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Tag: Xiaomi

  • Xiaomi to soon enter Electric Vehicle Market with $10b Investment

    The Chinese Smartphone company Xiaomi is reportedly planning to enter into the Electric Vehicle platform. The company which is involved in manufacturing consumer electronics is planning to invest into the Electric Vehicle Industry. Let’s look at this article to understand the plans of Xiaomi about its EV industry.

    Xiaomi
    Xiaomi planning to enter Electric Vehicle market
    Xiaomi’s EV Investments
    China’s Electric Vehicle market
    Other Players in Electric vehicle market
    FAQ

    Xiaomi

    Xiaomi is a Chinese Multinational company which is headquartered in Beijing. The company was founded in the year 2010. Xiaomi makes and invests in smartphones, laptops, mobile apps, home appliances, bags, shoes, consumer electronics, accessories, and IoT devices.

    Xiaomi is the fourth company to develop a mobile system on chip (SoC) capabilities after Apple, Samsung, and Huawei. Xiaomi is the fourth largest mobile manufacturing company in the world. The company has a leading position in the largest market which is China and the second largest market which is India.

    Xiaomi planning to enter Electric Vehicle market

    Xiaomi has plans to be part of the Electric Vehicle market. Xiaomi has confirmed its intention to invest $10 billion in its own subsidiary firm which is completely owned by Xiaomi. They had confirmed their intentions at the Mi MIX Fold Global Launch Event.

    The initial investments according to the confirmation stand at CNY 10 billion. The founder and CEO Lei Jun is expected to lead the Electric Car project of the company for the time being. Xiaomi has not revealed any information about the products they plan to introduce or work on in the Electric Vehicle segment of the company.

    There are no announcements regarding their projects and no information about the company’s launch plans. Xiaomi has said that they want to work on providing quality electric vehicles which would let everyone in the world to enjoy smart living anytime and anywhere.

    Top selling light duty plug-in Electric vehicle global market
    Top selling light duty plug-in Electric vehicle global market

    Xiaomi’s EV Investments

    According to the report by Chinese media LatePost Xiaomi’s entry into the EV market to manufacture Electric cars was taken after considering it for years. They have also said that the company’s plans are just in the early stages and it might change in the future as well.

    The report has also said that in the year 2018 Xiaomi had launched an early project in the electric vehicle segment called Mi car to explore the electric car making industry. It is said that the CEO of Xiaomi Lei Jun had visited Elon Musk who is the CEO of Tesla in 2013 twice.

    Xiaomi has also made a mark in the Chinese Electric Vehicle segment by investing in Xpeng motors which delivered around 27,041 vehicles in the year 2020. They have also invested in NIO which is also a Chinese homegrown Electric Vehicle maker.

    China’s Electric Vehicle market

    China’s Electric Vehicle market has seen a significant growth in the recent years. It has attracted a lot of high-profile companies ranging from traditional automobile companies to internet companies.

    According to a research by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, In the year 2020, the country saw an increase in the sales of EV which accounted for 1.37 million. There is an increase in the sales of up to 11% year-on-year.

    China based automaker Greely auto has said that it is planning to focus more on to the Electric Vehicle segment. The founder and Chairman of the company Li Shufu have announced that the company has plans to shift 90 percent of its production to hybrid Electric vehicles and is also planning to set up a new factory for New Energy Vehicles.

    The growth of the Chinese Electric Vehicle market has come after the multiple policy campaigns which are to promote carbon reduction which includes the plans to reach carbon neutrality by 2060.

    Other Players in Electric vehicle market

    Earlier, Huawei had announced its plans to enter into the manufacturing of Electric Vehicles. There were several speculations through various news reports which had suggested that the company had approached China’s Changan Automobile, BluePark New Energy Technology, and other players in the industry. Huawei has plans to concentrate on developing smart bits and to let the car manufacturers provide car parts.

    From the western world, there has been a lot of rumors of Apple entering into the Electric Vehicle segment. It is said that the iPhone manufacturer is working on an electric vehicle of its own. The company is focusing on building the autonomous tech, battery, and the technical parts of the car and would require another partner from the automobile sector to work on the rest of the parts of the car.

