Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi on Monday said it will invest in technology startups in India with an aim to give a push to building a start-ups ecosystem in the country.
Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of the launch of Redmi Note and Redmi Note 4G devices, Xiaomi Vice President Hugo Barra, “This is a model we are experimenting with in China. We are building an ecosystem of start ups, in which invest to help build products. We act like venture capital. We want to bring this strategy to India as well. We are mapping start-ups here.”
The company is scouting for such opportunities in Bangalore and Delhi-NCR. “The start-ups ecosystem in India is very vibrant. Not many people realise that India has evolved from being the outsourcing hub for backoffice work to innovation hub,” Barra said adding the company will look at companies that build products that will add value and features to Xiaomi’s range of products. He added Xiaomi invests anything from USD 100,000 to millions of dollars on funding innovative firms.
Recently, the company made a USD 300 million investment in online video provider iQiyi, besides buying stake in China's largest video streaming site Youku Tudou.
Meanwhile, the company announce two new devices; the Redmi Note (Rs 8,999) and Redmi Note 4G (Rs 9,999), in the country after starting operations here in July this year.
While the Redmi Note will go on sale on Flipkart starting December 2 with registrations beginning on November 25, the 4G device will be available in the second half of the month.
Talking about company’s plans to set up data centers in India, Xiaomi India Head Manu Jain said the company is “talking to different partners”. On the estimated timeline he said they are expecting it to be in the first half of next year.
