- Xiaomi’s workforce includes 20,538 employees
- Lei Jun said that the stocks giveaway is a part of celebrations of Mi making it to Fortune 500 list
Lei Jun, Pic credits – MiLei Jun, founder, chairman and CEO of Xiaomi, through an open letter written to Xiaomi team has expressed his gratitude and announced gifting of 1000 Mi stock shares to all 20,538 employees. The company had reached US$14,537.21 million revenue in sales in 2017.
A part of Jun’s open letter read, “I would like to express my utmost appreciation to everyone who works at Xiaomi, and to your family members who have been super supportive. Making the list takes the efforts of all. Therefore, as a token of appreciation, we will be presenting a special gift to our 20,538 coworkers and members of key external teams. Each of you will recieve 1,000 shares of Xiaomi stocks. Of which, 500 shares serve to celebrate our Global 500 achievement, while the remaining 500 are gifted to the family and loved ones of each coworker and partner for their support along the way.”
Journey from 2012 – A small workshop of 13 people
The company reached RMB10,000 million (approx. US$1,453.72 million) threshold in sales revenue in 2012, and RMB100,000 million (approx. US$14,537.21 million) in 2017. As an internet company with smartphones and smart hardware connected by an Internet of Things (IoT) platform at its core founded in April 2010, Xiaomi was also named to Fortune’s China 500 list for the first time in June, ranking 53rd.
Jun’s letter read, “I would like to thank the hundreds of millions of users and Mi Fans across the world for their unwavering trust and nonstop pep talks; secondly, I owe a big thank you to our business partners for their long-standing support, without which, Xiaomi would never have the chance to make the Global 500 list all the way from a small workshop of 13 employees; then, our investors, who have given us their understanding, seen us grow with patience, and encouraged us. Furthermore, our competitors in the same sector, thank you all for motivating us and teaching us to look ahead, you truly are the best peers.”
Smartphone + AIoT dual-engine strategy
The company had recently shared its plans of following smartphone + AIoT dual-engine strategy. As of March 31, 2019, the number of connected IoT devices (excluding smartphones and laptops) on Xiaomi’s IoT platform, as per the company, had reached approximately 171 million units, a quarter-over-quarter increase of 13.7 per cent and a year-on-year increase of 70.0 per cent.
Jun, at that time had said, “Looking ahead, we will be investing RMB10 billion in the development of ‘All in AIoT’ in the next 5 years, to capture the development opportunities in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT, thus laying a solid foundation for Xiaomi’s development in the next 5 to 10 years. We will replicate our success in the enhancement and adjustment of business strategies in the domestic market to our international markets.”
According to Canalys, during the reporting period, Xiaomi ranked in the top five in over 40 countries and regions in terms of shipments, remained number one in market share position by shipments for seven consecutive quarters in India; and continued to maintain a high growth rate, ranking fourth in terms of smartphone shipments for Western Europe, with shipments to the region growing by 115.1 per cent year-on-year.
Author – Mukul Yudhveer Singh. An avid reader, Mukul finds peace in books and technology. He’s as passionate about writing as he is about playing cricket and hitting the gym. If not writing or reading, you will most likely find him drawing tattoo designs or analyzing political campaigns.
