329: Chapter 329 Lei Jun's High-Profile Official Announcement

"It's a story, and it's also a strategy."

Hearing that Lin Bin's attitude had softened, Lei Jun's tone became more resolute.

"Transsion and the strategic planning from above have already proven that this direction is correct. Just because we don't have the resources now doesn't mean we won't have them in the future. We must tell this story well first, so that Mi Fans and investors are willing to open their wallets. Once we have the money, we can proceed step by step."

"Isn't this just pie-in-the-sky?"

"It's not pie-in-the-sky! This is our long-term plan. Five years from now, when we have the resources, we'll do it. For now, we just need to set up the framework, do the preliminary R&D, create the concept designs—we won't burn through huge amounts of cash, but we need to establish our stance."

Everyone in the conference room nodded in unison, but in their hearts, they were thinking that it was still just pie-in-the-sky. Yet, everyone was considering the possibility of this "pie."

Lin Bin was the first to question it, and also the first to relent.

"If we only do preliminary R&D and don't burn through big money, we can give it a try."

Li Wanqiang also nodded: "But the prerequisite is that we must do smart home appliances first. Our Xiaomi air purifiers, rice cookers, and robot vacuums—these are all hit products in our smart ecosystem. We need to get them out first and pave the way. Cars are a matter for the future; let's not get serious about them for at least three to five years."

Lei Jun nodded. In his plan, it wasn't just five years—he wouldn't enter until at least ten years later, once the supply chain was fully mature! Although it was a Red Ocean market, he believed that with the myth of cost-effectiveness, he could definitely attract Mi Fans. It was settled!

The meeting finally reached a consensus: propose the 'Person, Car, Home' full-ecosystem strategy, initiate the car business, and make an initial nominal investment of 10 billion. Although it couldn't compare to Transsion's 10-billion subsidy, the momentum was not lost. In reality, however, only 1 billion in project funding was invested, and resources were focused on smart home appliances first. For cars, they would only do preliminary R&D and corresponding concept designs, releasing the relevant PPTs according to the schedule.

Lei Jun revised the official announcement Weibo post many times, striving to make every word move the Mi Fans... In the end, his official announcement Weibo... indeed, it hit the trending list in an instant.

Lei Jun: "Today, I want to share a decision we have been preparing for a long time with all Mi Fans and friends who care about Xiaomi. This is also the new starting point for Xiaomi's next 10 years."

From preparing to make phones in 2009, to releasing our first product in 2010, and then entering the India market last year, Xiaomi has always believed: the meaning of technology is to serve people.

Today, I officially announce that at the starting point of a new decade, Xiaomi's brand-new strategic upgrade: the 'Person, Car, Home' full ecosystem, is officially launched! We will center on people, focusing on three major scenarios: [mobile phones, tablets, and other personal terminals], [intelligent car space], and [intelligent home scenes], using MIUI to achieve seamless cross-device collaboration.

Before leaving, sync navigation to your car console with one tap on your phone, while automatically turning on your home's security mode. Once in the car, your phone instantly becomes a car key and control panel, automatically syncing your music, schedule, and office documents inside the car. When you get home, as soon as the car enters the underground garage, it automatically connects to your home's air conditioning, lights, and robot vacuum, so you can enjoy comfort the moment you walk in.

In the future, your health data, workflows, and entertainment content will flow seamlessly between person, car, and home, truly realizing the goal of everything serving people.

To support this strategy, we have officially initiated the Dami Auto business and the Xiaomi Smart Home business. We are investing 10 billion in incubation funds for each project and assembling a core R&D team of over 5,000 people, with the goal of creating the intelligent cars and intelligent ecosystems that truly belong to Xiaomi and look toward the future.

I believe many people will ask me why Xiaomi wants to make cars—is it to follow the footsteps of our competitors? Here, I can tell you all: absolutely not. The real reason is that we see cars have evolved from simple transportation tools into the third largest intelligent living space, after mobile phones and the home. We have the ability and the responsibility to bring our best intelligent ecosystem experience into this new scenario. Please give us some time, and please continue to believe in Xiaomi. We will continue to grind away at new technologies and user experience just as we did with phones, never failing to live up to every bit of trust and expectation. In the new decade, together with Mi Fans, we will continue to move forward!"

"I'm crying!!! From the Mi 1 Phone until now, Mr. Lei has never let us down. Mr. Lei, as soon as the Dami Auto comes out, we will definitely rush to get the first batch."

"Only Xiaomi can achieve this; all these devices are fully connected, and we won't have to be tortured by the ecosystem barriers of different brands anymore. And I believe Mr. Lei will definitely keep the big picture in mind and leave some room for other industries to survive."

"To the guy above, how much are you getting paid per post? Brother, I can barely afford to eat; give me a way in! With Xiaomi's quality, they can't even make phones properly, and now they want to make cars? They really aren't afraid... hehe. I wonder if the Mi Fans who kept attacking the quality of Transsion Auto will experience a boomerang effect."

"Haha, to the guy above, isn't that inevitable? Hasn't this company always been sitting on a boomerang?"

"Pfft! Xiaomi doesn't lack money; it's just that Mr. Lei hasn't sought financing yet. If Mr. Lei speaks up, Xiaomi will definitely not be short on cash."

"And rely on his own mouth to bamboozle investors? People aren't that stupid!"

It seemed that because of the mediocrity of Xiaomi phones and the failure of entering the India market, the entire internet was not optimistic about Lei Jun's plan!

But in fact, Wall Street acted immediately. Lei Jun also received a pile of calls.

The first one to call was Chen Qiming. A partner at Qiming Venture Partners, he was a good friend of his and also one of Dami Company's earliest partners.

At that time, Lei Jun had relied on just a PPT, and the other party had given a valuation of 500 million USD for the angel round. For the subsequent Series A round, as well as the Series A+ round held when entering the India market, they had also led or followed the investment.

But in recent months, because of the failure in the India market and his all-in gamble, Chen Qiming had some grievances. After all, their investment in Xiaomi was real money; now that the valuation had dropped from 5 billion USD to 3 billion USD, he understood!

"Mr. Lei, I just finished reading your Weibo post."

Chen Qiming wasn't impatient, but that sense of familiarity from before was gone; this investment felt like purely official business. "I'm not here to praise you; I'm here to ask one thing: is the money enough?"

Lei Jun smiled! Shen Fei might be very capable and good at making money, but the world isn't just about fighting and killing—it's about human relationships and worldly wisdom! Just like today, he only needed to shout a slogan, and these good friends would definitely support him.

"Old Chen, how much are you planning to invest?"

The term "Old Chen" instantly made Chen Qiming sigh silently. Sure enough, when facing Lei Jun, he still couldn't bring himself to be ruthless.

"Fine, you saw through me again. Then I'll be blunt."