It seems like quite a few companies are putting focus on AI (Artificial Intelligence) lately, and Xiaomi is one of them. Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun, actually spoke about Ai during a recent press conference in China. Artificial Intelligence is only one topic Lei Jun decided to talk about, he also mentioned Xiaomi’s plan to expand to more markets, and the company’s offline stores which are coming to life in Asia as we speak. We’ve actually already talked about the offline stores part yesterday, and Lei Jun did not really talk much about the company’s global expansion, except for the fact that it is in company’s plans, and that they have to be careful. Lei Jun did, however, talk quite a bit about AI, read on.
Now, as already mentioned, Xiaomi is putting focus on AI, and in order to boost the development of AI products, the company will expand its development team by 50%. Lei Jun did not specify what exactly is Xiaomi making, but based on what other companies came up with, Xiaomi’s very own personal assistant could be in the cards. As many of you know, MIUI is Xiaomi’s very own Android-based OS, or a skin, as some people would call it. MIUI is much more than just a coat of paint on top of Android, though, as it takes some getting used to, and changes your regular Android experience a bit. Not to say that MIUI OS is bad, quite on the contrary, Xiaomi really did make significant improvements to it last year when the company launched MIUI 8, and its next iteration also looks very promising. Well, if Xiaomi is planning to release their very own personal assistant, chances are it will come pre-installed on company’s devices as part of MIUI.
Unfortunately, though, we still don’t have any specific info about this, though it’s worth mentioning that Xiaomi manufactures all sorts of smart gadgets, from smart lightbulbs and smart scales, all the way to fitness trackers, electric bicycles and smart coffee machines. Having that in mind, Xiaomi will probably put some AI touches to all of their upcoming products, once they actually release their first AI piece of software. In addition to the fact that Xiaomi will boost their development team quite significantly, Lei Jun also mentioned that he believes PCs will be replaced by smartphones in the next 3 to 5 years, and that AI will be more present than ever. So, it seems like Lei Jun and Xiaomi along with its boss, see AI product as a thing of the future, and something to invest in. It remains to be seen what is Xiaomi planning, though we might have to wait quite a bit before we see the company’s first AI product.