The company has now built up a massive amount of funding for its efforts to fund its next steps.
Xiaomi recently announced that its latest round of funding had closed at about $1 billion, and now it is going to take that money and pour it into efforts to open up mobile technology startups in India, as well as companies focused on connected devices and content aggregation.
The company is working on launching its own startup environment in India, comparable to what it accomplished in China.
In fact, mobile technology startups in India are included among the top priorities for Xiaomi in 2015. According to the head of Xiaomi India, Manu Jain, “We may co-develop, invest or launch their products. We have discussed with a few startups so far.” At the same time that these statements were released, the company declined to make any specific mention of the names of some of the startups that would be launched, or the size of the investment that it would specifically be making.
The company already labels itself as being a mobile technology and e-commerce business, not just a handset manufacturer.
Xiaomi has previously poured investments into Chinese startups that are focused on parts of the tech industry including wearable technology (such as in its fitness band), a video website, and in a smart light bulbs effort.
According to a Convergence Catalyst partner, Jayant Kolla, “Startups would find it lucrative to work with Xiaomi versus other corporates, as it is agile and has been able to grow, coupling the scale brought forward by both the internet and mobile era.” That firm is the Indian branch of one of Xiaomi’s most valuable startups on the globe and which managed to sell a million devices in the country in well under half of a year.
At the time that this article was written, Xiaomi was being valued at about $45 billion, and it has every intention to grow this year through its mobile technology and other startup investments in India. Though its past has been greatly based on smartphones, those are clearly only the beginning of what it has up its sleeves as it progresses into the future.
LoopPay’s new technology is meant to make mobile commerce more accessible to a winder range of consumers and businesses
LoopPay, a mobile commerce firm, may be able to make mobile payments more convenient with its new technology. The firm has developed a small copper loop that is meant to be affixed into a smartphone case or other accessory. When an alternative current is sent through this loop, it can communicate with standard payment systems, such as those used in retail stores to accept credit and debit card payments.
Cooper loop can give nearly any mobile device the ability to make payments in physical stores
The simple copper loop has the potential to make mobile payments much more simpler than they had been in the past. Most modern mobile commerce platforms rely on NFC technology, which allows a mobile device to send digital information over a short distance. In order for retailers to accept NFC-based mobile payments, they must have a point-of-sale system that is equipped with NFC technology. For many retailers, investing in this technology is an expensive endeavor, which is why so many have avoided the mobile commerce field.
New technology could reduce the need for NFC
LoopPay’s new technology can remove the need for these investments, enabling businesses to accept mobile payments with their existing point-of-sale systems. This technology can also provide those without NFC-enabled smartphones a way to pay for products in physical stores without having to use payment cards or physical currencies. These payments would be processed through LoopPay and the simplicity of this service could make the firm much more competitive in the mobile commerce field.
Rumors suggest that LoopPay has begun working with Samsung
Rumors have begun to circulate about LoopPay’s potential partnership with Samsung. According to these rumors, the two companies are working together on a mobile commerce platform that Samsung plans to launch in the near future. Other rumors suggest that the new technology from LoopPay will be incorporated into Samsung’s next smartphone, potentially the Galaxy S6. Neither company has confirmed working together, however, and these rumors remain little more than speculation.
