Xiaomi is planning an annual smartphone chip release, AI assistant overseas

Barcelona – Xiaomi It plans to launch a new smartphone processor chip every year, company chairman Lu Weibing told CNBC, underscoring the company’s ambition to expand into more cutting-edge areas of technology.

In a wide-ranging interview on Tuesday, Lu said Xiaomi is gearing up to launch its own AI assistant for overseas markets.

Last year, Xiaomi released the XRing O1, a system-on-chip (SoC) based on an advanced 3 nanometer manufacturing process. Some smartphone manufacturers design their own SoCs that power the devices they build.

Apple The chips have a series, while Samsung has the Exynos brand. Other smartphone makers rely on companies’ SoCs Qualcomm And Media Tech.

“This is our first chip product. Going forward, we should probably release an annual update,” Lu told CNBC at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona.

Upgrading the SoC annually is a big task, keeping pace with Apple, which usually releases a new A chip annually. Lu said the chip will debut in a device to be launched in China this year and eventually appear in phones the company sells overseas.

Lu’s comments differed from those of Xiaomi Vice President Xu Fei in September, who told CNBC that he could not promise to release something new every year.

A custom SoC allows Xiaomi to tightly integrate its hardware with its software to differentiate it from rival products. Xiaomi has developed its own mobile operating system called HyperOS based on Android.

In China, Xiaomi’s devices have an AI assistant called Xiao AI, built on AI models.

Xiao AI is primarily focused on Xiaomi products in China. But Lu told CNBC that the company is preparing to launch the AI ​​assistant for international markets as the company launches its EVs overseas, which the company previously said would be in Europe in 2027.

“When our cars go to international markets, you’ll see our AI agents come with it,” Lu said.

Lu said Xiaomi is likely to partner with Google to use its overseas AI assistant and its own Gemini models.

Other smartphone makers have taken a similar approach. Samsung is integrating various AI models and offerings into its devices and relies heavily on Google Gemini.

Lu said Xiaomi aims to have its AI assistant in smartphones and cars.

Last year, Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said the company would invest at least 50 billion yuan ($6.9 billion) over the next 10 years in its own chip development.

Lu said the Beijing-headquartered firm plans to integrate its XRing O1 chip, HyperOS operating system and AI assistant into one device for the first time this year.

“It will be in China markets first, but eventually, we want to introduce them to overseas markets,” he said.