    FAQ

    Which is the cheapest electric car?

    Smart EQ Fortwo EV is one the cheapest electric car.

    What are the 3 types of electric cars?

    Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), and Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) are the 3 types of electric cars.

    Who is the CEO of Xiaomi?

    Lei Jun is the current CEO of Xiaomi.

    Conclusion

    Compared to Apple and Huawei, Mi has still not announced any of its plans for its products or the launch. We will have to wait for any more news regarding the Chinese smartphone manufacturer’s entry into the Electric Vehicle Segment.

  • Ratan Tata: The Accidental Startup Investor

    Today, Ratan Tata needs no introduction as he is the most respected business tycoon in India. He is an Indian industrialist, philanthropist, former chairman of Tata Group and Tata Sons. Post his retirement in 2012 he has turned into an avid angel investor who has left an everlasting impact. He is well-known for investing in some of the most successful startups today.

    So far, Ratan Tata has invested in over two dozen startups, including top unicorns of India, like furniture e-tailer Urban Ladder, digital payments app Paytm, ride-hailing company Ola and its electric vehicle arm Ola Electric Mobility, Cure.fit, Urban Ladder, etc. His investment may only be a few million dollars, according to industry sources, but what’s invaluable is having the 81-year-old tycoon’s name attached to a young startup.

    So, how Ratan Tata: the accidental startup investor turned into an avid angel investor? Let’s take a look.

    Name Ratan Tata
    Born Surat, India
    Age 82
    Citizenship Indian
    Education Cornell University College of Architecture, Harvard Business School
    Title Indian Industrialist, Philanthropist, and a Former chairman of Tata Sons
    Occupation Businessman
    Net Worth Rs. 6396 Crore
    Awards CNN-IBN Indian of the Year in Business, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan

    First Investment made by Ratan Tata

    The 81-year-old also said that he became a startup investor by accident. He added that he used to look at the sector as exciting always but somewhat untouchable. Tata further mentioned that with two-three years into the sector, it has become a learning experience for him as he got to learn many aspects regarding investment in startups.

    The business magnate, better known as the ”Accidental Startup Investor”, was always interested in the startup ecosystem. He mentioned that his tenure as the chairman of Tata Group as this sector meant conflicts if he would take up any entrepreneurial assignment. But once Mr. Tata retired, he wasted no time in becoming a full-time investor through his private investment vehicle—RNT Associates.

    Ratan Tata said that when he retired, at first he started making small token investments in what he considered exciting companies. He admitted that in the beginning, he intended to take some more risks than he might have taken under different circumstances. With two-three years into this, it became a learning experience, as this sector is very active and has the best minds.

    The first investment he made was in Snapdeal in 2014 which yielded great results. The CEO of Snapdeal, Kunal Bahl, has high regards for Ratan Tata and considers him to be a lucky charm for Snapdeal. He is believed to have bought a 0.17% stake in Snapdeal in August 2014, when he invested less than Rs 5 crore. Tata bought 256 shares from the e-commerce company’s angel investors, including Kenneth Glass.

    Other Investments made by Ratan Tata

    Following this, he has invested in 31 startups. After Snapdeal, the online furniture retailer Urban Ladder secured funding from Ratan Tata in November 2015. It was Tata’s second personal investment in an e-commerce firm. It is a popular furniture selling platform based in Bengaluru. It is currently present in 12 cities around India.

    Paytm, a Noida-based digital-payments company saw an overnight jump in subscribers by millions, after Demonetization of announced by the government on November 8, 2018. The company had secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Ratan Tata in March 2015. Tata bought a stake in One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm.

    Ola Cabs is India’s answer to Uber. Much like Uber, Ola provides cab services across all price segments, ranging from economic to luxury. Beginning its operations in 2010, Ola secured funding from Ratan Tata in July 2015.

