Good evening, everyone! Welcome to my sixth annual speech. In March last year, we launched Xiaomi EV, making Xiaomi the first technology company to span the three major fields of smartphones, automobiles, and home appliances. This May, we introduced the XRING O1 chip, making Xiaomi the first company in mainland China to release a flagship chip built on a 3 nm process.
As Xiaomi marks its fifteenth anniversary, our successive breakthroughs in automobiles and chips have made many people see us in a new light. It may seem as if Xiaomi became a different company overnight.
In fact, all these changes began with a profound period of reflection five years ago.
01 A Profound Reflection
1.1 Pain and Anxiety
Five years ago, in 2020, Xiaomi celebrated its tenth anniversary. We had been publicly listed for two years, our annual revenue had surpassed RMB 200 billion, and we had entered the Fortune Global 500. In the eyes of many, Xiaomi was already highly successful. Yet deep down, I was filled with an anxiety that was hard to put into words.
In our industry, Apple, Samsung, and Huawei loomed like mountains we could never cross, and there seemed to be almost no hope of catching up. Should we resign ourselves to our fate, or keep fighting?
After a decade of entrepreneurship, many people on the team were exhausted and wanted to stop for a rest. I completely understood. I was tired too. But competition would only intensify over the next decade. How many people would still be willing to fight alongside me?
Even more exhausting was the flood of doubt, criticism, and even attacks online. Many people were prejudiced against Xiaomi and stubbornly believed that "Xiaomi is merely an assembly plant," "Xiaomi has no real technology; its products are simply cheap," or "Xiaomi only knows marketing and will never go far." During that period, I was consumed by inner conflict.
After struggling for a long time, I resolved to face every problem head-on, find a way through, and rewrite our destiny.
At first, I did not know how to solve these problems. Fortunately, I had learned Go as a child, and with it a very effective method: reviewing the game.
A review means answering three key questions: "What did we do right? What did we do wrong? If we could start over, what would we do?" Once these questions are clear, the direction of the road ahead becomes clear as well.
So we began a long and searching review. At each session, seven or eight of us would speak openly, often for four or five hours at a time. We held forty or fifty such meetings over the course of six months.
1.2 Where Should Xiaomi Go?
Xiaomi was founded to apply internet technology and methods to manufacturing. After six months of review, we became certain of our path for the next stage: invest continuously in foundational core technologies and transform from an internet company into a hardcore technology company. We also planned to invest RMB 100 billion in core technology research and development over the following five years.
Bear in mind that our total R&D investment in 2019 was only RMB 7.5 billion. For us, "RMB 100 billion over five years" was an enormous figure.
From that moment, Xiaomi began to reshape its DNA. "Technology is our foundation" became an iron rule we would never change, and our passion for starting the business anew was fully reignited.
1.3 Reshaping the Team
Over the next five years, we recruited a great many talented people with the resolve of a startup and reshaped our core management team. This immense change is clear from the list of our senior executives:
First, two co-founders, Lin Bin and Liu De, remained to continue the fight with me.
We actively recruited top talent from outside, including senior executives such as Lu Weibing, Zeng Xuezhong, Wang Xiaoyan, Lin Shiwei, and Liu Wei. Some joined directly as executives, while others entered as middle managers and grew step by step into executive roles. These externally recruited leaders have made major contributions to Xiaomi's development.
At the same time, we placed great emphasis on developing people internally and promoted a group of young executives, including Zhu Dan, Qu Heng, Xu Fei, and Zhang Jianhui. All of them were among Xiaomi's earliest employees. After more than a decade of experience, they gradually grew into a new generation of leaders and joined the core management team.
Take Zhu Dan, employee number 54, one of Xiaomi's earliest engineers. Today he is responsible for building our chip business, and he led the team that overcame the challenges behind the successful XRING O1.
02 The Chip Journey
Speaking of XRING O1, many people were surprised: how did Xiaomi "suddenly" make such a powerful chip? Before its launch, we had never disclosed it publicly, and few people inside the company knew about it. Next, let me explain how our chip business came about.
2.1 Pinecone Electronics
Xiaomi has always had a dream of making chips.
