Who made Xiaomi: from startup to tech giant

When you hold a Xiaomi smartphone, a tablet, or a Mi Band smartwatch, you don’t think about how the company came into being. Meanwhile, the brand’s story is about how a group of enthusiasts from China, over 13 years, turned a modest startup into one of the leaders of the global electronics market. Xiaomi is now competing with Apple and Samsung, but few people know that in 2010 the company had only 8 employees and an office of 20 square meters.

In this article, we will explore who really created Xiaomi, the people who were at the forefront, and how they built a tens of billions of dollars empire. You will learn not only about founder Lei Jun, but also about the key engineers, designers and managers who shaped the brand philosophy, and why the company still calls itself a “startup” despite its status as a global giant.

Spoiler: Xiaomi's success is not just about talented people, but also about a unique business model that competitors are still trying to copy.

Lei Jun: “Chinese Steve Jobs” and Xiaomi’s chief architect

If you talk about who made Xiaomi, the first name is Lei Jun, born in 1969 in Hubei Province, who was a child of tech and programming. In 1992, Lei founded his first company, Kingsoft, a Chinese software developer who later went public and made him his first fortune, but Xiaomi, which he launched in 2010 at the age of 41, brought real fame.

Lei Jun is often compared to Steve Jobs, not only because of his black turtleneck and jeans (his signature style), but also because of his ability to see trends. For example, he was one of the first to realize that the future lies in Internet services and the ecosystem of devices. Today, Xiaomi is not only producing smartphones, but also routers, electric scooters, vacuum cleaners and even refrigerators - and this is part of Lei Jun's strategy.

Fun fact: Lei Jun is personally testing prototypes of new devices, and employees say he can return the product to redesign if the button on the body is uncomfortable or the MIUI interface is not smooth enough, a perfectionism that has been one of the reasons for the company's success.

• 📅 1969 – The birth of Lei Jun in Hubei Province.
• 💻 1992 – Kingsoft was founded as the first IT-Lei Jun.
• 📱 2010 – Xiaomi launches with initial capital $10 million.
• 🌍 2014 – Entering international markets (India, Indonesia).

⚠️ Note: Lei Jun still owns less than 30% of Xiaomi, despite being the founder, due to his principles of sharing shares among key employees and investors.

Dream team: who else stood at the origins of Xiaomi

Although Lei Jun is the face of the company, Xiaomi made a team that he assembled in 2010-2011. IT-And they came from giants like Google, Microsoft and Motorola:

• 👨💻 Lin Binh is the co-founder, president of Xiaomi, and previously worked at Google China and Microsoft Research Asia. MIUI Ecosystem development strategy.
• 🎨 Hong Feng is co-founder, vice president, ex-CEO of Google China Products, bringing a culture of innovation and a focus on user experience to Xiaomi.
• 📡 Li Wangqiang is a hardware co-founder who previously worked at Motorola and Kingsoft, and oversaw the creation of the first Mi 1 and Mi 2 smartphones.
• 💰 Liu De is co-founder, CFO. He came from Qiming Venture Partners and helped raise the first rounds of funding.

This team has formulated three Xiaomi principles that still apply today:

1. Technology for All: Make high-quality devices at affordable prices.
2. Fans First – Focus on the community of users (e.g. MIUI beta testing).
3. Internet + Iron + Services is an ecosystem approach where devices complement each other.

Interestingly, Xiaomi’s early employees worked 16 hours a day, and the company’s office was furnished with cheap furniture from IKEA, a “startup spirit” that should be preserved even after the IPO.

The first Mi 1: how Xiaomi started the revolution

The company’s debut product, the Xiaomi Mi 1, launched in August 2011, was a sensation. The Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 device with 1GB of RAM and a 4-inch screen sold for just 1999 yuan (~$315 at the time), compared to the 2 to 3 times more expensive Samsung and HTC flagships for similar specs.

The key features of the Mi 1 that made it a hit:

• 🤖 MIUI — Android-based firmware optimized for the Chinese market (character support, local services).
• 🔧 Modular architecture – the ability to easily replace the battery and back cover.
• 📦 Direct sales – only through the official website, without intermediaries (this reduced the price by 30%).

The first batch of 300,000 Mi 1s sold out in 34 hours, a record for the Chinese market at the time, and this success proved that the direct-selling model and focus on online promotion worked. Today, Xiaomi sells millions of devices annually, but the principle remained the same: minimum markups and maximum returns to the user.

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If you find the original Xiaomi Mi 1 packaging in good condition, it can cost up to $500-$1,000 among collectors.

