Xiaomi Commits $7 Billion In Chip Design Over the Next Decade

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi has announced a significant investment of 50 billion yuan (approximately $6.93 billion) over the next decade to develop its own mobile processors, marking a strategic move to enhance its semiconductor capabilities and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. Xiaomi’s founder and CEO, Lei Jun shared on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, that the company started working on this project four years ago.

Xiaomi is set to unveil its first self-designed mobile chip, Xring O1, built on a second-generation 3nm process, on May 22, 2025. The smartphone and EV tech giant has spent 13.5 billion yuan to develop its own advanced mobile chip, called XringO1, according to founder Lei Jun. He also shared that the company now has a semiconductor chip design team of over 2,500 people working on this project.

With this move, Xiaomi plans to support China’s push for self-reliance in chip technology, especially as global supply chains face challenges and geopolitical tensions rise. By designing its own chips, Xiaomi joins other big tech companies that are building in-house chips to improve performance and have more control over how their software and hardware work together. Founder Lei Jun emphasized that mastering chip technology is essential for Xiaomi to become a leading “hard tech” company, stating, “Chips are the underlying core track for Xiaomi to break through in cutting-edge technology.”

The global tech industry is experiencing a significant shift as companies invest heavily in semiconductor development and AI infrastructure. This trend is driven by the growing demand for advanced processors to support AI applications and the desire for greater control over hardware capabilities. This step could help Xiaomi become stronger in the global smartphone market, letting it compete better with big players like Apple, Samsung, and Huawei, who already make their own chips.

Apple continues to advance its in-house chip design, particularly with its M-series chips. While Google has developed its own series of Tensor chips, starting with the Pixel 6 smartphone series in 2021. Moreover, companies like Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are projected to invest a combined $320 billion in AI infrastructure in 2025. These investments are focused on developing AI-optimized silicon to support cloud computing and consumer hardware.

Xiaomi’s heavy investment aligns with China’s greater effort to be self-reliant in the semiconductor industry based on global supply chain challenges and geopolitical tensions. Xiaomi’s action places it amongst some other major technology companies investing significant amounts in building their own chips for competitive advantages and as a form of control (and ensuring their own hardware-software integration).