Newsletter
Chinese handset maker Xiaomi beat its expected 2017 revenue target well before the end of the year. In fact, the company’s senior vice president and head of international business, Wang Xiang, has said its target was met as early as October or November. Although Xiaomi is ranked as China’s number four mobile manufacturer, that’s actually a significant accomplishment. Xiaomi had originally only planned to generate around 100 billion yuan for the full year, with the goal being set in January of 2017. The executive didn’t provide an actual revenue or sales figure for the full year but it stands to reason that Xiaomi did very well with at least a month remaining in 2017 when it hit its target. The executive also said he expects the company to hit a much higher target in 2018 but stopped short of providing even a tentative figure for how much the Android OEM would generate this year.
Bearing that in mind, Xiaomi is already off to a great start for the year and is even making substantial headway outside of the mobile market with a newly announced laser projector and is considering entering into the A.I. chipset industry – although company executives still haven’t reached a decision on the latter. It’s a move that would undoubtedly cut into profits, with resources being reallocated for research and development. However, it could also make a lot of sense in the long run. A.I. dedicated SoCs are one direction many in the industry are beginning to lean toward in order to bolster smartphone SoC performance and provide a backbone for the ever-growing IoT.
Taken in combination, all of that bodes well for the company over the coming months, as several reports have also suggested the company might take itself public in a push to grow further. Xiaomi is allegedly working with several banks to arrange an initial public offering that is expected to see the company’s valuation set at around $100 billion if it moves forward. If business continues along the current trajectory, with strong numbers in revenue and potential to continue growing at a substantive rate in new and emerging markets, that valuation could come true, provided Xiaomi is truly pursuing an IPO.