CHINA TOPIX

11/22/2024 10:15:08 am

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Xiaomi Raising More Than $1 Billion in Latest Round of Funding

Xiaomi Founder Lei Jun

(Photo : Reuters) Xiaomi has broke a sales record in smartphone sales.

The value of Chinese phone giant went up to more than $45 billion after it raised over $1 billion from several major investment companies in its latest round of funding.

Among the investors in the new round, which could close by Monday, are All Stars Investment, DST Global, GIC and Yunfeng Capital. Former Morgan Stanley analyst Richard Ji runs All Stars. DST is a Russia-based investment company, while GIC is a sovereign wealth fund in Singapore. The last two are current Xiaomi stockholders.

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Yunfeng is connected with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group owned by Jack Ma, who also took part in the round, reports the Wall Street Journal.

With its $45 billion valuation, Xiaomi is now valued higher than other technology startups in Asia and Silicon Valley. It is $4 billion higher than ride-sharing service Uber Technologies that also had a new round of funding.


Xiaomi's jump is valuation is by $35 billion in just 12 months since it was estimated to be worth $10 billion in 2013. The surge in valuation is the result of strong demand for its smartphones that are affordable to Chinese buyers as well as those in developing economies.

As a result of the high demand for Xiaomi devices, the company dethroned South Korean tech giant Samsung as the largest smartphone manufacturer by shipment in China in the second quarter of 2014, according to data from Canalys, a research firm.

The leapfrog in Xiaomi's valuation in just one year is a reflection of its sales figures which would be the envy of other phone makers. In 2013, Xiaomi sold 18.7 million gadgets, while when the year ends in two weeks, the company expects to have sold 60 million units globally.

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