Xiaomi has enough cash to throw around, especially after being pretty sure that they’ll ship 60 million phones this year. Today we learn where part of this money will go and that is to Baidu’s online video site. The site has an unpronounceable name: iQiyi.
The investment was made by the handset maker and a related fund called Shunwei, reaching as much as $300 million. Xiaomi and Baidu will expand their already existing cooperation and venture into the field of content, products and Internet. Xiaomi wants to expand especially its tablet, set top box and smart TV offer, including both hardware and services. The company also announced recently that it wants to spend $1 billion on TV content, buying a stake in Youku, a very big video site in China.
Over the short term, the company wants its user base to reach over 200 million in a year or two tops. Right now, there are 70 million users of the custom version of Android from Xiaomi, dubbed MIUI. The platform is available on the company’s tablet, as well as smart TV products and smartphones. My only curiosity is if Xiaomi will manage to expand video services to other places than Asia…
via techworld.com.au