    Ratan Tata is the first Indian to buy a stake in Chinese tech giant Xiaomi best known for its affordable smartphones. It’s true, the amount Tata invested in Xiaomi was not disclosed. Similarly, services marketplace UrbanClap raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Ratan Tata in December 2015. In April 2016, Lenskart, the popular online retailer that sells eyewear secured funding from Tata.

    Ratan Tata has invested in More than 30 Start-ups
    Ratan Tata has invested in More than 30 Start-ups

    Tata, while referring to the growth of budding startups said, “We are looking at the India of tomorrow and the day after, and the start-up industry is entering the global field in a manner where competition is open. The fact is we (Indians) are entrepreneurs at heart. Maybe what we need is the opportunity to flourish and I think the startup industry is doing just that.”

    List of 24 Startups Funded by Ratan Tata
    > “If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walktogether.”- Ratan Tata, Tata GroupThe Tata Group has invested in numerous sectors of the economy through decades,be it telecom, software, groceries or fashion. The behemoth has infiltrated anumber of markets. As the Chai…
    StartupTalkyAshwini

    Ratan Tata’s Sectors of Interest

    Ratan N. Tata has invested in over 30 startups. Among these, there are several technology-based startups too. Tata has made all these investments in his personal capacity. Ratan Tata has not restricted himself to a sector and stepped into a variety of diverse strata, be it clothing, weather, pet care services, etc., but technology catches his attention.

    He holds the view that technology can be applied and used in any sector and the future is all about technology. He has recently invested in Tork Motors and Ola Electric. Ratan Tata has been supporting Ola since 2015. He openly expresses his excitement of participating in new areas and encourages young minds to search for domains yet to be explored.

    Ratan Tata believes startups should get funded by Indian investors. According to him, the startup sector is growing rapidly with the best of minds involved in it. He regrets seeing such companies having great potential that could add value to the Indian economy but being bound to foreign authorities. Thus, Tata finds it unfortunate that founders get driven by foreign investments in the hope of an eventual acquisition by a larger entity.

    He tells his decisions are intuition-driven, but the steps he has taken by now proves his intuitions are calculated risk oriented. He prefers getting into conversation with founders, analyze their personality, skills, their maturity, and the seriousness and most importantly, their zeal and dedication.

    And like any other investor, he judges the future scope of pitched ideas. Tata has told in his case selection is more by intuition than by numbers. He further revealed that judging the intent of the founders and their seriousness influenced him more than any other factor.

    How to Approach Ratan Tata for Investment?

    Is Approaching Ratan Tata Difficult? As a matter of fact, its not. He is as approachable as any other investor. A few things to keep in mind if you plan to seek investment from the business tycoon:

    • Your idea should be unique and hold great potential.
    • The startup should have begun its operations, at least on a small-scale.
    • Tangible feedback on the startup and its product or service is a must. Remember, Ola got funding from RNT Associates 5 years after it began.
    • He is a man of experience, so it is advisable to be realistic and honest. Sniffing out non-sense is easy for him.

    Being a personal investor, he prefers keeping the details of his investment private. He hates it when the media makes such information public. You will find it difficult to find the exact amount of his investments online, even when it comes to the biggest players he’s backing.

    Greatest Indian Entrepreneurs
    Entrepreneurs [https://startuptalky.com/tag/entrepreneurs/] around the world arean example of how well the economy is, how liberating the society is and how allthe commerce and trade activities uplift an innovative individual. India beingthe largest democracy in the world has done a lot for the b…
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    When asked what makes a good entrepreneur, he told what probably drives an entrepreneur to start a business is the fire in his belly that there is a better way to do something that has been done or a good opportunity to make a difference because something has not been explored well enough. And the confidence of staying with it is deciding factor of a good entrepreneurs. This is one thing to keep in mind while approaching Ratan Tata for investment.

  • How India is Boycotting Chinese products

    In this time of pandemic, China is pushing borders against India and other neighboring countries.China has a powerful and bigger weapon and that is Economy and that is why China is getting political. China is using its economy to dominate our neighbouring countries and thus it is becoming a superpower.