Eleven years ago, in September 2014, when Xiaomi had been in business for just over four years, we established the wholly owned Pinecone Electronics and resolutely began developing smartphone chips in-house.
After three years of effort, the Xiaomi Surge S1 was officially released in 2017 and used in a midrange phone that sold 600,000 units that year. It looked like a very promising start, but I knew that Pinecone had reached a dead end.
In 2018, we made a difficult decision: we stopped developing smartphone SoCs, reduced the team, and continued making several smaller chips, preserving at least a small spark.
When chips came up during our review five years ago, everyone was still haunted by what had happened. To resolve that knot in our hearts, we had to understand exactly why Pinecone had failed. We spent a long time examining it.
First, we had chosen the wrong entry point. We reached a crucial, counterintuitive conclusion: there was no chance at all in developing low- or midrange smartphone SoCs in-house; only the very high end offered even a slim chance of survival. The reasons are complicated, so I will not go into them here. Apple and Huawei also broke through in this way.
In-house chip development also requires the smartphone team's full support. Think about it: why would the phone team stop using mature chips and take on enormous risk instead? Without perfectly aligned goals and a determination to share both honor and hardship, it simply cannot work. Pinecone was relatively independent in its management at the time, making coordination with the phone team extremely difficult. I often stepped in personally, but even then it was hard to resolve.
Pinecone's failure thus became inevitable.
2.2 A Difficult Decision
Yet chips were something we could never avoid. Almost every leading global technology giant ultimately became a chip giant as well.
I knew very clearly that chips were an essential path to Xiaomi's success. But making chips had become far more complex than it was ten years earlier. Developing a smartphone SoC in-house, for example, would take at least ten years and require an investment of at least RMB 50 billion. Would spending that much money and time guarantee success? What would we do if it failed? The discussion lasted more than six months. No one felt certain, and we could not bring ourselves to decide.
Later, I encouraged everyone: "If we do not make chips, we are certain to lose. If we do not try, how can we know that Xiaomi cannot succeed?"
Finally, at the beginning of 2021, a new chip journey began.
The shadow of Pinecone's failure still hung over many people. Whenever we met a potential partner, we had to explain ourselves at great length before they could understand. Only after overcoming many obstacles were we finally able to rebuild the team.
2.3 Never Waver
In the project's second year, we encountered even greater difficulties. Xiaomi's business was hit by the international economic environment and geopolitical conditions. Revenue plunged by 15 percent, the first such decline in Xiaomi's history.
At the same time, we were under enormous pressure because we were "putting two children through college" at once: cars and chips, each a major project requiring an investment of RMB 50 or 60 billion. The pressure was suffocating.
"Could continuing with chips bring the entire company down?" Doubts gradually emerged within the team, and morale began to waver.
In May 2022, I convened a meeting of our senior executives for a serious discussion. The atmosphere was extremely grave. Everyone understood that if we gave up this time, Xiaomi would lose its chance to make chips forever, and the market would never give us another opportunity. Finally, one executive spoke frankly: from a business perspective, the numbers simply could not be worked out at that moment; only the founder could make the call. Without the slightest hesitation, I asked everyone: if we give up now, ten years from today will we be grateful that the company has a few hundred billion more yuan on its books, or will we regret that Xiaomi lost its chip business forever?
I stated my view clearly: I supported going forward. The investment was absolutely worthwhile. Even in the worst case, if we ultimately failed, it would still develop a formidable chip R&D team and fundamentally transform the character of Xiaomi as a company.
After a thorough discussion, everyone renewed their resolve.
In May 2023, the project's third year, an earthquake suddenly struck China's chip industry: without any warning, a peer company dissolved its chip team of more than 3,000 people. My phone was instantly flooded with calls and messages. Many people asked, "Will Xiaomi shut down its chip division?"
At the time, I was also stunned and did not know what had happened. We knew full well how hard it was to develop major chips and that the odds were overwhelmingly against us. But we had already lost once. This time, we would grit our teeth and keep going.
To steady the team, I immediately arranged an all-hands meeting for the chip division. Rumors were flying everywhere. When the meeting notice went out, our colleagues were startled and thought we were about to dissolve the team too. At the meeting, Zhu Dan, the head of our chip business, conveyed the company's decision. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and resolved to make the chip a success.
