Good evening friends. Welcome everyone. Our sixth annual speech. Xiaomi turns 15. On our 15th, Xiaomi in cars and in chips. Two breakthroughs back to back. Really surprised people, felt like Xiaomi overnight switched companies. In fact, all these changes came from 5 years ago. That profound soul-searching reflection.
5 years ago in 2020, Xiaomi hit its 10th year. At that time, we had gone public for two whole years. Our revenue had passed 200 billion and we'd made it on to the Fortune Global 500. To many people, Xiaomi was already a huge success. But deep down, I was filled with an anxiety I couldn't put into words.
Back then, in our industry, Apple, Samsung, Huawei, they loomed like insurmountable mountains. There was almost no way to overtake them. So in that situation, do you lie flat and give up or keep fighting? And also 10 years into this startup, a lot of the team was tired. They wanted to stop and rest, and that I totally get it because I was exhausted too.
But then I thought, the next 10 years competition will only get fiercer. How many would still stand and fight with me? What's even more exhausting? The internet's full of doubt, criticism, even attacks. Honestly, I think a lot of people really don't get Xiaomi. They've got a lot of fixed biases about us. So, online, you see all these comments. It makes you furious. Like, Xiaomi's just an assembly plant. Xiaomi's got no tech. Xiaomi's all marketing. They won't last. Stuff like that.
Back then, I spiraled into a really bad place. After struggling for a long time, I finally made up my mind to face every problem head on and find a way to break through. Change my fate. Changing your fate, it's not easy. At first, I honestly didn't know how to face all of it.
Looking back now, maybe I got lucky. I learned Go as a kid and picked up a really useful method. And what's that? Review. A lot of people get that wrong. Review isn't just summarizing. It answers three really, really key questions after you've done something. This is how you review it. What did you do right? What did you do wrong? And if you could do it again, what would you do?
That's the method we used to start a long deep review. Every review session, I'd usually get seven or eight people and just talk freely. We'd often talk for four or five hours like that. We did 40, 50 of them. It lasted about half a year. After such a deep review, we were clear on our path for the next stage.
And what was that path? Keep investing in core underlying tech. Moving firmly from an internet company to a hardcore tech company and planning over the next 5 years to invest 100 billion in core tech. You should know in 2019 we spent 7.5 billion on R&D. So 100 billion over 5 years for Xiaomi back then. It's a huge number. But setting that goal is what mattered from that moment on.
Xiaomi's DNA started to change. Tech first became our one unbreakable rule. Our passion to start over was fully reignited. Over the next 5 years with a founder's determination, we brought in a ton of talent and rebuilt our core management team. How big was that change? Take a look at our exec team today.
First from our early founding team. Two are still here. Linbin and Luda still fighting alongside me. So of our 12 execs, nine are new faces. We aggressively brought in top outside talent including Lu Weibing, Zhang Shuhong, Wang Xiaoyang, Lin Shiwei, Liu and more. Some came straight in as execs. Others came in at mid level and worked their way up. These colleagues in Xiaomi's growth these past years made huge contributions.
The one you know best is Lu Weibing, Boss Lu. So, let me take this chance to thank Boss Lu and everyone we brought in, these talents and execs. Thank you. We also place huge value on growing people in house. The young execs we've promoted, they're all from Xiaomi's earliest crew. After over a decade of honing and grinding, they've become a new generation of leaders and joined Xiaomi's core team.
Let me name one. Take Zhu Dan. His employee number is 54. He's one of Xiaomi's earliest engineers. That's Zhu Dan. He built the chip team we have today. Xuanjie 01, he led the charge on that, too. So speaking of Zhu Dan, let's get into the whole story of our chip business.
Xiaomi has always dreamed of making chips. Way back 11 years ago in 2014, Xiaomi was only 4 years old. We set up Pine Cone Electronics, fully owned, and started building our own SOC chips. After three years of hard work in 2017, our first generation mid-range SOC officially launched, shipping on the Mi 5C. Back then, we sold like 600,000 units. So, the whole picture looked really, really good.
But I knew Pine Cone just couldn't keep going. In 2018, we made a tough call. We stopped SOC chip development. Then we downsized the team. Kept making smaller chips just to keep a spark alive. I still remember that review 5 years ago. Whenever chips came up, everyone was in so much pain, still haunted by it.
I thought to get everyone past this, we had to figure out where Pine Cone actually went wrong. Later, we spent a long time studying it piece by piece. Step by step, we found why Pine Cone lost back then. So, this review really matters. First, I think there's a counterintuitive takeaway. It's the opposite of what you'd normally think. It's backwards. So, what's the conclusion? It's in-house phone chips. Mid to low end, zero chance. Only the high-end gives you a fighting chance.
People probably think with tech this complex, we'd start low-end for sure, but the SOC chip business. So SOC chips really complex. The reasons why way too complex. I won't get into it. I'll just say one thing. We looked into it and found back then Apple and Huawei both started at the very top. Not one phone company entered SOC from the low end. So that conclusion made us realize Pine Cone from day one picked the wrong entry point, wrong direction.
