background: who founded the company

The company's official founding date is April 6, 2010, when Lei Jun and a group of like-minded people registered the company in Beijing, and until then Lei had extensive experience in the field of business. IT-He worked for Kingsoft and venture capital, and his goal was to create smartphones that combined high performance and affordable price, which was a revolutionary idea for the time.

Xiaomi's first smartphone came out a year after its launch in 2011, and before that, it was developing its own MIUI shell for Android, and it was a popular tool for enthusiasts to build a loyal fan base before hardware was released.

Importantly, the company was initially positioned as an Internet startup, not a traditional electronics manufacturer, avoiding the cost of building factories at the outsourced stage, such as Qualcomm and Inventec, which allowed it to scale quickly and capture new markets.

Country of origin and geography of production

Xiaomi is certainly a Chinese company, headquartered in Beijing, in the Haidian district often referred to as China’s Silicon Valley, but the globalization of its business has led to manufacturing facilities and sales offices scattered around the world.

The main production of smartphones and other equipment is concentrated in China, particularly in the cities of Beijing and Langfang, where high-tech “smart factories” are built, where the assembly is carried out by robotic lines with minimal human participation, which ensures high quality products and low percentage of defects.

In addition, to reduce logistics costs and bypass customs duties, the company opened assembly lines in other countries:

• 🇮🇳 India is the largest manufacturing hub outside of China, where smartphones are assembled for the local market and exports.
• 🇮🇩 Indonesia: Plant Launched to Cover South East Asia Demand.
• 🇹🇷 Turkey is a production site that allows to supply equipment to Europe with lower duties.
• 🇧🇷 Brazil – local assembly for Latin America market.

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When buying a smartphone, pay attention to the box: “Made in India” or “Made in Indonesia” does not mean fake.

Despite its international presence, quality control and new model development remain the Chinese office’s prerogative, and it is Beijing that makes key decisions about its development strategy and the introduction of new technologies.

Ownership structure: who is the owner

Many users mistakenly believe that the brand is owned by the state or other giants like Huawei or Tencent.In fact, Xiaomi Corporation is a publicly traded company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2018, which means that the formally owned shareholders are the company.

But founder Lei Jun has a significant share of voting power, allowing him to maintain full control of the development strategy despite the presence of outside investors, and venture capital funds and technology companies are also among the large shareholders.

The ownership structure is as follows:

• 👤 Lei Jun, founder, chairman of the board of directors and CEO, (owns) controlling interest.
• 🏢 Investment funds are various venture capitalists who invested in the early stages.
• 📈 Public Shareholders – Shareholders after IPO 2018.

It is important to understand that Xiaomi is not a subsidiary of any other conglomerate, but is an independent corporation with its own ecosystem, and the group includes various subsidiaries that are involved in chip development, cloud services and Internet finance.

Mi Ecosystem and Partner Brands

One of the reasons for the confusion over who is the firm is the complex structure of the Mijia (formerly Smart Home) ecosystem, which Xiaomi does not manufacture all products on its own, and many devices, such as robot vacuum cleaners, air purifiers and cameras, are created by partners in the Xiaomi Ecosystem program.

These companies are independent legal entities, but they use Xiaomi’s technology, design code, and logistics channels. Their products often feature the “Mi” logo or “Designed by Xiaomi” label, which allows the brand to quickly expand its range without building new factories for each type of equipment.

The ecosystem’s well-known partners include:

• 🤖 Dreame and Roborock – manufacturers of robotic vacuum cleaners.

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Xiaomi acts as an investor and technology partner for hundreds of startups, combining them into a single smart home network managed through a single application.

When you buy a product with the Mijia logo, you buy a product that was developed by a partner but has passed strict quality control of the parent company, which distinguishes them from cheap Chinese “no-name” counterparts that copy the design but have nothing to do with Xiaomi’s technology.

Are Redmi and POCO also Xiaomi?

A frequent question from users is how sub-brands treat the company: Redmi was originally created as a budget line of smartphones inside Xiaomi, and in 2019 it was spun off as a separate independent brand, but legally and technologically it is wholly owned by Xiaomi Corporation.

A similar situation with the brand POCO. It was originally a series of smartphones inside Redmi, but later on, it was a series of smartphones. POCO It has become a brand that is focused on global markets and online sales, and despite the marketing division, engineering teams, service centers and operating systems share a common common vision.

A comparison of the main directions can be seen in the table:

So, when you buy a Redmi or POCO phone, you are actually a customer of the same company Xiaomi. The service centers are the same, and the warranty service is the same.

Decoding the name and meaning of the logo

The company's name comes from a combination of two Chinese words. "Xiao" means "little" and "Mi" means "rice." The literal translation is "little rice." Founder Lei Jun explained this by saying that rice is the basis of life for the Chinese, and the combination "Xiao Mi" can also be interpreted as "Mobile Internet" (mobile Internet) or "Mission Impossible" (impossible mission).

The company's logo has changed over the years, and for a long time it's been a green box with the letters "MI." In 2021, the company rebranded itself, paying famous designer Ken Nye a million dollars for a new shape, and the logo became more rounded, symbolizing the concept of "Alive."

There is also a popular joke among fans that the Xiaomi logo looks like an inverted letter "F", which refers to another popular brand, but this is only a coincidence of geometry. Officially, the logo is a stylized designation "MI", where the vertical line on the left symbolizes mobility and the right side is technology.

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