Xiaomi is set to invest $1 billion to expand its internet TV content as the world’s third largest smartphone maker ramps up its push into the living room, and a market estimated to be worth $3 billion.
The Chinese company’s burgeoning TV unit includes its Xiaomi TV as well as a set-top box, which both use its software and content. The company is best known for its budget smartphones and tablets that have won it legions of fans worldwide.
The news were revealed through a post on its official Weibo microblog.
Xiaomi said it had hired Chen Tong, a former executive at Chinese internet firm Sina, to overhaul the TV business and make it more “diverse and exciting”.
“We want to repeat the success of Xiaomi’s hardware integration model in the television industry,” Chen said at a press conference, according to Xiaomi’s microblog. The company did not to provide further details.
The expansion of its internet TV business pits it against local internet companies including Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu all of which have recently increased their investment into internet TV.
Xiaomi is at the moment the world’s third-largest smartphone vendor ahead of Lenovo and LG according to IDC. The four-year-old company, which currently sells smartphones only in a few developing countries has already outpaced handset makers such as LG, Lenovo and HTC who have been longer in the industry.
According to market researcher IDC, Xiaomi has sold over 17 million smartphones and holds a market share of 5.3 percent – trailing only Samsung and Apple.
Via First Post
