Who created Xiaomi: the story of founder Lei Jun and the evolution of the brand

When you hold a Xiaomi smartphone, you don't think about who's behind the brand, and yet the story of one man who turned a startup into a global tech giant: Lei Jun, founder and current CEO of Xiaomi, didn't just create another Chinese company, he turned the picture of what affordable, high-tech devices should look like.

Xiaomi is now the top-ranked smartphone, smart appliance and home gadget market, but few people know that it all started with a simple idea: make quality phones at a price that everyone can afford. IT-Before Xiaomi, he had successfully founded and sold Kingsoft, and worked at Google China, and his experience and vision helped to avoid many mistakes at the start, but how exactly did he build the empire that now competes with Apple and Samsung? And why the name Lei Jun has become synonymous with the Chinese technological miracle?

In this article, we will examine not only the founder’s biography, but also the key moments in the development of Xiaomi that made the brand so popular, you will learn how a small team of enthusiasts was able to enter the global market in a few years, what technologies and strategies were used, and why Xiaomi smartphones are now in almost every home.

Lei Jun: From Student to Billionaire

Lei Jun was born on December 16, 1969, in the small town of Xiantao, Hubei Province, and his family was not wealthy, but his parents instilled in his son a love of learning. At school, Lei developed an interest in engineering and programming, a time when computers were rare in China. In 1987, he enrolled at Wuhan University, where he studied computer science, a decision that was a turning point: it was here that Lei Jun began writing his first programs and dreaming of his own business.

After graduating in 1992, Lei joined Kingsoft, one of China's first software developers, and in just 6 years, in 1998, he became its CEO, and in 10 years, he sold the company for $71 million, which taught him not only how to run a business, but also how to build relationships with investors and partners.

But Lei Junu became famous at Google China, where he took over the search giant's China division in 2007, where he learned how important it was to combine innovation with local market understanding, but despite his success, Lei dreamed of his project — and in 2010, he and seven like-minded people founded Xiaomi.

Xiaomi founders: Lei Jun's dream team

Xiaomi is often called the “child of one man,” but in fact, behind the success of the company is a team of eight co-founders. Lei Jun not only brought together random specialists, he invited the best of the best, many of whom he knew personally from previous projects.

• 👨‍💻 Lin Binh, the company's president, formerly vice president of Google China and Microsoft China, was responsible for software development, including the branded shell. MIUI.
• 📱 Zhang Guangjun is a hardware specialist who previously worked at Motorola, and he oversaw the creation of Xiaomi's first smartphones.
• 💰 Liu De is a CFO, investment expert, and before Xiaomi worked for Qiming Venture Partners.
• 🎨 Hong Feng is a designer and marketer who previously led the design department at Google China.

Interestingly, all the co-founders were over 40 at the time of the company's inception, and Lei Jun specifically sought out experienced professionals who had already achieved success in the company. IT-As he later admitted in an interview, "Young people are full of energy, but experienced professionals know how to avoid mistakes".

Xiaomi’s first offices were in a small space in Beijing, with a limited budget, but a year later, the team released the first version of MIUI, a custom firmware for Android smartphones, a breakthrough that saw users fall in love with MIUI for its convenience, speed and regular updates, and in 2011, the first Xiaomi Mi 1 smartphone sold 300,000 copies in a few months.

⚠️ Attention: Many people mistakenly believe that Xiaomi is copying the design of Apple.In fact, the first smartphones of the brand really looked like the iPhone, but Lei Jun always stressed that he was inspired not so much by design, but by the approach of Stephen Jobs to create an ecosystem. Today, Xiaomi has its own patent solutions and unique technologies, such as HyperCharge (ultra-fast charging) or Surge (proprietary processors).

Xiaomi’s first smartphone: how Mi 1 changed the market

Xiaomi Mi 1, which was introduced in August 2011, was a sensation, and the Chinese market was flooded with cheap and low-quality phones, with the Mi 1 offering:

• 📱 Qualcomm Snapdragon processor S3 (1.5 GHz was one of the most powerful at the time.
• 🖥️ 4-inch-screen 854×480 (At that time, it was more than worthy).
• 🔋 Removable battery for 1930 mAh – a rarity for flagships even today.
• 💰 Price in 1999 yuan (~$315) – almost twice cheaper than the analogues from Samsung or HTC.

But the main advantage of the Mi 1 was not the hardware, but the software. The smartphone ran on MIUI, a proprietary shell that offered:

• 🎨 Unique design with round icons and minimalist animations.
• 🔄 Weekly updates (yes, you heard right) every week!).
• 🤖 Deep customization – users can change themes, fonts and even system sounds.

The first batch of 300,000 phones sold out in 34 hours, a record for the Chinese market, and Lei Jun used a customized sales strategy: instead of retailing, Xiaomi sold smartphones online through its own website, which reduced costs and offered lower prices, and actively engaged with fans through forums and social networks, collecting feedback and quickly fixing bugs.

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If you want to feel the atmosphere of the early years of Xiaomi, try installing MIUI on your smartphone through Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version → Three-Dot Badge → Theme Choice. Many classic themes are still available in the archive.

Lei Jun’s Strategy: Why Xiaomi Has Been Successful

Xiaomi’s success was no accident, and Lei Jun has adhered to several key principles that remain the foundation of the company’s business model from the very beginning:

1. "Three iron rules": 📉 Low prices – the margin should not exceed 5%. Lei Jun called it a “fair price". 🔄 Quick updates — MIUI Updated weekly, and smartphones received support during the 3-4 years. 💬 Direct contact with users – through Mi Community forums and social media.

