Xiaomi Plans to Lead the Home Automation Race; Invests Over $200 Million in ‘Midea’
After recently announcing the Mi Air Purifier, the company is showing further interest in the Smart Home business. Reports have surfaced that Xiaomi has invested around $205 million in Chinese home appliance maker Midea, acquiring about 1.29 percent share in the Chinese home appliance maker.
“The deal between Xiaomi Technology and Midea will see strategic cooperation between the two companies in smart home initiatives and electronic products,” said Xiaomi.
Midea was established in 1968 and shares the vision of a true smarthome with Xiaomi. The home appliance maker revealed that it is planning to invest CNY 15 billon over the course of the next three years on smartphone home research and development. Midea is focussing on a range of smart home management systems for air, water, nutrition and health.
Smartphones aren’t its only forte, Xiaomi has a bunch of smartdevices like a set-top box, smart TV, the Mi Band fitness tracker and the already mentioned Mi Purifier. The company also added that nearly 25 countries have shown initiative in its growing smart home ecosystem.
The past week, Xiaomi has had a tough time in India. The company has been banned from importing and selling handsets in India. Well, since the ban is only on smartphones, hopefully we will see some of its future home automation offerings arrive in our country.