Xiaomi Ecosystem: How the Brand Has Moved Beyond Smartphones

Many people mistakenly think that Xiaomi is just a smartphone, and in fact, it's building a fully-fledged ecosystem of smart devices where gadgets communicate with each other through the Mi Home app, starting with Mi WiFi in 2014, and now in the lineup:

• 🏠 Smart home: Yeelight lamps, motion sensors, Mi Home Security cameras.
• 🚲 Transport: Mi Electric Scooter electric scooters, bicycles.
• 🧹 Home appliances: robot vacuum cleaners Mi Robot Vacuum, air cleaners.
• ⌚ Wearable electronics: fitness bracelets Mi Band, smart watch Mi Watch.

The secret to the ecosystem’s success is in the open platform, where Xiaomi not only launches devices under its own brand, but also partners (such as Huami for Mi Band or Chuwi for laptops) to quickly scale and occupy new niches.

Example: Xiaomi’s smart home can manage:

- Lighting (Yeelight lamps)


- Climate (air conditioning, heaters)




- Safety (cameras, smoke detectors)




- Household appliances (teapots, rice cookers)

⚠️ Note: Not all Xiaomi devices are compatible with Western standards (such as sockets or Wi-Fi frequencies.

Install the Mi Home app|Create a Xiaomi account|Connect devices to one Wi-Fi network|Update the firmware of gadgets|Set up automation in Mi Home-->

MIUI: why Xiaomi firmware has become a cult

MIUI is not just a shell for Android, but a key product of Xiaomi, which began before the first smartphone was launched, and today MIUI is installed on more than 500 million devices worldwide. How is it different from standard Android?

• 🎨 Design: minimalist interface with emphasis on one hand gesture (e.g. swipe up to return to home screen).
• 🔒 Security: built-in antivirus, phishing protection, the ability to block applications by fingerprint.
• 🔄 Updates: weekly betas for enthusiasts and stable releases every 1-2 months.
• 🌍 Localization: Support 80+ languages, including adaptation for India, Russia and Europe.

MIUI is also known for its "hidden features" that many users are unaware of.

• Double pressing on the lock screen – fast flashlight.
• The "C" gesture in the gallery is the instantaneous launch of the camera.
• Second Space mode – creating a second desktop with separate applications (useful for work and personal use).

I wonder what. MIUI It was originally designed as a custom firmware for other smartphones (like the Nexus One), but then it became the native OS for Xiaomi devices. MIUI It is available in some Redmi models and POCO, which are technically sub-brands.

Subbrands Xiaomi: Redmi, POCO and Black Shark

Many people don’t know that Xiaomi has several sub-brands, each targeting a different audience, which allows the company to reach different price segments without sacrificing the core brand.

Redmi is the best-known sub-brand for budget and mid-budget devices. For example, the Redmi Note series became a bestseller in India and Russia thanks to the price-performance ratio. POCO was originally created as an experiment: the team wanted to release a smartphone with a flagship processor at the price of an average. The experiment was successful - POCO F1 (2018) with Snapdragon 845 cost only $ 300, which caused a furor in the market.

Black Shark is a standalone story.The brand specializes in gamer smartphones with physical triggers, liquid cooling and a 144Hz refresh rate screen. Interestingly, Xiaomi bought out Black Shark in 2021, but left it with full autonomy in development.

⚠️ Attention: Devices POCO Redmi and Redmi often share the same hardware platform, but different software, POCO X3 NFC Redmi Note 9 Pro is built on one processor, but the first has a “pure” Android, and the second one is built on the same processor — MIUI.

Xiaomi today: numbers, achievements and challenges

For 2026, Xiaomi is:

• 📊 3rd place in the world in smartphone sales (after Samsung and Apple).
• 💰 $35 billion - market capitalization of the company (as of June 2026).
• 🌐 100+ Countries where brand devices are officially presented.
• 🏭 Own production: plants in China, India and Brazil.

However, the company also has problems:

• 🔒 China-dependent: Sanctions and Trade Wars Affect Supply Chains.
• 📉 Realme, Oppo and Vivo are taking market share in Asia.
• 🛡️ Data security: allegations of user information collection (especially relevant in Europe).

Despite this, Xiaomi continues to expand, announcing its first electric car, the Xiaomi SU7, in 2023, another step toward creating a complete ecosystem of smart life, and Ley Jun still says, “We remain a startup that seeks to change the world.”

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Xiaomi is the only company that is simultaneously in the top-5 Smartphone manufacturers, smartwatches and home appliances, a scale unmatched in the industry.

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions About Xiaomi