Xiaomi has taken a big step forward in making its own smartphone chips. The company just announced the XRING 01, its first system-on-chip (SoC) built using advanced 3-nanometre (nm) technology.
This makes Xiaomi the first Chinese company to create a smartphone chip using 3nm tech, according to Chinese news outlet Ming Pao.
Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun, shared the news on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.
The XRING 01 chip is made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the same company that produces chips for Apple and Samsung. With this move, Xiaomi becomes the fourth smartphone brand in the world—after Apple, Samsung, and Huawei—to design its own 3nm chip.
Alongside this announcement, Xiaomi also revealed it will invest 50 billion yuan (about $6.94 billion) over the next 10 years to develop more chips. This investment starts in 2025 and shows Xiaomi’s goal to rely less on foreign chipmakers, especially as global supply chains face challenges.
A Xiaomi spokesperson confirmed this investment to the Wall Street Journal, saying the money will go toward chip design and research.
So far, Xiaomi has already spent 13.5 billion yuan on developing the XRING 01 chip, with a team of over 2,500 people working on it.
This isn’t Xiaomi’s first chip. Back in 2017, it launched the Surge S1, but it didn’t perform well. The XRING 01 is a fresh attempt to compete in the global chip market.
To celebrate its 15th anniversary, Xiaomi is also launching several new products this week. According to GSMArena, these include:
- Xiaomi 15S Pro smartphone
- Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra tablet
- YU7, Xiaomi’s first electric SUV
With the XRING 01, Xiaomi is showing it’s serious about becoming a major player in the chip industry, especially as Chinese tech companies push to become more self-reliant.
