Xiaomi, founded just eight years ago in Beijing, quickly became a global tech juggernaut.
It’s currently the fourth-biggest smartphone player in the world, according to market researcher International Data Corporation. While that’s a significant position, it at one point occupied the third-place spot, behind Apple and Samsung, before ceding that to fellow Chinese firm Huawei.
Xiaomi isn’t limited to smartphones, either. During a recent visit to a Xiaomi store in Hong Kong, CNBC saw customers testing out phones and smart watches on display, centered around products such as wallets, pillows and rice cookers.
The company generates most of its revenues from smartphones, but it has also expanded into other products like music and video streaming, too.
Xiaomi is scheduled for an initial public offering in Hong Kong in early July. That’s expected to be the world’s largest IPO since Alibaba went public in New York in 2014.
In 2017, Xiaomi’s sales grew more than 67 percent from the year prior, leading some to call it “China’s phoenix.”
