By Tracy Qu

Chinese technology giant Xiaomi is slated to introduce a 3-nanometer mobile chip this week and plans to invest around $7 billion in chip design over a decade, its founder said.

The moves by the Beijing-based company, best known for its smartphones and home appliances, come as China is ramping up efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in the semiconductor industry amid U.S. trade tensions.

Founder and Chief Executive Lei Jun disclosed the investment amount in a post on Chinese social-media platform Weibo on Monday. A Xiaomi spokesperson said the timeframe for the 50 billion yuan investment, equivalent to $6.94 billion, begins from 2025.

Besides the Xring O1 mobile chip launch, the company is also set to unveil its first electric sport-utility vehicle, the YU7, and the new Xiaomi 15S Pro smartphone on Thursday.

Lei said the company had invested 13.5 billion yuan to develop its advanced mobile chip.

In a separate Weibo post, state media CCTV said Xiaomi's 3-nanometer chip marks a breakthrough in Chinese chip design and keeps up with international technological advances.

The 3-nanometer chip could give Xiaomi a competitive advantage in China over Huawei Technologies, which has been struggling to develop more advanced chips due to U.S. sanctions.

Xiaomi's Hong Kong-listed stock rose 2.65% on Monday, taking its gain this year to more than 50%.

The smartphone maker earlier this year reclaimed the No. 1 spot in the highly competitive Chinese market for the first time in a decade, with its domestic shipments totaling 13.3 million units in the first quarter, up 40% from a year earlier, according to a report by market research firm Canalys.

The company has also had some success in China's crowded electric-vehicle market. In February, it launched the SU7 Ultra, a high-performance variant of its first battery EV, following robust sales of its debut model. Xiaomi later raised its 2025 delivery target to 350,000 vehicles from 300,000.

Analysts say Xiaomi's EV orders have fallen since a recent fatal highway accident involving its car. However, Deutsche Bank analyst Bin Wang said in a note last week that the company's new orders could increase from late May thanks to the YU7's launch and increased advertising.

Write to Tracy Qu at tracy.qu@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 19, 2025 06:44 ET (10:44 GMT)

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