President Wang Xiang said the purchase is intended to help Xiaomi develop Level 4 self-driving technology, which allows full autonomous driving
In a bid to accelerate its entry into the burgeoning electric vehicle space, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp is acquiring autonomous driving technology startup Deepmotion for about $77.4 million.
Xiaomi said its investment in four-year-old Deepmotion, which develops driver assistance software, will help the giant shorten the time to market for its products.
The company announced the acquisition after reporting better-than-expected results for the second quarter, becoming the world’s second-largest phone vendor by shipments. Revenue surged 64 per cent to 87.79 billion yuan ($13.6 billion) in the quarter ended June, surpassing the 85.01 billion yuan average of estimates.
President Wang Xiang said the purchase is intended to help Xiaomi develop Level 4 self-driving technology, which allows full autonomous driving.
Wang told reporters after releasing results, “We want to speed up our autonomous driving R&D.”
Xiaomi is one of the many Chinese electronics makers venturing into the growing electric vheicle space. Xiaomi had said it will initially invest 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion) in its wholly-owned EV subsidiary, with a total investment goal of $10 billion over the next ten years.
Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun will also serve as CEO of the smart electric vehicle unit. Lei has said the company has deep enough pockets to fund such a project, which requires years of heavy investment in development and manufacturing before the first car can even be sold.
While other details about Xiaomi’s car-making efforts remain unclear, it’s kicked off a hiring spree of 500 engineers for the project and has talked to multiple automakers and local authorities for potential partnerships.
Recently, media reports suggested that the smartphone major is in talks with Chinese property developer Evergrande Group to buy part of a 65 per cent stake in its electric vehicle (EV) unit.
In addition to that, Xiaomi Corp is also reportedly in talks to use one of Great Wall Motors Co’s plants in China to make EVs under its own brand.
