Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi eyes Indian tech start-ups

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi plans to invest in Indian tech start-ups and overseas media content as it looks to fill homes with its own televisions and appliances.

Just three years after selling its first handset, a US$1.1 billion round of fundraising announced in December valued the privately held company at US$45 billion, making it the world's most valuable tech start-up.

With Samsung Electronics and Apple in its sights in the handset market, the world's third-biggest smartphone maker is now expanding into home appliances and television. The Beijing-based company has already reserved US$1 billion for internet television content.

"Where we really want to make significant investments is in content, particularly in the Chinese market to start with but beyond that in other markets as well," Hugo Barra, vice-president of Xiaomi's global division, said yesterday.

Taking a leaf from Samsung's book, Xiaomi's recent investments include a Chinese electronics maker as part of a strategy to build an internet-of-things environment, where devices can be controlled by smartphones.

"One area that we are also looking to make some investments in is start-ups in India. India is already the largest market for us outside of mainland China," Barra said, without elaborating on the types of start-ups.