The Transport Guy: The company that was once Apple's biggest threat in China is making a rice cooker

Steve Kovach March 29, 2016 at 06:49AM

Chinese startup Xiaomi is moving past smartphones, tablets, and TVs and starting to make everyday appliances, the company announced Tuesday.

And it all starts with a rice cooker (yes, a rice cooker), which costs about $150, or 40% less than high-end Japanese rice cookers, the company says. It's the first product in the new "Mi Ecosystem" that will include other standard appliances built by 55 companies Xiaomi has invested in.

Xiaomi was once the biggest threat to top smartphone makers like Apple and Samsung in China. It made high-end phones but sold them for about half the cost of its rivals. At one point, it sold more phones than any other company in the country. (A lot of people called Xiaomi "the Apple of China" in its early days when Apple didn't have much of a presence there. It also didn't help that Xiaomi's devices looked a lot like the iPhone.)

That success spurred massive growth that attracted huge investments from venture capitalists. The company was last valued at $45 billion after raising $1.1 billion in late 2014. 

It turns out Xiaomi was really only a threat to Samsung, which continues to have its lunch eaten by cheaper Android phone manufacturers.

But things aren't as rosy for Xiaomi anymore. There are doubts it can hang onto its lofty valuation as sales of its core smartphone business shrinks, according to Bloomberg. Smartphones, especially Android phones like Xiaomi's devices, are easy to make these days, and it's nearly impossible to stand out without a software advantage like Apple has with iOS.

Xiaomi's answer?

A rice cooker.

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The company that was once Apple's biggest threat in China is making a rice cooker from Business Insider: Steve Kovach