Xiaomi valued at $45b in new round of funding

(chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies) Updated: 2014-12-30 10:20

Xiaomi's International Vice-President Hugo Barra, a former Google Inc executive who joined last year, speaks with the media during the launch of Mi phones in New Delhi July 15, 2014. [Photo / Agencies]

Xiaomi Corp raised $1.1 billion in a new round of funding that now values China's largest smartphone vendor at $45 billion.

Investors in the financing include All-Stars Investment, Yuri Milner's DST, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, Hopu Investment and Yunfeng Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jack Ma Yun, according to a statement posted on Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun's verified weibo microblog.

Xiaomi is expanding its smart-home drive, as the company unveiled its partnership with domestic appliance maker Midea earlier this month.

With its new air purifier hitting the market, the smartphone vendor uses a combination of high-end features and low prices to lure customers, and is now expanding into content and services.

Xiaomi became the world's third largest vendor behind Samsung and Apple in the third quarter, with 5.6 percent market share, reported Bloomberg citing data compiled by Strategy Analytics. In China, Xiaomi had 15 percent market share in the third quarter.

Xiaomi targets to sell 100 million phones next year, said Lei Jun in a conference earlier.

Xiaomi founder and Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun is expanding overseas and unveiling new products including an air purifier to build on growth in China, where Xiaomi overtook Samsung Electronics Co in smartphone sales. The company used a combination of high-end features and low prices to lure customers from Samsung and Apple Inc, and now is expanding into content and services.

In the third quarter, Xiaomi was the world's third-largest vendor behind Samsung and Apple Inc. Lei plans to sell 100 million phones next year.