2.4 First Silicon Success
At the beginning of 2024, the chip was taped out as planned. It used the most advanced 3 nm process, and the tape-out alone cost more than US$20 million.
On May 22 last year, the first batch of chips arrived. Everyone was so excited that they went to the airport together to receive them. These immensely valuable chips were carried back to the laboratory in a paper bag worth just a few cents.
I was away on a business trip that day. Every few minutes, I checked the group chat, anxiously awaiting the test results. If the chip failed, not only would the tape-out fee of more than US$20 million be lost, but the entire project would also be delayed by six months.
At 9 p.m. that night, the system finally booted up.
Early the next morning, while still away, I received a call from Zhu Dan made on a phone powered by XRING O1.
That meant every module was working. At that moment, I was overwhelmed with emotion. A flagship 3 nm chip of such complexity had succeeded on its very first tape-out. It was truly remarkable. Our engineers really were exceptional.
2.5 The Launch of XRING
One year later, on May 22 this year, XRING O1 and the phones and tablets powered by it were officially released.
No one had expected Xiaomi's first flagship SoC to perform so well and reach the level of the industry's top tier.
The Xiaomi 15S Pro powered by XRING O1 has been on the market for four months, and both the media and users have given it very positive reviews.
The road for XRING has only just begun, and it is far too early to speak of success, but we will certainly persevere. Looking back on the XRING O1 project, failure itself is not frightening. The key is to confront the fear within us. For us, the challenge was more than technical. Even harder was learning, after Pinecone's crushing defeat, how to overcome our fear and find the courage to start again.
Let me end this part with one detail. When the project began, I suggested keeping the name Pinecone. I thought we should get back up where we had fallen. But everyone firmly disagreed. Later, we chose a new name: XRING. It represents a solemn promise that this time, Xiaomi is serious about making chips.
03 The Battle at the Nurburgring
Next, let us talk about Xiaomi EV.
This June, Xiaomi announced that the SU7 Ultra prototype ranked third overall on the Nurburgring's official lap-time rankings, while the production model topped the global ranking for production electric vehicles. The news quickly sent shock waves through the global automotive industry. Many people wondered how Xiaomi, a smartphone company and a newcomer to automobiles, could be so formidable.
The story begins four years ago.
3.1 The Story of A-Can
Xiaomi fans all know A-Can, Xiaomi EV's chief test driver and head of dynamic performance engineering.
He was born in Zhuji, Zhejiang. There was a repair shop near his family home, and he spent his childhood there. At university, he spent every day on automotive forums and served as a moderator. After graduating, he became a chassis engineer. To improve his chassis work, he began training intensely as a racing driver and even won several racing championships. That tells you just how obsessed he was with building cars.
Four years ago, when Xiaomi announced that it would make cars, the screen filled with comments saying, "Take down Tesla!"
When one of his colleagues prepared to join, A-Can immediately asked, "Can you take me with you?" To show his determination, he even said, "Wherever Xiaomi builds cars, I will move my whole family there."
In this way, Xiaomi brought together a large group of ambitious engineers who loved cars and longed to accomplish something earth-shaking.
3.2 Launching the Ultra Project
What could so many outstanding engineers accomplish together? In September 2021, at Xiaomi EV's first all-hands meeting, we announced an ambitious plan: benchmark Porsche and Tesla and build the world's most powerful high-performance pure electric car.
To set such an audacious goal at the very start of building cars was truly the fearlessness of the young. Of course, becoming the world's best involved many difficulties. At the time, for example, there was no suitable high-power electric motor on the market. So we made up our minds to assemble our own team and build one ourselves. That later became the Xiaomi V8s HyperEngine, and we even handled its production ourselves.
After several months of evaluation, the Ultra project was officially launched in December.
Yet just after the Spring Festival, the project was canceled again.
Some of you may remember that after the 2022 Spring Festival, we held meetings for twenty-one straight days. SU7 development had reached its most critical stage, and because we were new to building cars, our capabilities and resources were severely limited. To ensure the SU7's success, we had no choice but to cut the Ultra project for the time being. Everyone was deeply disappointed.
