Lei Jun, co-founder and CEO of Xiaomi, shares a photo on Weibo on the 17th. In front of a screen that reads, “Making semiconductors is almost unbearably difficult. Why does Xiaomi still want to do it?” Lei Jun is seen announcing the first self-developed chip in 2017./Courtesy of Lei Jun Weibo

“Now we are making the brain chips that go into the devices ourselves.

As Xiaomi announced it will launch its self-developed mobile chip at the end of this month, the company's chipset is surprising the industry with its outstanding performance in benchmark tests. Having dominated smartphones, electronics, and electric vehicles, Xiaomi is challenging the semiconductor market, vowing to disrupt the order of the Android chip market long maintained by traditional strongholds Qualcomm and MediaTek.

According to industry sources on the 20th, the mobile system-on-chip (SoC) 'XringO1' developed by Xiaomi received higher scores on the performance measurement platform Geekbench than Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen3, which is primarily used in premium smartphones. The Xiaomi chipset recorded a single-core score of 2,709, which indicates how quickly it can calculate with one core, and a multi-core score of 8,125 that reflects its overall performance when multiple cores are working simultaneously. This performance is comparable to that of the latest flagship smartphones.

Compared to the currently highest-performing mobile SoCs, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen4 (single-core 3,215, multi-core 10,051) and MediaTek Dimensity 9400 (single-core 2,904, multi-core 8,812), Xiaomi's XringO1 is not significantly behind. There is evaluation that it marks a successful return with its self-designed chip.

Performance is not everything when it comes to mobile chips. Since they need to keep their size small while minimizing power consumption and heat generation, advanced design technology is required. Therefore, this field has been led by technology-intensive corporations such as Apple, Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Samsung Electronics. Previously, Xiaomi also attempted to enter this arena. In 2017, Xiaomi equipped its smartphones with its self-designed mobile chips. However, due to issues such as a lack of technological prowess, it began sourcing chips again from Qualcomm within less than two years.

Xiaomi is set to announce the self-developed mobile system on chip (SoC), XringO1, on the 22nd./Courtesy of Lei Jun Weibo

Xiaomi has reemerged with a transformed chip after five years. The chip, designed on Arm-based architecture, is set to be produced at Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest foundry, using the latest 3-nanometer process (1 nanometer is 1 billionth of a meter). This is a cutting-edge process akin to that used in the latest Apple iPhones. Currently, the U.S. has not imposed separate sanctions on mobile chips for Chinese companies produced by TSMC, making this possible. Some analysts in the industry are already predicting that Xiaomi will not procure flagship chips from Qualcomm and MediaTek in the future.

Xiaomi aims to create a vertically integrated smartphone ecosystem, just like Apple, starting from hardware to software. The company already has its own operating system, 'HyperOS,' suggesting that this goal is not impossible. Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi, hinted at a chip announcement on the 22nd via the Chinese social media platform Weibo, stating, 'Xiaomi's chip challenge began in 2014, and even after drinking ice water for 10 years, the blood has not cooled.' He added, 'We set a goal to become a global leader in next-generation hardcore technology five years ago and promised to invest 100 billion yuan (approximately 19.4 trillion won) in research and development. Until now, we have invested 105 billion yuan (approximately 20.3 trillion won) and will invest more than 30 billion yuan (approximately 5.8 trillion won) this year.'

Backed by massive investments, the pace of independence for Chinese corporations in semiconductors is accelerating. Following its mobile chips and artificial intelligence (AI) server 'Ascend' chips, Chinese Huawei is set to unveil the 'Kirin X90' chip, which will serve as the brain for PCs. The Kirin X90 is expected to be produced using the 7-nanometer process of China's largest foundry, SMIC. This chip is attracting attention as a high-performance PC chip that does not bow to U.S. sanctions, set to be equipped in Huawei's next-generation laptops and foldable PCs based on its own operating system, 'HarmonyOS.' The world's largest PC corporation, Lenovo, is also expected to unveil laptops equipped with its self-developed 5-nanometer chips.

The semiconductor independence efforts of Chinese corporations are no longer merely a challenge. Attempts to showcase 'the brain made by our hands' on the global stage are gradually becoming reality. As the landscape of the market rapidly changes, what preparations is South Korea making for the future?