Ratan Tata’s latest investment: Xiomi

It hasn’t even been a year, and Xiomi already has the Indian market in its grasp. Entering India in July 2014, Xiomi is today the fifth largest smartphone vendor in the country. Xiomi directly sells to its customers, and hence optimizes its costs by reducing marketing spending. Xiomi doubled its revenue last year, and right now has been valued at $45 billion in its last round of funding, after recieving a $1.1 million funding from DST Global, GIC, Morningside Group, HOPU Investment Management Company, Qualcomm Ventures and QiMing venture Partners.

Three days after its global launch of Xiomi Mi 4i in India, its first big launch away from homeland China, Xiomi announced that India’s leading industrialist, Mr Ratan Tata, has invested in this company. The monetary details of the deal, however, have not yet been disclosed. This is the first investment made by an Indian company in Xiomi, and the firm is anticipating this is to be the beginning of an exciting journey in the country.

Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiomi said, “Mr Tata is one of the most well-respected business leaders in the world. An investment by him is an affirmation of the strategy we have undertaken in India so far. This is just the start of an exciting journey, and we are looking forward to bringing more products into India.”

This is Ratan Tata’s  9th investment in the last 10 months. After stepping down from Tata Group, Ratan Tata, whose personal worth is $1 billion, has turned towards venture capitalism; investing in startups from his personal assets. His previous investments was in Snapdeal, where he invested close to $3.1-3.4 million, capturing a 0.17% stake in the firm. After Snapdeal and with a new found confidence in ecommerce industry, he has invested in Bluemoon, Urban Ladder, CarDekho, Swasth India, PayTm and Grameen Capital.

Ratan Tata’s investment in Xiomi is a new beginning of the startup investment space in India and is certainly a big boost for Xiomi. This has given Xiomi executives a confidence that they are following the right strategy in India, and that this could boost their sales manifolds. The fact that India it its biggest market outside China is a plus. Xiomi also plans to set up a R&D facility in India, and hence manufacture its own smartphones in the country.

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