Emir Bardakçı
Xiaomi officially opened its new Nanjing Science and Technology Park, expanding its research and development capabilities in Eastern China. This came after Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi, announced at the beginning of 2017 that the headquarters of Xiaomi intended for Eastern China would be set up in Nanjing.
In fact, the opening ceremony revealed the truth that in quantity, it was the largest R&D center for Xiaomi outside the Beijing headquarters. This is a move towards expansion for Xiaomi to enhance its research capabilities across China. The first 300-member R&D team of Xiaomi appeared in a temporary set up in the Xincheng Science and Technology Park in March 2018.
In April, therefore just soon after that, the setting up of the national headquarters of Xiaomi Youpin took place, and in May of the same year, the world’s first Xiaomi Youpin flagship store was opened. All this points to what is relatively high levels of development put forth by Xiaomi to expand its market space within the technology sector.
Last year, the Nanjing company achieved a turnover of 1.2 billion yuan in incomes, with research and development investments per amount of about 540 million yuan. All of which reinforces the view that the site is becoming evermore central to Xiaomi’s overall business plan.
The total area of the Nanjing Science and Technology Park adds up to more than 368,000 square meters, accommodating much beyond the scope of an ordinary working area. This includes advanced scientific research and design offices and the apartments that house skilled workers living in them. Other supportive facilities encourage and support innovation and collaboration between the workers.
“The hub is envisaged as an industrial belt with a special focus on technological innovation enterprises, such as smart hardware, mobile internet, the ecological chain and related services,” said Lei Jun at the opening ceremony. The East China Center will locate the software R&D base of Xiaomi for the development areas of mobile phone, automotive, and internet-related services.
This means that it is expected that with the next three years, they will have a workforce percentage of 5,000 and within five years their targets will be 10,000, hence part of the aggressive targets and growth. Nanjing will be set on the Chinese map with its great technological advance, really boosting the local economy and marking it as China’s tech hubs.
This new investment by Xiaomi is, therefore, not putting into question the commitment to innovation but, rather, it sets the groundwork for future technological progress that will further mold the industry. The Nanjing Science and Technology Park is hence to be a lynchpin in Xiaomi’s strategy to lead in creating state-of-the-art technologies that set the chart for the booming tech world.
Source: ITHome, Lei Jun Weibo
