Xiaomi pursuing US$1.46 bn ‘AIoT’ expansion strategy

China is taking this stuff pretty seriously.
From the Asia Times:

Chinese phone maker turns its attention to smart appliances market 

Chinese phone maker Xiaomi is planning to invest more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.46 billion) on AIoT – which stands for “All in the Internet of Things” – in the next five years, Securities Daily reported.

Xiaomi has been developing this strategy for a long time. At the end of last year, Xiaomi set up another sales department, which, in addition to phone sales, is responsible for selling TVs and home appliances.

Xiaomi recently invested in TCL a continuously expanding company that makes and sells TVs, refrigerators and panels.

However, a company insider said the mobile phone is still Xiaomi’s core business and this will not change.

The insider revealed that Xiaomi phones will enter more international markets this year. At the same time, IoT equipment such as smart TVs will begin to enter the global market and will be aggressively promoted.

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