No one expected the Ultra project to be rescued in May.
That meeting was held online and also lasted several days. To liven things up, I sent every colleague a bottle of red wine. One engineer raised his glass and proposed, "Porsche is the god in our hearts. Could we build a car and challenge it directly on the Nurburgring?" The idea instantly electrified everyone.
To drive a car they had built with their own hands around the Nurburgring and surpass Porsche is the ultimate dream of many automotive engineers.
By then, the SU7 project had made major progress, and the pressure was lower than it had been a few months earlier. Everyone decided to grit their teeth and restart the Ultra project.
When the news was announced, the engineering team erupted with excitement, and A-Can was so thrilled that he jumped into the air. Ultra was a journey in pursuit of a dream for a group of engineers, and everyone threw themselves into the work.
3.3 Taking on the Nurburgring
Yet one difficulty followed another. Let me tell you about the obstacle you would least expect.
In August 2023, we contacted Nurburgring officials for the first time. They replied quickly, but then we heard nothing more. We sent twenty emails into the void. Only on the eve of Christmas, more than three months later, did we receive a second email agreeing at last to meet with us.
Just after New Year's Day in 2024, our project team immediately traveled to the Nurburgring, where heavy snow was falling.
When we met, their first question was, "Why does a Chinese smartphone manufacturer want to come to the Nurburgring?"
We presented the Ultra plan in detail, and our ambition won them over.
Although Xiaomi had only just begun making cars and the circuit's schedule was extremely tight, Nurburgring officials did their utmost to find us a slot, and other automakers testing there also gave us tremendous support. We were finally scheduled for early October. To make sure we had enough time, we reserved the entire track for two consecutive days, October 9 and 10.
We completed every preparation and looked forward to an outstanding Ultra performance. Unexpectedly, it rained all day on October 9. The forecast still offered hope for the next day, and our colleagues remained enthusiastic and continued encouraging one another.
To witness this important moment, I arrived at the Nurburgring early on October 10 and waited beside the track from seven in the morning. In the end, I spent the entire day watching the rain.
Everyone knows what happened next. After many twists and turns, on October 28 we finally received a ten-minute window, enough for only one lap. On that single lap, the Ultra prototype set a record and showed the world the strength of Xiaomi EV for the first time.
Ultra made me realize something deeply: only heartfelt passion and unyielding perseverance can create a miracle. Without the engineers' genuine love and aspiration, and without our refusal to give up, this legend could never have come into being.
On April 1 this year, the production Ultra officially took on the Nurburgring. This time the weather was good, and in just four laps we recorded two breathtaking results.
Looking back on Ultra's three-year journey, we encountered far too many twists and turns, but the final result exceeded everyone's imagination. There is a saying online that I like very much, and I would like to share it with you: "Just keep working hard and leave the rest to fate."
My only regret concerns A-Can. Last October, to ensure success, he gave the only lap opportunity to David, a local Nurburgring driver. This year, unfortunately, he again failed to achieve his ideal personal lap time. As you know, no Chinese driver's name has yet appeared on the Nurburgring's official lap-time rankings. But he believes that one day, he will put his own name there.
By earning respect through genuine ability, Xiaomi's achievements at the Nurburgring are quietly changing the global automotive industry's perception of Chinese cars.
The Xiaomi SU7 series achieved remarkable results on its very first outing. It has become the bestselling sedan priced above RMB 200,000 over the past year, ranks eighth in sales among all vehicle models, and tops the resale value rankings.
04 Breaking Through Again
The Xiaomi YU7 was released this June and achieved even more astonishing results: more than 200,000 firm orders in three minutes. The figure shocked the entire automotive industry and was so extraordinary that it even drew skepticism. So at 4 p.m. the next day, we released the number of locked-in orders directly: 240,000 in eighteen hours. How did Xiaomi EV achieve another enormous success? Let me tell you the story behind the Xiaomi YU7.
4.1 The Last Card in Our Hand
Many people may not know that the YU7 project carried immense pressure from the very beginning.
