For the next decade: Letter from Lei Jun

An open letter from Lei Jun (雷 军), Founder, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi on key initiatives for the new decade

Dear Xiaomi colleagues,

We have just announced a series of key initiatives for the new decade.

First of all, we officially announced to commence the smart electric vehicle business.  

This is one of the most important decisions Xiaomi has ever made, which was made after numerous rounds of debates among the executive team. It is a deliberate decision and the board of directors has officially approved it as a formal project this afternoon. We will set up a wholly-owned subsidiary to operate the smart electric vehicle business, with the total investment amount over the course of the next 10 years estimated to be USD 10 billion. The initial phase of investment will be RMB 10 billion. I will once again lead the team by myself, serving as the CEO of the smart electric vehicle business. Just a while ago, at the launch event, I affirmed to our Mi Fans and everyone that it will be the last and important startup project in my life. I am willing to bet my lifelong reputation to fight for Xiaomi vehicles!

Smart electric vehicle is the broadest race track in the next decade. It is an inseparable and crucial part that forms the smart ecosystem; It is an inevitable choice to expand the integrated ecosystem of AIoT smart living; It is also the only path for us to fulfill the vision of the company and to bring a better life to everyone through technology.

By stepping into a new domain, we will certainly encounter many challenges. The automobile industry features great complexity, a huge amount of investment, a long product cycle, and low fault tolerance, which requires us to treat it with full respect and seriousness. Facing these challenges with a fearful heart as if we are walking on thin ice. Besides, the other key players have kick-started this business six years earlier than us, we have to catch up with all the efforts to win the game as an industry successor.  

Having said that, we still possess very significant and unique advantages:

1. While smart electric vehicle has completely changed the business model of the automobile industry, we have a profound understanding of hardware-based Internet service model.

2. We possess the most extensive experiences in software and hardware integration in the industry, allowing us to understand manufacturing within the Internet industry and win the game.

3. We own a mature smart ecosystem with the largest scale, the widest portfolio of products, and the largest number of active connections in the industry. 

4. We have a lot of long-accumulated key technologies that can be re-applied in the automobile industry.

5. We have built rich brand assets and a strong user base, and gained the trust and support of Mi Fans from all over the world. 

6. We have sufficient cash reserve which enables us to invest boldly without hesitation or extra concerns.

We will enter this new journey with huge investment, seriousness, and enduring patience. At present, the preparation work at the initial stage has been strictly and systematically carried out.

Secondly, we launched the Surge C1 Image Signal Processor today, showing our strong capability in the imaging field as well as our determination to adhere to processor development.    

As our first self-developed Image Signal Processor (ISP), the Surge C1 processor is a leading processor of its kind in the smartphone industry. Mi MIX FOLD, which is our first folding-screen smartphone of mass production, debuts the Surge C1 processor. The powerful image processing ability of Mi MIX FOLD is a strong evidence of the excellence of the Surge C1 processor.

From the moment when the Surge S1 project kicked off in 2014, to the launch of the Surge C1 today, Xiaomi has been striving for the development of processors for seven years. During these seven years, we have experienced countless breakthroughs and numerous setbacks, but we never cease pursuing and advancing. The Surge C1 is the first step made by Xiaomi for the new decade of developing processors. Although it looks very small, it sets our milestone in image computing. It also enables us to pursue more ambitious technological breakthroughs and dreams.

The road to the R&D of processors is long and arduous, but what Xiaomi never lacks is patience, courage, and perseverance. We will continue to tackle more complex and delicate technological problems and provide users with a better experience, as we keep exploring and roaring in the waves!

Thirdly, we announced a new and revamped logo and started upgrading of our brand recognition system.

Today, we released the brand new Xiaomi logo and added the logo with letters “xiaomi”.

Our brand has always been one of our most important and core assets. In the past three years, we began to systematically sort out and upgrade the brand system of Xiaomi Corporation (the Group). The release of the new logo and the upgrade of the brand recognition system is one of the milestones.

After 11 years of corporate development, while the boundary of Xiaomi’s business has been expanding, our user base has also been diversified: From tech enthusiasts to the masses and then to premium users; from technology industry to lifestyle industry; from online to all channels; from mobile phones to a full set of smart ecosystem; from China to all over the world. All of these mean that Xiaomi needs to make friends with more diverse audiences.

Then here comes the challenge of “how can we attract more and more people to like Xiaomi and understand where Xiaomi is coming from”. Which is why we started with the most basic and most widely used component – our brand logo, allowing more people to feel and recognize Xiaomi’s corporate philosophy, and ultimately take a liking to Xiaomi.

Since the brand is the most valuable asset of the Group, the use of brand logo requires proper guidelines and management. Therefore, we set up the Committee of Brand Management for the Group today to oversee the maintenance, management and supervision of all brand assets for the Group. The proper use of these brand assets is now included in the annual assessment of each business department.

The three things above are important initiatives for Xiaomi for the next decade. Smart electric vehicles will open up a huge new space for Xiaomi’s future growth. The processor will empower all businesses of the Group with powerful technology. The new logo and brand recognition system upgrades will also present the new look of Xiaomi to the public. Such remarkable energy and continuous efforts in striving forward are vivid representations of being “Alive”.

This is the new story behind the new Xiaomi, and this is our shared expectation:

On the long journey ahead to our ultimate destination, Xiaomi will always possess the courage to strive for infinity and beyond!

Lei Jun

March 30, 2021

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