Exactly 9 years ago today, Xiaomi was founded in China. On April 6, 2010, 8 friends and enthusiastic professionals decided to start a software development company with big dreams and renowned investors behind them. The founding capital was provided by Singapore's state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings, Chinese investment firms IDG Capital and Qiming Venture Partners, and processor developer Qualcomm.
On August 16, 2010, the first MIUI version was released, with 100 enthusiastic fans, their first product that is still available for free and can be ported to almost any Android phone. A year later, in August 2011, they released their first phone, the Xiaomi Mi 1 with their own MIUI development, which was very similar to Samsung's Touchwiz and iOS systems at the time. They combined all the good features and functionality into a single system, winning over 400,000,000 users today. From there, it didn't stop, 1 year later, in August 2012, the Mi 2 was released, selling over 10 million units in 1 year. The wagon has moved! It's now 2019 and they have an untold success story behind them, with over 60 phones (plus variants), 5 tablets, 15 TVs and thousands of smart products and accessories.
Xiaomi leaders
Xiaomi CEO
Founder, President and CEO
After graduating from Wuhan University with a degree in Computer Science, Lei joined Kingsoft in 1992 as a member of the founding team and became CEO in 1998. In 1999, he founded Joyo.com, later an online retailer, Amazon China. After Kingsoft successfully completed its IPO in 2007, Lei stepped down from his position to become Vice President. In the following years, he invested in a number of successful start-ups such as YY, UCWeb and Vancl as an angel investor. In July 2011, he returned to Kingsoft to become Chairman of the Board. Lei is currently Xiaomi's Chairman and CEO.
Lin Bin
Co-founder, President
Lin graduated from Sun Yat-sen University in 1990 with a BS in Electrical Engineering. He then received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Drexel University in 1992. He soon joined Microsoft, where he worked as a senior project engineer, senior development manager for MSRA, and finally as Director of Engineering for MSRA. Lin has been actively involved in the development of Microsoft's core products, including Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 8. In 2006, he joined Google as Vice President of the Google Global Institute for Engineering and Engineering at Google China. He was responsible for building and managing the Google China Mobile Search and Android App localization teams. Lin is currently President of Xiaomi.
Li Wanqiang
Co-founder, Vice President
Li graduated from Xi'an Polytechnic University in 2000 with a degree in industrial engineering. He then joined Kingsoft and co-founded the UIUX Design Center, holding various positions including General Manager of Kingsoft Dictionary, Head of UI, Director of Design Center and Director of Web Content. Li has played a key role in the development of several well-known software projects at Kingsoft, including Kingsoft Antivirus, Kingsoft Dictionary and WPS Office. He is also considered one of China's earliest UI and HCI experts. Founded in 2010, he has led both the MIUI and Mi.com teams at Xiaomi.
Dr Zhou Guangping
Co-founder, Vice President
Zhou graduated from Georgia Tech in 1991 with a degree in electrical engineering. He joined Motorola in 1995 and returned to China in 1999 to establish the Motorola China R&D Center. During his career at Motorola, Dr. Zhou has served as Senior Director of Motorola's Beijing R&D Center, Senior Researcher and Director of Motorola's Personal Communication Department, Vice Chairman of the Motorola China Research Academy's Mobile Patent Committee, and Chairman of Motorola's Asia Pacific Mobile Phone Quality Control. He led Motorola's R&D of Motorola's best-selling "Ming" series. Dr. Zhou currently leads Xiaomi's hardware and BSP teams.
Wong Kong-Kat
Co-founder, Vice President
Wong graduated from Purdue University in 1997 with a degree in computer science. From 1997 to 2010, he worked at Microsoft, eventually staying on as chief development officer. While at Microsoft, he oversaw product development for the data analytics and business process automation features of Microsoft's business server BizTalk, as well as multimedia, browser and instant messaging features for Windows Mobile (China) and Windows Phone 7. Wong currently leads the Mi WiFi and Mi Cloud teams.
Hong Feng
Co-founder, Vice President
Hong graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Master of Science in Computer Engineering from Purdue University in 2001. From 2001 to 2005, Hong worked as a senior software developer in Siebel System. He then joined Google in 2006 as a senior software developer, overseeing product development for Google Calendar, Google Maps and Google 3D Street View. From 2006 to 2010, he was a senior product manager at Google China, responsible for the development of various localized products, including Google Music and Google Pinyin Input. Hong currently leads Xiaomi's MIUI division.
Wang Chuan
Co-founder, Vice President
Wang graduated from Beijing University of Science and Technology in 1993 with a degree in computer science. In 2010, he founded Beijing Duokan Technology, a digital library, where he is still the CEO. In 2012, he joined Xiaomi as co-founder and vice president.
Wang currently heads the Mi TV and Mi Box teams.
Liu De
Co-founder, Vice President
Liu graduated from the College of the Center for the Arts in California, USA. In the Institute's 80-year history, only 20 graduates of Chinese descent have graduated. Liu founded the Department of Industrial Design at Beijing University of Science and Technology, where he served as department head in 2001. In 2003, he became chief designer at the industrial design firm New Edge and was a partner at Rethink Concept in Los Angeles. Liu currently leads Xiaomi's industrial design and ecosystem development teams.
Chew Shou Zi
CFO
Chew graduated from the University of London in 2006 with a degree in economics and in 2010 with an MBA from Harvard Business School. Chew joined DST Global in 2010 and has been involved in the firm's leading investments in companies including Xiaomi, JD.com, Alibaba and Didi Dache. He joined Xiaomi in 2015 as Chief Financial Officer and as an investment professional, he brings unique investment knowledge and professional financial expertise. Chew currently leads Xiaomi's financial management and investment teams.
Wang Xiang
Senior Vice President
Wang graduated in electrical engineering from Beijing University of Technology. Prior to joining Qualcomm, he held sales and marketing positions at leading global companies including Motorola and Lucent/Agere. He worked at Qualcomm for 13 years from 2002 to 2015, serving as Vice President of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, President of Qualcomm Greater China and Vice President of QUALCOMM Incorporated. With more than 20 years of experience in the semiconductor and communications industry, Wang currently leads the supply chain and intellectual property teams at Xiaomi.
Hugo Barra
Ex Vice President
Barra, a Brazilian national, graduated from MIT in 2000 with a degree in Management Science. In 2002, he continued his studies at MIT with an M.Eng in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering with a concentration in Product Management, Product Marketing and Business Development. In 2008, he joined Google, initially with the Mobile team, as Director of Product Management. He then moved to the Android team where he was Vice President of Android Product Management before joining Xiaomi in 2013. Barra was responsible for Xiaomi's Global Department, managing all products and operations in markets outside the home country, and left the company in 2017.
Chen Tong
Vice President
Chen holds a number of degrees, including an MBA from China Europe International Business School, an MA in Journalism from Renmin University of China, an MA in Communications from Beijing Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Beijing University of Technology. He joined Sina Corp. in 1997 and has held various roles including Content Director, Deputy General Manager, Vice President, Executive Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of China Operations. Mr Chen currently leads Xiaomi's content investment and operations.
