Xiaomi has gained immense popularity as a smartphone company in its home country, China, as well as in India, but it has yet to make it big in the US. In the latest move today, Xiaomi has signed a strategic cooperation memorandum with Microsoft to deepen its partnership and enhance product services and sales by cooperating in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and hardware products.
The Strategic Framework MoU outlines the following:
1. Cloud Service Support: Xiaomi plans to utilize Microsoft’s Smart Cloud Azure platform to provide international users with better data storage, bandwidth, computing, and other cloud services.
2. Laptops: Xiaomi and Microsoft shall cooperate through means of joint marketing, channel support, and future product development for Xiaomi’s laptop and laptop-type devices to ensure that the Xiaomi devices can make their way into the international markets.
3. Smart Speakers integrating Microsoft Xiaona (Cortana) and Mi AI: The latest cooperation might contribute to the development of Cortana-powered AI speakers by Xiaomi.
4. Extensive AI services collaboration: With Microsoft’s AI technologies like Computer Vision, Speech, Natural Language Processing, Text Input, Conversational AI, Knowledge Graph and Search, and AI products and services, like Bing, Edge, Cortana, XiaoIce, SwiftKey, Translator, Pix, Cognitive Services, and Skype; and Xiaomi’s experience in dealing with smart hardware, big data; its smart device ecosystem, and the significant breakthroughs in core AI technologies; the collaboration is bound to bring together the best hardware-software integration to ensure enhanced user experience.
Xiaomi is one of the most innovative companies in China, and it is becoming increasingly popular in various markets around the world. Microsoft’s unique strengths and experience in AI, as well as our products like Azure, will enable Xiaomi to develop more cutting-edge technology for everyone around the world – Dr. Harry Shum, executive vice president of Microsoft’s Artificial Intelligence and Research Group
For his part, Wang Xiang, Global Senior Vice President and Head of International Business, Xiaomi, has said, “Microsoft has been a great partner and we are delighted to see both companies deepening this relationship with this strategic MoU. Xiaomi’s mission is to deliver innovation to everyone around the world. By collaborating with Microsoft on multiple technology areas, Xiaomi will accelerate our pace to bring more exciting products and services to our users. At the same time, this partnership would allow Microsoft to reach more users around the world who are using Xiaomi products.”
