Xiaomi Mi: Whose Brand Is It Really? Owner, Story, and Truth About the Company

When you see the Xiaomi Mi logo on a smartphone or smartwatch, have you ever wondered who actually owns the brand? There's a lot of rumors online, with some claiming it's a state-owned Chinese company, others claiming it's backed by American investors, and still others confusing the Mi with a single manufacturer. Let's look at who's behind one of the world's most popular technology brands, and why its origins raise so many questions.

Spoiler: Xiaomi Mi is not a standalone company, but a product line within the Xiaomi Inc. ecosystem that has a complex ownership structure. In this article, we will follow the brand’s journey from a humble start-up to a global giant, revealing details about its founders, investors, and how Mi is connected to other sub-brands like POCO, Redmi or Black Shark.

Who founded Xiaomi and who owns the brand today?

Xiaomi was founded in April 2010 in Beijing by a group of eight co-founders, among whom Lei Jun, the current chairman of the board of directors and the most famous, is the company. CEO. Before Xiaomi, Lei Jun had already had experience in IT-He co-founded Kingsoft (China’s equivalent of Microsoft Office) and has invested in dozens of startups, often referred to as “China’s Steve Jobs” for his charisma and product presentation.

But Xiaomi Inc. is not a one-man private company, and at the time of its 2018 listing, its ownership structure was as follows:

• 📊 Lei Jun — ~31% of shares (through trust funds and personal holdings).
• 💼 Major institutional investors: Qualcomm, Tencent, DST Global (Yuri Milner Fund), All-Stars Investment, etc. ~40%.
• 👥 Employees and early investors - the rest ~29%, including shares distributed to top managers.

It’s important to understand that Xiaomi Mi is not a separate legal entity, but a trademark owned by Xiaomi Inc. That is, all Mi-branded products (smartphones, TVs, routers) are manufactured and sold by Xiaomi itself, not by any subsidiary, which distinguishes the Mi from, for example, Redmi, which is positioned as a more budget sub-brand.

Xiaomi Brand Structure: How does Mi relate to Redmi, POCO and others?

Many people confuse Xiaomi Mi with other sub-brands of the company, thinking that they are different manufacturers, in fact, they are all owned by Xiaomi Inc., but are focused on different market segments.

Interesting fact: POCO was part of Xiaomi until 2019, but then became an independent brand (although Xiaomi remains its main investor), and Black Shark was originally created as a joint venture with Tencent, but nolater was fully bought out by Xiaomi.

⚠️ Note: Mi branded counterfeits are found on the market, especially among accessories (chargers, covers). Official Xiaomi Mi products always have a serial number that can be checked on the website. mi.com/global/verify.

Xiaomi Myths: Is It Really a “State-owned Company”?

One of the most persistent myths is that Xiaomi is controlled by the Chinese government. It is not. The company is a private corporation with public shares traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (code: 1810.HK).

• 🏛️ China’s regulatory requirements: like any major IT-Xiaomi is required to cooperate with the authorities on cybersecurity issues (for example, to provide data on the request of law enforcement agencies.
• 📉 Sanctions risks: Xiaomi was blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Defense in 2021 as a “company associated with the Chinese army,” but the court later overturned the decision, finding it unreasonable.
• 🌍 Global expansion: Xiaomi is actively diversifying production outside of China (factories in India, Indonesia, Brazil) to reduce dependence on one country.

Key fact: Unlike Huawei, Xiaomi has no direct connection to the Chinese military or government, and its main investors are international funds (DST Global, Qualcomm Ventures), not government entities.

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To check if your Xiaomi model is sanctioned (relevant to the US and Europe), check it out on the US Bureau of Industry and Security website. Most consumer devices (smartphones, smartwatches) are not subject to restrictions.

Where and by whom are Xiaomi Mi devices manufactured?

