Xiaomi Raises EV Sales Target, Plans New Overseas Stores as Q4 Revenue Jumps

A man walks past a logo of Xiaomi, a Chinese manufacturer of consumer electronics, outside a shop in Mumbai, India, May 11, 2022. (Reuters)
A man walks past a logo of Xiaomi, a Chinese manufacturer of consumer electronics, outside a shop in Mumbai, India, May 11, 2022. (Reuters)
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Xiaomi Raises EV Sales Target, Plans New Overseas Stores as Q4 Revenue Jumps

A man walks past a logo of Xiaomi, a Chinese manufacturer of consumer electronics, outside a shop in Mumbai, India, May 11, 2022. (Reuters)
A man walks past a logo of Xiaomi, a Chinese manufacturer of consumer electronics, outside a shop in Mumbai, India, May 11, 2022. (Reuters)

China's Xiaomi on Tuesday reported an almost 50% jump in fourth-quarter revenue, beating analyst estimates, and raised its target for electric vehicle deliveries this year to 350,000 from 300,000.

The world's third-largest smartphone maker, whose product lines extend to home appliances and cars, also said it planned to expand its store network across China this year and open 10,000 new Mi Home stores overseas in the next five years.

The company reported a 48.8% rise in fourth-quarter revenue to 109 billion yuan ($15.1 billion), beating the 103.94 billion yuan average of 17 analyst estimates compiled by LSEG. Adjusted net profit jumped 69.4% year-on-year to 8.32 billion yuan, ahead of the average estimate of 6.399 billion yuan, Reuters reported.

Xiaomi president Lu Weibing said on an earnings call that he saw great potential for the company's products - from phones and tablets to cars - in overseas markets, though he added the complexity of expanding abroad was "quite high". Lu said the company aimed to start shipping cars overseas in 2027. Xiaomi's Hong Kong-listed shares closed up 3.3% before the earnings release. The stock has surged 284% over the past 12 months amid investor enthusiasm for its EV plans.

Xiaomi began manufacturing EVs last year with the launch of the SU7 sedan after selling smartphones, household appliances and smart gadgets for most of its 15-year history.

It reported 32.1 billion yuan in revenue for its EV business in 2024, delivering more than 135,000 SU7 sedans. The adjusted net loss related to its EV and other new initiatives reached 6.2 billion yuan.

Xiaomi's fourth-quarter global smartphone shipments rose 5% from a year earlier to 42.7 million handsets, ranking it third globally, with a market share of 13%, data from researcher Canalys showed.

In China, its largest market, shipments surged 29% to 12.2 million handsets over the same period, ranking it fourth, with a market share of 16%, according to the Canalys data.

Lu said Xiaomi aimed to ship 180 million smartphones this year, versus

in 2024, adding the company would invest up to 8 billion yuan, about a quarter of its total research and development budget this year, in AI-related initiatives.



OpenAI Wins $200 Mn Contract with US Military

FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/File Photo
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OpenAI Wins $200 Mn Contract with US Military

FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/File Photo

The US Department of Defense on Monday awarded OpenAI a $200 million contract to put generative artificial intelligence (AI) to work for the military.

San Francisco-based OpenAI will "develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains," according to the department's posting of awarded contracts.

The program with the defense department is the first partnership under the startup's initiative to put AI to work in governments, according to OpenAI.

OpenAI plans to show how cutting-edge AI can vastly improve administrative operations such as how service members get health care and also cyber defenses, the startup said in a post.

All use of AI for the military will be consistent with OpenAI usage guidelines, according to the startup.

Big tech companies are increasingly pitching their tools to the US military, among them Meta, OpenAI and, more predictably, Palantir, the AI defense company founded by Peter Thiel, the conservative tech billionaire who has played a major role in Silicon Valley's rightward shift.

OpenAI and defense tech startup Anduril Industries late last year announced a partnership to develop and deploy AI solutions "for security missions."

The alliance brings together OpenAI models and Anduril's military tech platform to ramp up defenses against aerial drones and other "unmanned aircraft systems", according to the companies.

"OpenAI builds AI to benefit as many people as possible, and supports US-led efforts to ensure the technology upholds democratic values," OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said at the time.