Is Xiaomi the world’s most valuable tech startup?
Xiaomi, the Chinese hardware company that recently cracked the top five for smartphone vendors, raised $1.1 billion in new funding. Xiaomi co-founder Bin Lin revealed in a Facebook post that the company now has a valuation of more than $46 billion. Lin said investors include All-Stars Investment, DST, GIC, Hopu Fund and Yunfeng Capital.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Xiaomi’s valuation ranks No. 1 among all startups backed by venture capitalists.
Xiaomi is known for affordable smartphones and saw the highest third-quarter growth rate of any device vendor at 336%. The company also claimed the top spot as market leader in China and ranked third globally behind only Samsung and Apple.
Xiaomi is rumored to be entering the U. S. market. China Daily reports that the company will launch a new flagship smartphone at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week. The Mi5 will reportedly feature a Quad 5.7-inch high-definition display, a Qualcomm chipset and fingerprint scanning technology.