Device ecosystem

Xiaomi

Investment in R&D

Xiaomi

$2.4 billion

Another unique feature of Xiaomi is its sales model, where Lei Jun has abandoned the traditional retail chain by betting on online sales and flash sales, for example, the Redmi Note 4 smartphone sold 1 million units in 43 days in 2017 – all without any offline stores!

Lei Jun also used viral marketing, personally running Weibo accounts, answering questions from users, and even hosting livestreams to announce new products, such as the 2016 Mi Mix launch, which had over 10 million views — and that was without traditional advertising.

Xiaomi today: from smartphones to smart homes

Xiaomi is now more than just a smartphone maker, it's an ecosystem of more than 400 product categories.

• 📱 Smartphones (Mi, Redmi, POCO, Black Shark for gamers).
• 💻 Laptops and tablets (Mi Notebook, Mi Pad).
• 📺 Televisions and projectors (Mi) TV, Mi Projector).
• 🏠 Smart home: lamps (Yeelight), robot vacuum cleaners (Mi Robot Vacuum), sensors, cameras.
• ⚡ Accessories: headphones (Mi AirDots), powerbank-and (Mi Power Bank), fitness bracelets (Mi Band).

One of the most ambitious projects in recent years is the Mi Home ecosystem, which allows you to control all Xiaomi smart devices through one app, for example, you can set up a Morning scenario where you can:

• 🌅 At 7:00, Yeelight is switched on (imitation of dawn).
• ☕ At 7:15 AM, the Mi Smart Kettle coffee maker is launched.
• 📱 At 7:30 on the smartphone comes a notification with the weather and a reminder of meetings.

Lei Jun calls Xiaomi “an Internet services company that also sells hardware,” because the main revenue today is not from selling gadgets (where margins are minimal), but from services and content:

• 🎮 Mi Game Center – Mobile Games Platform.
• 💳 Mi Pay – mobile payment system (popular in China and India).
• 📺 Mi TV Mi Video – streaming services with exclusive content.
• ☁️ Mi Cloud – Cloud Storage (5GB free for all users).

Competitors and Critics: What Challenges Xiaomi Faces

Despite its success, Xiaomi has faced criticism and competition on a regular basis, and these are the main challenges the company faces:

⚠️ Note: Xiaomi was blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Defense in 2020 for alleged ties to the Chinese military, and had to sue to lift the restrictions, although the ban was lifted in 2021, the event reminded of the risks of being dependent on the political environment.

1. Accusations of copying design. In the early years, Xiaomi was often reproached for its smartphones looking like iPhones. Lei Jun responded to this by saying, "We are inspired by the best, but we do better." Today, Xiaomi's design has become more unique, but the controversy persists. For example, Mi 11 Ultra (2021) was accused of copying the camera module Huawei Mate 40 Pro.

2. Home market competition: In China, Xiaomi is competing with Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Realme. Huawei, for example, has long led the way with its own Kirin processors, but has lost ground since the U.S. sanctions, and Xiaomi has succeeded in taking its place, but the fight continues.

3. Quality issues in budget models. Some users complain about the fragility of cheap Redmi smartphones. For example, in Redmi 9A, the speaker or charging connector often fails. Lei Jun acknowledges the problem and promises to improve quality control, but it is difficult to completely get rid of the defect in the mass segment.

4. Supplier dependency. Xiaomi does not make its own processors (except for the Surge series, which has not been widely adopted).The company depends on Qualcomm, MediaTek and Samsung (for displays and memory).In 2020, due to a shortage of chips, Xiaomi had to postpone the release of several models.

The future of Xiaomi: where is the company headed by Lei Jun

Lei Jun is not going to stop there. In a 2023 interview, he outlined three key areas of Xiaomi’s development for the next 5 years:

1. Automobiles and electric vehicles. In 2021, Xiaomi announced the introduction of electric cars with an investment of $ 10 billion. The first Xiaomi SU7 sedan was introduced in December 2023 and has already caused a stir. Lei Jun calls it “the most important project in the history of the company.”

• 🔋 Battery from CATL 800km range.
• 🤖 Xiaomi Pilot autonomous driving system (level 3).
• 📱 Full integration with the Mi Home ecosystem (for example, a car can automatically open the gates of a house when you enter the house).

2. The development of artificial intelligence. Xiaomi is actively implementing AI in its devices.

• 📸 In smartphones Xiaomi 14 neural network processes photos in real time, improving details and colors.
• 🏠 In smart speakers XiaoAI (Chinese analogue of Alice or Siri), AI controls all devices at home by voice commands.
• 🔍 Xiaomi Search uses machine learning algorithms for personalized recommendations.

3. Global expansion: Despite its success in Asia, Xiaomi wants to strengthen its position in Europe and the United States.

• 🏭 Building factories in India and Indonesia to avoid customs duties.
• 🤝 Partners with local operators (for example, in Russia, Xiaomi cooperates with MTS and Beeline).
• 📦 Develops its own logistics (Mi Logistics) to speed up delivery.

Lei Jun also does not rule out an IPO on the US exchange (as long as Xiaomi is only traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange), which could attract additional investment for ambitious projects such as electric cars or the development of its own processors.

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Xiaomi’s key success story is not low prices, it’s an ecosystem. Lei Jun built the company from the beginning so that users would buy not just one gadget, but a whole line of connected devices. Xiaomi now has more than 500 million active users in the ecosystem — a number that is growing by 20 percent annually.

FAQ: answers to popular questions about Xiaomi and its founder