Xiaomi Makes 25 Million Dollar Investment in Indian Entertainment Firm
NEW DELHI: Deepening its strategy to introduce localised internet services on its smartphones in India, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has made a $25 million investment into Hungama Digital Media Entertainment.
Other investors include Intel Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and Indian billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
"Xiaomi has been an internet company from the very start. We are investing in Hungama not only to start integrating content into our smartphones, but also to grow together with them and deepen our understanding of the content sector in India," Hugo Barra, vice president of Xiaomi, said in a statement.
Xiaomi will soon start integrating Hungama's content services into its platforms, which will also include themes and ringtones.
"With this investment, we intend to further strengthen our movie and TV services and, in fact, Hungama Play will shortly add 1,500 hours of TV content in Indian languages and English," Neeraj Roy, Hungama founder and CEO,added.
Currently, over 75 percent of its smartphones sold in India are made in India.
The company released its flagship device Mi5 at Rs.24,999 to maintain its dominance in India.