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Xiaomi, the Chinese tech giant, announced the launch of its latest in-house mobile chip, the XRING O1, on Thursday. This marks a major milestone for the company as Chinese firms increasingly invest in domestic technology amid challenging international trade conditions. With this development, Xiaomi becomes only the second smartphone brand globally after Apple to mass-produce 3-nanometre chips, among the most advanced in the industry.
Xiaomi, which sells goods from smartphones to vacuum cleaners and electric vehicles (EVs), is one of China's most prominent consumer electronics firms.
Xiaomi took early steps into semiconductors for smartphones with the launch of the firm's first in-house chip, the Surge S1, in 2017. But the group was forced to halt production of the chip due to technical and financial obstacles.
Lei said the journey to developing the XRING O1 had taken over a decade. "How much hardship, how much sweat, how much untold pain have been involved in these 11 years? How much courage and determination did it take to make this decision?" he said.
The XRING O1 will first be deployed in Xiaomi's new 15S Pro flagship smartphone and the Pad 7 Ultra tablet, which were also launched Thursday along with a preview of the firm's first electric SUV.
A number of Chinese firms are racing to develop their own chips with the aim of freeing themselves from reliance on foreign suppliers. Xiaomi is only the fourth smartphone brand globally to have developed its own system-on-chip, with Huawei the only domestic competitor.
Over the past few years, Washington has sharply tightened export controls on advanced chip technology to China, citing national security concerns. Chinese chip foundries are restricted from accessing foreign equipment needed for cutting-edge chip production -- meaning that firms have to rely on overseas foundries for 5nm-process and below.
Xiaomi has not confirmed which company is manufacturing the XRING O1, though Lei said it uses the same second generation 3nm-process technology as Apple's latest chips.
Apple contracts Taiwanese chipmaking titan TSMC for its fabrication.