    It is the worst time for India to go on a war as our economy is down and this war
    couldn’t be won by money as China has its allies around us. It is helping our neighbouring countries in infrastructure and other projects but if no one uses them, it becomes difficult for these countries to pay back China. China also overstates his own bills and there comes China again and asks to handle the operations and takes control over these infrastructures so that it can use these bases as military base in times of war and be prepared. In case, the war is held, it will be from all the sides as we are surrounded by China’s allies. China has a military base in Africa and it is using it to threaten U.S. However, India is taking serious precautions to make China realise that it will impact their economy as well.

    Although this is not for the first time as the supporting stand of China towards
    Pakistan pot URI attack also led to a campaign to boycott Chinese products in India. However, this time, many social media influencers are coming up with several reasons to boycott Chinese products to spread awareness among Indian citizens. I would like to share some YouTube links which are helpful to understand the agenda of China for using Economy as a weapon against India:-
    SonamWangchuk

    Baba Ramdev

    These videos will also help in understanding the reasons to boycott Chinese products. There are many alternatives available for the Chinese apps and if we start using these alternative apps instead of the Chinese apps, it will affect the economy of China. As India is the biggest importer of Chinese goods and trade deficit of India with China is one of the biggest between two trading partners.
    A boycott is only possible if we start using alternatives from other countries or we become self-reliance as our honorable Prime minister wanted to say and import substitution can be done. If we will be able to boycott Chinese products completely then China will be in a situation where he will need to think twice before waging a war against any neighbouring countries. Our country now needs to manufacture products which are ‘Made in India’ but are ‘Made for the world’.

    Here are some examples, how Indians are totally depend on Chinese apps and using them continuously and on daily basis and these apps are the reason behind the growth of Chinese Economy:

    Apps that are Invested by China

    • Paytm
    • Byjus
    • Ola
    • Oyo
    • Swiggy
    • Zomato
    • Big basket

    Also Read: List of Popular Chinese Apps in India

    Chinese Mobile Apps in India

    • Tik-tok
    • UC browser
    • Pubg
    • Xender
    • Cam Scanner
    • Like

    Chinese Phone Companies

    • Xiaomi
    • OnePlus
    • Gionee
    • Oppo
    • Vivo
    • Huawei

    Essentials exported from China

    • Medicine ingredients
    • Solar products,
    • Semiconductors
    • Fertilizers
    • Machines

    According to facts provided by some news and personals, China is using the data from the Chinese invested apps and Chinese apps to gain information and also some information have been hacked by China through these apps as well.Recently a person from Vadodara Twitter account was hacked and the access point were seen as China. He stated that his account was synced with Pubg mobile and that might be the reason of hacking. China is a stakeholder in the company Tencent which has developed Pubg. Now this becomes more important to boycott these Chinese apps, to protect your data and information and also in order to support India so that China’s biggest weapon can be used against
    them.  

    Also Read: 10 Surprising Insights Of Chinese Apps And Their Alternatives

    NO MORE CHINA PRODUCTS:   POSSIBLE BOWL FOR INDIA ?  

    India is also trying their best to deal with China and make them taste their own medicine. They have reviewed the FDI so that Indian can’t Chinese puppet like our neighbouring countries. We are late but we are not in China’s trap and we have learnt the truth about China’s economy.

    Vocal For Local campaign

    Prime Minister Modi in his address to the nation on May 12, 2020 launched a ‘VOCAL  FOR LOCAL‘ campaign.  He urged the citizens of India to buy and promote local goods and brands.  The Prime Minister further said that global brands were once local but when people started supporting them they went global.

    It is known that India and China are the two fastest growing economies in the world and India is the largest importer of Chinese goods and services in the world.

    The trade deficit between India and China is the largest among the major trading partners.  It is interesting to note that India imports about seven times more from China than it exports.  India imports more than $ 50 billion worth of goods from China and exports $ 2.5 billion worth of goods to China.

    It is a known fact that Chinese products are very cheap compared to their Indian counterparts.  In addition, the Chinese government also provides subsidies to its exporters.  India spends around 9% on transportation, energy etc., but this cost is nil by the import duty imposed on China by India.  To avoid import duties, many Chinese companies use trans-shipment routes — sending goods to Bhutan and then India.

