South Korean media: Can Xiaomi's dream of becoming the "Chinese Apple" come true after 11 years of rise in semiconductors?

On June 16, a South Korean media outlet, the Everyday Economy, published an article stating that after 11 years of arduous journey, China's leading smartphone company Xiaomi is beginning to see the results of its semiconductor independence. Following the successful development of the world's fourth 3-nanometer mobile processor last month, Xiaomi announced on the occasion of its 15th anniversary that it will invest an additional RMB 50 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate its transformation into the "Chinese Apple."

Xiaomi's semiconductor challenge began with the development project of the Pegasus chip in 2014. In 2017, it launched its first self-developed SoC, the "Pegasus S1," making it the fourth smartphone manufacturer in the world, following Apple, Samsung, and Huawei, to have the capability to develop mobile processors.

However, due to technical limitations and cost burdens, the SoC development was suspended, and Xiaomi experienced setbacks in its "chip rise." Starting from 2019, the focus shifted to developing small chip modules for power management, charging, and batteries.

The turning point came in 2021. Under the insistence of founder and chairman Lei Jun, the company restarted the research and development of mobile SoCs, investing RMB 1.35 billion with more than 2,500 personnel.

The result of this effort is the "Xuanhuan O1" chip released in May this year. Manufactured using TSMC's 3-nanometer process, it is considered the world's fourth 3-nanometer mobile processor after Apple, Qualcomm, and MediaTek. It has already achieved mass production and is now being used in flagship products such as the Xiaomi 15S Pro and tablets.

Xiaomi's large-scale investment in semiconductors is taking place against the backdrop of increasingly intense Sino-American technology competition. With the United States continuously strengthening restrictions on advanced semiconductor exports, Chinese enterprises are accelerating their steps toward technological autonomy.

In his 15th anniversary speech, Chairman Lei Jun emphasized, "Past failures are not black history but a learning process," and "Xiaomi's chip dream will continue." The plan to invest RMB 50 billion over the next 10 years is seen as a significant step towards greatly reducing dependence on suppliers like Qualcomm and MediaTek.

Industry insiders predict that if Xiaomi's semiconductor independence plan succeeds, it will produce significant ripple effects in the global semiconductor ecosystem. If one of China's largest smartphone manufacturers can ensure stable supply of its own chips, it may directly impact the market share of Qualcomm and MediaTek in China.

Particularly considering that Xiaomi ranks third globally in smartphone market share, the successful development of its own chips could potentially trigger a reshuffling of the global semiconductor supply chain.

However, experts point out that given the complexity of semiconductor design and manufacturing technologies, short-term results cannot be expected. Analysis suggests that it will take considerable time and investment for Xiaomi to achieve true technological independence.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1835072952477705/

Disclaimer: This article solely represents the views of the author.