Xiaomi has reportedly created a new internal chip development branch within its mobile phone product division, marking a significant expansion of its semiconductor ambitions. The move was revealed through a recent ITHome report, further suggesting that the tech giant, which has historically relied on Qualcomm chipsets for its smartphones, is ramping up plans to develop proprietary system-on-chip (SoC) solutions. While the full scope of the new ´chip platform department´ remains unclear, sources suggest that the team is focusing on an internally designed ´Xuanjie´ SoC series, potentially positioning Xiaomi to gain greater hardware differentiation and supply chain resilience in the future.
The new department is reportedly led by Qin Muyun, a former senior director of product marketing at Qualcomm, indicating Xiaomi´s commitment to senior-level expertise in the chip sector. Muyun´s direct reporting line to CEO Lei Jun underlines the strategic importance of this initiative for the company. Over the past five years, Xiaomi engineers have accumulated experience across several key semiconductor domains, including imaging, fast charging, power management, communications, and display technologies. This foundational knowledge is expected to strengthen the company´s first-party SoC development projects as it navigates a competitive and fast-evolving mobile processor market.
Amid these developments, industry rumors point to technical adjustments within Xiaomi´s chip strategy, such as a recent shift in process node technology for the upcoming flagship SoC—from an advanced 3 nm node to a more established 4 nm node. While the next-generation chipset may not lead the market in raw performance, analysts suggest it is expected to match the capabilities of Qualcomm´s first-generation Snapdragon 8, released in 2021. With this new in-house team in place and seasoned leadership at the helm, Xiaomi seeks to bolster its long-term independence and innovation in mobile hardware design.