Brand control ≠ Xiaomi follows a fab-less model (without its own factories), like most modern technology companies:

• 🏭 Build: It is being built by partners such as Foxconn (Taiwan), Flex (US/Singapore) and Wingtech (China), for example, Mi 11 smartphones were assembled at Foxconn plants in India and China.
• 🛠️ Components: Processors: Qualcomm (USA), MediaTek (Taiwan), Memory: Samsung (South Korea), SK Hynix (South Korea) Screens: Samsung Display, BOE (China).
• 📦 Logistics: managed through global hubs in Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.

This model allows Xiaomi to scale production quickly and reduce costs, for example, during the pandemic, the company moved some of the assembly of smartphones from China to India, where it now produces more than 95% of devices for the local market.

⚠️ Note: If you buy Xiaomi Mi in Russia or Europe, check the manufacturer’s country of specifications.Devices assembled in India or Indonesia may have different certification standards (e.g., waterproof) than the Chinese versions.

Financial Awareness: How Much Does Xiaomi Make?

As a public company, Xiaomi regularly publishes financial statements, and here are the key figures for 2023 (according to the annual report):

• 💰 Revenue: 270.3 billion yuan (~$37.5 billion).
• 📱 The share of smartphones in revenue: ~60% (the rest – IoT devices, services, accessories).
• 🌏 Geography of sales: China: 30% India: 25% Europe: 20% Other markets: 25%
• 📈 Net income: 7 billion yuan (~$960 million) – a 60% decrease compared to 2022 due to falling demand for smartphones.

Interestingly, Xiaomi does not depend only on the sale of gadgets: about 10% of revenue comes from the ecosystem of services (MIUI, Mi Cloud, advertising in the branded shell), which makes the company more resilient to market fluctuations.

Legal Disputes and Scandals: What Should a Buyer Know?

Like any global brand, Xiaomi has faced legal action and reputational risks, with the most high-profile cases being:

1. Patent wars with Ericsson (2014-2016): Xiaomi was accused of infringing on patents for 3G/4G technologies.
2. U.S. Blocking (2021): As mentioned earlier, Xiaomi was blacklisted by the Pentagon, but the court overturned this decision after 4 months.
3. Espionage charges (2020–2023): Researchers at Citizen Lab found that some Xiaomi models were sending location data to servers in China.The company said it was a bug and issued patches.
4. Mi Browser scandal (2020): The default browser in MIUI firmware collected data about visited sites even in incognito mode.

What does this mean for the user? There were problems, but the company quickly solved them. Today Xiaomi undergoes regular security audits (for example, ISO 27001), and in the European versions of smartphones, analytics collection is disabled by default.

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If you are concerned about privacy, before first turning on your Xiaomi Mi smartphone, turn off the options “Improving MIUI” and “Personalized recommendations” in the settings of your Mi Account.

The future of the Mi brand: what will Xiaomi expect in 2026-2026?

Xiaomi has been diversifying its business to avoid being dependent on smartphones, and these are the key areas of growth:

• 🚗 Electric cars: in 2026 Xiaomi released its first electric car SU7 (jointly BAIC This is part of the strategy to enter the market of smart mobility".
• 🤖 Robotics: CyberOne humanoid robot was introduced in 2023, and a commercial version of the robot assistant is expected in 2026.
• 💡 Smart home: extension of the Mi Home line (robot vacuum cleaners, air conditioners, security systems).
• 🌐 Global expansion: focus on Latin America and Africa, where Xiaomi’s share is still small.

The Mi brand is likely to remain the flagship lineup, with the main growth coming from Redmi (budget) and POCO (gamers), and Xiaomi is expected to tighten its control over supply chains to avoid chip shortages, as it did in 2021-2022.

For buyers, this means:

• 📱 More innovation in flagship Mi models (folding screens, subscreen cameras).
• 🔋 Improved autonomy through in-house development (e.g., silicon anode batteries).
• 🔒 Enhancing security and transparency in data collection (under pressure from European regulators).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions About Xiaomi Mi Brand