It was the summer of 2022, at the most critical stage of SU7 development. The SU7 was a pure electric sedan, and almost no one believed in it. Apart from Tesla, pure electric sedans had never sold well. If the SU7 failed, the YU7 would be the last card in our hand, and it would have to turn the tide.
4.2 What Kind of SUV Should We Build?
At the time, the Li Auto L9 had just been released. Its "TV, refrigerator, and big sofa" design became a phenomenal success, and Li Auto created a new category of large, range-extended SUVs. Many automakers followed Li Auto's example and also received a good market response.
As Xiaomi EV's last card, what should the YU7 become? Should we take our own path, or copy everyone else's homework?
This may have been the most heated debate in Xiaomi EV's history. The atmosphere in the meeting room was explosive, and everyone had to agree on a gentleman's rule: when the argument became impossible to continue, we would block one another for twenty-four hours, cool down for a day, and then resume. As the debates continued, our view became clear. Automakers were rushing into the market for large SUVs like Li Auto's, and dozens of models would soon be launched, making competition extremely fierce. Moreover, there are only so many families with several children, so total market demand is limited. If we built the same kind of car, it would have no future.
After speaking with a great many users, we also discovered that even when they chose an SUV, most of the time they still drove alone.
So we had a bold idea: take a different path and design an attractive, enjoyable SUV for the driver that could also serve a family's everyday needs. That meant a sporty SUV.
During the evaluation, some colleagues remained deeply concerned: in such a fiercely competitive domestic market, could an SUV really sell without competing on oversized interior space?
The R&D team demonstrated through a detailed proposal that the Xiaomi YU7's interior space was every bit as good as the Model Y's, which meant it would certainly be spacious enough.
And so the Xiaomi YU7, a different kind of SUV, was officially launched as a project.
4.3 The Origin of the "Most Powerful Standard Version"
From the very first day, the Xiaomi YU7 carried the resolve to burn the boats behind us. We invested heavily and strove to perfect every detail.
Let me give you one example. The standard version was originally planned with a range of 620 kilometers, already very good for a pure electric SUV and considerably better than the Model Y.
But after several long-distance road tests at the end of last year, I still felt it was not quite enough. Many people buy SUVs for long trips. How could we eliminate their range anxiety? It was already too late for a major redesign.
Later, we came up with the simplest and most direct solution: eliminate the 620-kilometer version, rename the Pro version with its 835-kilometer long range, and call it the "standard version."
That effectively added more than 200 kilometers of range without changing the price. Compared with the Model Y, it was extraordinarily competitive. When the proposal was made, our procurement colleagues nearly "fainted crying in the restroom."
And so the "most powerful standard version" made its debut. At the Xiaomi YU7 launch, I stressed repeatedly that this standard version was not an entry-level, stripped-down, or compromised model. It was equivalent to other companies' Pro or Max versions. That was no exaggeration. This standard version really was the long-range Pro version we had originally planned.
4.4 A Love Letter to Our Users
Before the Xiaomi SU7 launch, I asked many friends in the media for their opinions, and almost none of them were optimistic. This time, when I asked them about the Xiaomi YU7, they were all very optimistic. That only put me under even greater pressure.
Would people truly accept this "different" SUV?
We still felt somewhat uncertain, but I firmly believed that the countless hours of dedication we had poured into the YU7 would resonate with many people.
At the end of the Xiaomi YU7 launch, I said: "Who was the YU7 designed for? For those who cannot tolerate mediocrity and those who always walk at the forefront of their time. It is also for those who carry responsibility on their shoulders yet still hold distant dreams in their hearts; for mothers who take their children to school in the morning and buy themselves a bouquet of flowers along the way; for fathers who take the whole family camping on weekends yet leave room in the trunk for their own fishing gear. It is for those who, amid the ordinary bustle of daily life, still carry a universe of stars within them."
"The Xiaomi YU7 is the deepest, most hardcore love letter that Xiaomi's engineers have written to everyone who loves life."
The YU7's performance after launch fully demonstrated that the bold risk we took three years ago, and every effort we made over those three years, were worthwhile.
