Xiaomi Inc. (, , literally “Xiaomi Tech”, or “Foxtail millet Tech”) is a privately owned Chinese electronics company headquartered in Beijing, China. The world’s 3rd largest smartphone distributor, Xiaomi designs, develops, and sells smartphones, mobile apps, and consumer electronics. Since the release of its first smartphone in August 2011, Xiaomi has gained market share in mainland China and expanded into developing a wider range of consumer electronics, including a smart home device ecosystem. The company’s founder and CEO is Lei Jun, China’s 23rd richest person according to Forbes. The company sold over 60 million smart phones in 2014. The company has over 5,000 employees, mainly in mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore, and is expanding to other countries such as India, and Indonesia, and the Philippines. According to IDC, Xiaomi is now the third largest smartphone maker in the world followed by Lenovo and LG at fourth and fifth place respectively. Samsung remains at the first place despite declining shipment volume, followed by Apple Inc. at second place. Xiaomi also became the largest smartphone vendor in China in 2014, having overtaken Samsung, according to an IDC report. At the end of December 2014, Xiaomi became the world’s most valuable technology start-up after it received US$1.1 billion funding from investors, making Xiaomi’s valuation more than US$46 billion.