Xiaomi has been a huge success in India this year, the company has managed to increase its market share quite considerably compared to last year, and according to a new report, the company is planning to invest $1 billion in Indian startups in the next five years. According to IDC’s Q3 2017 market share report for India, Xiaomi had managed to catch up to Samsung and level out the playing field, the two companies are now both holding a 23.5 percent of the smartphone market in India. Xiaomi had managed to ship out 9.2 million handsets in India in Q3 alone, and if the company continues to grow as much in India, they’ll jump over Samsung in no time.
In any case, according to the company’s CEO, Lei Jun, the company does, indeed, plans to invest $1 billion dollars in Indian startups in the next five years. According to the company’s CEO, that money will be spent on 100 startups in India, and it seems like Xiaomi is opting for this move as the company is trying to further improve its position in the Indian smartphone market. Those of you who do not know, India is the second-largest smartphone market in the world, trailing behind India only, so this move makes sense, of course. It’s also worth noting that Xiaomi’s aggressive pricing and India’s smartphone market go hand-in-hand, as more affordable devices usually do really well in India, and Xiaomi’s devices are considered to be quite good, despite the fact they’re usually cheaper than what the competition has to offer on the same level.
Lei Jun also mentioned that Xiaomi invested $4 billion in over 300 companies in China over the past four years, so it seems like the company is trying to do something similar in India as well. Lei Jun also said the following: “We will have all types of services and products and integrate them”, which suggests that Xiaomi is trying to create a really powerful ecosystem of apps and smartphones in the country, which is to be expected considering the company’s business model. Lei Jun has also mentioned that Xiaomi’s sister company, Shunwei Capital, has already acquired stakes in six Indian internet companies, including Hungama and KrazyBee.