One YU7 owner told me that after his baby was born, he became what others saw as a devoted dad and bought a large six-seat SUV. One evening after work, he suddenly felt deeply lost and sat alone in the car for half an hour. Amid demanding work and a happy family life, he seemed to have gradually lost himself. For more than a year, he had gone to great lengths for every member of his family, yet had not bought a single thing for himself, not even a T-shirt. After watching the launch, he was deeply moved. That very night, he persuaded his family to let him buy a YU7 for himself.
Perhaps this is where the Xiaomi YU7 miracle comes from.
4.5 The Power of Change
From our "last card" to a new miracle, the Xiaomi YU7 taught us this: when faced with a difficult problem, try a different way of thinking and dare to experiment. You may achieve a very different result.
From the SU7 and SU7 Ultra to the YU7, Xiaomi EV has answered doubts about a smartphone company building cars with a series of solid achievements.
At the same time, China's automotive industry is also undergoing immense change, and domestic brands have risen across the high-end vehicle market.
05 A New Chapter for Chen Nian
The profound changes Xiaomi has undergone in recent years have also quietly changed many people, including my good friend Chen Nian. He is the founder of Vancl and often comes to my livestreams to "borrow some traffic." Let me make this clear in advance: he has never paid me a cent in advertising fees. If you have a complaint about Vancl, criticize him directly and please do not come after me.
5.1 The Xiaomi SU7 Launch
Last year's Xiaomi SU7 launch was the first report card from my three years of building cars, and it was extremely important to me. I made a special point of inviting Chen Nian.
He said he could not come. He was writing a novel in Dalian and had been secluded for more than a year, hardly leaving home except for an occasional meal.
I was a little surprised. It was true that I had not seen him for some time.
He also told me that when Vancl first started, it expanded too broadly and ended up owing more than RMB 1 billion. Every morning after that, the moment he opened his eyes, all he could think about was repaying the debt. He did that for a full ten years. Three years ago, he finally paid it all off, and by then he was utterly exhausted.
I told him I understood.
Unexpectedly, he came to the launch after all. Many friends gathered for dinner that evening, and the atmosphere was lively. He alone was unusually quiet and barely spoke.
5.2 If You Truly Want To, You Can Change
Six months later, Chen Nian suddenly asked to talk with me. We arranged to meet at nine the following evening.
Only when we met did I learn that he had taken a train from Hangzhou early that morning especially to see me. For a moment, I did not understand. Hangzhou? Was he not writing his book in Dalian? He then told me that the launch the previous March had affected him deeply.
In April, he moved the entire company to Hangzhou and personally led its full transition into livestream e-commerce. I casually asked, "How many people moved when you relocated the entire company to Hangzhou?" He replied, "Three or four." I instantly understood where he had been at that time. Vancl, once a company of more than 10,000 people, had effectively returned to zero.
The Chen Nian I knew had always seemed very scholarly, and I was somewhat worried. Could he really handle livestream e-commerce? And at his age, could my old friend Chen Nian truly start again from nothing?
He was full of confidence. He told me that on the night of the launch, something long dormant within him seemed to ignite all at once. He thought that if Lei Jun could change himself and enter a new industry to build cars, then he could do it too.
A sentence immediately came to mind: sure enough, fifty-five is exactly the age to charge ahead.
At the beginning of this year, he came to see me again and happily announced that Vancl had entered the top three menswear brands on Douyin. I hear it often ranks first as well.
Chen Nian has been my friend for twenty-eight years, and this time I truly admire him.
The past five years have brought a complete transformation, both for Xiaomi and for me personally.
We have resolutely moved from being an internet company into the new arena of intelligent manufacturing.
Starting with smartphones and consumer electronics, we have opened up a new landscape through the Human x Car x Home ecosystem.
The changes along this journey go far beyond cars, chips, and moving upmarket. What matters most is that five years of steady, down-to-earth effort have reshaped Xiaomi's bones and soul.
My greatest realization over these five years is this: the journey from confusion to transformation can sometimes span mountains and seas, yet at other times it is separated by only a thin sheet of paper.
As long as we keep working hard and growing, every person and every team has a chance to rewrite their destiny.
Thank you, everyone. That concludes today's speech.