Xiaomi spends billions of dollars to make mobile chips, challenging Apple and Samsung

This information was revealed by Mr. Jun in a Weibo post on May 19. He also added that Xiaomi has invested 13.5 billion yuan (1.87 billion USD) in the Xring O1 SoC chip.

This is Xiaomi's latest move on its journey to develop its own technology amid the US-China trade war. Washington has cut off access to advanced chips for a number of Chinese companies.

A Xiaomi spokesperson confirmed the 50 billion yuan investment starting in 2025. Mr. Lei also informed about a "huge" event that will take place on May 22, where the company will unveil the Xring O1.

Xring O1 marks Xiaomi's return to the self-designed chip market. Photo: XiaomiTime

The Xring O1 is based on a 3nm manufacturing process, one of the most advanced on the market. For comparison, the Apple A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max is also manufactured on this process.

Xiaomi is expected to unveil new smartphones and tablets, as well as electric vehicles at its May 22 event. It is unclear which devices will contain the Xring O1 chip.

Responding to CNBC , Qualcomm CEO Christiano Amon said Xiaomi's plan will not affect the company's business. "Most importantly, I think Qualcomm Snapdragon will continue to be used in Xiaomi's high-end devices," he shared.

Very few phone makers globally design their own SoC chips due to cost and complexity. Apple, Samsung, Huawei are among them. Many other brands rely on chips from Qualcomm or MediaTek.

However, the big advantage of custom chips is that they are more closely linked to hardware and software to create a different experience than the competition.

The Xring O1 is not Xiaomi’s first SoC. The company announced the Surge S1 SoC in 2017. However, due to various reasons and drawbacks, research and development had to stop. Since then, the company has released many other semiconductors such as power management, image sensors. The Xring O1 marks the Chinese phone maker’s return to a basic component.

2021 is the year Xiaomi decided to make electric cars, the company is also determined to return to mobile chips. "Xiaomi has always had a chip dream because to become a great technology company, chips are the pinnacle that needs to be reached ," he said.

(According to CNBC)

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/hang-cong-nghe-trung-quoc-cam-ket-chi-tien-khung-cho-thu-my-muon-ngan-chan-2402776.html