    Globalization has spread its roots so deep in our lives and the supply chain is so interconnected, the productions process is so complex that it is difficult to isolate one country and boycott it’s goods completely but as Mr. Sonam Wangchuk mentioned, systematic and phased boycott is possible. We can starts from stop using the Chinese software in a week and hardware in a year. We need to constantly make efforts to ease the business environment in India and bring out labour reforms and look for less expensive alternatives which will take time but it is the time to make some uncommon decisions that will impact our lives and will help Indian Economy and will impact Chinese Economy as well.

    The Confederation of All-India Traders (CAIT)

    CAIT

    A traders’ organization, on Sunday expressed solidarity with the Ladakh-based educational reformer and visionary Sonam Wangchuk’s appeal to boycott Chinese goods.
    Tension between India and China, the man who inspired Bollywood blockbuster “3 Idiots”, has appealed and asked Indians to boycott all Chinese companies.
    In a tweet, the engineer-turned-education reformer asked people to boycott all Chinese products in Ladakh to stop Beijing’s “bullying” and to free 1.4 billion bonded labourers in the country.

    CAIT, which claims to represent seven crore merchants, said it had identified around 3,000 categories of heavily imported Chinese products “which should be immediately replaced by Indian products as good quality for such products Indian replacements are available “

    CAN INDIA REALLY BOYCOTT CHINESE PRODUCTS

    • India imports many raw materials as well as finished products like steel, minerals etc. from China.  When it comes to boycott imports from China, this can only be done in the case of finished goods but the import of raw materials from China cannot be stopped.
    • India also imports consumer durable like electrical appliances, mobile phones, cars etc.  Medicinal drugs like leprosy, antibiotics etc. from China.  In addition, the Chinese smartphone market accounts for $ 8 billion of India’s smartphone market (Lenovo, Oppo, Vivo, etc.).  If India planned to boycott Chinese products, India’s GDP would fall drastically.
    • After the launch of ‘Make in India‘ campaign by Prime Minister Modi, many Chinese companies have set up their units in India, employing hundreds of thousands of workers in India.  If India boycott Chinese products, these companies may face pressure from Chinese authorities to stop their production in India, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed.

    As mentioned above, India imports about seven times more from China than its exports.  If India plans to boycott Chinese products than find an alternative that can match the cost and availability is almost impossible.  Thus, India’s GDP can be contracted.

    5- It is interesting to note that almost every product we use has a little bit of China.  Smartphones, laptops, air conditioners, etc. which we use in our daily life, some parts are manufactured in China.

    We must understand that the present process of manufacturing is interlinked.  For example, a phone is made with the help of Chinese laborers and land, investment from a different country says that the US has made an innovation from Japan and can end the Made in India apps.  Every product has the same process when it comes to labor, investment, innovation, etc.  Thus, it can be concluded that each nation cannot be separated nor its good can be boycotted.

    Many countries in the world started boycotting products from various countries, but were unsuccessful due to the complex manufacturing process.  Some of them are listed below:

    1- In 1930, China tried to boycott all Japanese products to protest against the Japanese colony, but failed.

    2- In 2003, the US attempted to boycott French goods after 9/11 in protest of France’s refusal to send troops to Iraq but then failed.

    SO IS THERE ANY ALTERNATIVE?

    Sonam Wangchuk

    Recently, Sonam Wangchuk answered several questions on the boycott of Chinese products.  He said that the customer is king.  This means that consumers should stop using Chinese products.  He chanted a boycott of China’s software in a week, hardware in a year, finished and non-essential products in a year, and systemic boycott of essential products, raw materials, etc. in the coming years.

    We can also implement the import-substitution method in India to boycott Chinese products.  This means that the products we import from China can be manufactured in India, but in the short term this is impossible.

    The Indian government should reduce the rates at which loans are issued to Indian companies like China.  In addition, the government should provide infrastructure, services, etc. to prepare Indian companies to compete with China.  India may boycott Made in China products but in a systematic and planned manner as stated by Sonam Wangchuk.