The Tamesis
Chinese smartphone and electric car maker Xiaomi said on Thursday it would invest nearly $9 billion in artificial intelligence over the next three years in an effort to embrace a “new era.”
“In the field of artificial intelligence, our plan in the next three years is to invest at least 60 billion yuan.” founder Lei Jun said at the launch of its latest SU7 electric model, but did not specify the investment target.
“There is no doubt that we are entering a new era,” he said later that night, adding, “Individuals and businesses alike need to embrace this era of artificial intelligence.”
Also on AF: Chinese tech giant Tencent keen on installing AI agents on WeChat apps
The tech giant launched three new artificial intelligence models earlier in the day, two of which had previously been anonymously tested on third-party developer platforms.
“We may have kept a relatively low profile, but our actual progress may be much faster than outsiders think,” founder Lei Jun said of the company’s AI efforts.
Xiaomi’s artificial intelligence development began with the launch of the first large-scale language model-MiMo-V2-Flash last year. It was spearheaded by former DeepSeek researcher Luo Fuli, who now leads a team with an average age of 25 years old.
However, Luo said on social media that these three latest AI models are “truly built for the agent era.”
Agents — programs that perform real-world tasks like sending emails or booking flights — are considered the next frontier in artificial intelligence after chatbots like ChatGPT.
Race to Release AI Agents
Xiaomi, one of the world’s largest smartphone makers, has expanded rapidly since its launch in 2011 to make electric cars, tablets and home appliances and is now eyeing the artificial intelligence market.
It joins other Chinese tech giants in a race to release similar AI agent tools.
Chinese media have speculated on the release of DeepSeek’s next-generation V4 model, which could reportedly be launched as early as April.
Unicorn startups Zhipu AI and MiniMax are also seen as touchstones for China’s fast-growing artificial intelligence industry, attracting huge interest when they listed in Hong Kong in January.
Xiaomi also announced this month that it is testing a smartphone-based artificial intelligence tool called MiClaw that allows users to control mobile phones and home appliances through simple verbal commands.
- Vishakha Saxena Additional Editor AFP
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