Briefing: Xiaomi anniversary promotion sales nearly double, AIoT credited

单日19.3亿元！“手机+AIoT”战略落地 小米9周年米粉节收官 – Sina Finance

What Happened: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi recorded RMB 1.9 billion (around $280 million) in sales during the company’s  ninth anniversary promotional event on Tuesday known as the “Mi Fan Festival.” The revenue from the one-day festival nearly doubled revenue generated by the event last year, which totaled RMB 1 billion. Xiaomi said in a statement that sales benefited from the company’s new strategy focusing on the development of smartphones and artificial intelligence of things, or AIoT, though it did not include revenue figures for AIoT devices.

Why it’s important: Xiaomi’s annual financial report 2018 showed that revenue from its internet of things (IoT) and lifestyle products segment accounted for 25% of its total revenue, and surged 86.9% year-on-year to RMB 43.8 billion. The company did not disclose total figures for AIoT devices but did include sales volume for specific devices during the event, including the more than 450,000 XiaoAi Speaker units sold, which generated more than RMB 100 million. Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun said in January that the company planned to invest at least RMB 10 billion into the AIoT sector over the next five years.