So then in-house chips, it also needs the phone team's full support. Think about it. Why would the phone team pass up proven external chips and take on massive risk to use their own? If that chip had problems, my whole phone business is ruined. So with that kind of risk, without a perfectly aligned goal and the will to sink or swim together, it's never going to work. And back then, Pine Cone we'd set up as a subsidiary. It ran pretty independently coordinating with the phone team. Was really hard. Lots of bickering. I even stepped in myself, mediated a bunch of times. In the end, I couldn't fix it. And that was that. So, Pine Cone was a failure. Became a flop.
But still, chips are something Xiaomi can never get around. The world's top tech giants. Almost all ended up as chip giants. So, I knew in my heart chips were the only path to Xiaomi success. But today chip complexity is way beyond 10 years ago. Building a phone SOC now takes at least 10 years, 50 billion. Spending that much time and that much money. Will it work for sure? What if it fails? What do we do then?
The debate went on a long time. Nobody felt sure. No one could commit. As the talks went on, I encouraged them. If we don't do it, we lose. So, why not give it a try? How do we know we can't do it? Maybe at the most critical moment, that little bit of courage. In early 2021, a new journey into chips began all over again. So often at the most crucial moment, if you had any courage at all, you'd have taken that step already.
Of course, the shadow of Pine Cone's failure still hangs over so many people. So, with every partner we met, we had to explain ourselves over and over. We jumped through hoops to finally rebuild the team. The project entered its second year and we hit even bigger problems. Back then, hit by the global economy and geopolitical tensions. Our business at Xiaomi faced huge challenges. It dropped sharply. Revenue fell 15%. And fell another 3% the next year. In Xiaomi's 15 years of history, that was a first. Even in 2015 and 2016, our toughest times, business never declined.
And at this point, cars, chips, each needed 50 to 60 billion. The pressure was suffocating. Right at that moment, some doubts came up in the team. What were those doubts? Keep pushing on chips. Would it sink the company? Morale inside was starting to shake.
And right at this critical moment in May 2022, we called a special exec meeting. We all sat down and had a serious talk because I wanted every decision to be a unanimous call from all the execs. The mood in that room was incredibly heavy cuz we all knew this call for Xiaomi was a huge one. Of course, we all knew how hard it was cuz if we gave up again this time, Xiaomi might never get into chips. Two times quitting in a row. The market won't trust us again and won't give us another chance.
In the end, one exec said it straight. This math from a business view, there was no way to figure it out. Only the founder could decide. As for me, I didn't hesitate at all. I asked everyone a question. If we quit right now, 10 years later, would we be glad we gained billions more? Or regret, Xiaomi? Losing chips forever?
At the meeting, I made my view clear. I was all for it. I knew those billions were worth it. Even in the worst case and we still failed, Xiaomi would still gain a strong chip R&D team. It would totally change its very core. After full discussion, everyone felt sure.
Into the third year. May 2023. An earthquake hit the chip industry. A rival firm, no warning at all. A chip team of 3,000 just broke up. My phone blew up with calls and messages. People kept asking if Xiaomi's chip team would disband, too. Honestly, I was pretty stunned. Didn't know what happened. Of course, we built Pine Cone. I know how hard making our own SOC is. It's a real long shot for us at Xiaomi. We've already lost once. This time we grit our teeth and push through no matter what. Thank you all.
Rumors were everywhere in the market. To calm everyone down, I asked Zhu Dan to call in all hands for the chip team. The moment that notice went out, the chip folks freaked out thinking we were next to go. At the meeting, once Zhu Dan shared the company's decision, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, made up our minds to make the chip work.
By early 2024, the chip taped out as planned. We're using the most advanced 3 nanometer process. Just the tape out fee runs about $20 million. And then last May 22nd. The first chip sample came back. Everyone was so so excited. We all went to the airport to greet it. This precious little chip we just put in a paper bag and happily carried back to the lab. Kind of low-key luxury, right? Luxury. I wish you'd seen it. That day, I was out of town. Every few minutes, I checked the group chat, waiting anxiously for the final result. Everyone was super nervous cuz if it didn't work, our $20 million would be wasted and maybe even more. The whole project pushed 6 months. What's the loss? At least a billion or two.
And then luckily at 9 that night, the system finally lit up. The next day, bright and early, Zhu Dan called me on Xuanjie 01, which means every module's working. Honestly, a three nanometer flagship chip so complex. First tape out worked. Our team is really impressive. In that moment, mixed emotions. Thank you everyone. And now let's watch the video from back then.
I think you all understand how excited the engineers here really were. A year later on May 22nd this year, Xuanjie 01 and the phone running this chip, officially launched. What no one expected. Xiaomi's first flagship SOC performed incredibly well. It landed in the top tier of the market now. This phone's been out for months. Let's hear what people are saying.
Did you all hear that review? No feeling. I mean, compared to other chips, right? There's no difference. That's actually for us a really, really high compliment after four plus years of work. Looking back at this Xuanjie 01 project for us, I think the hard part wasn't just the tech, the hardest part was after that crushing failure. How to summon the courage, how to stand back up, how to restart this project. So, I think failure sometimes isn't what's scary. Facing the fear inside you. That's the key. And how do you overcome that fear and just do it all over again? I think that's really hard.
Of course, Xuanjie has only just begun. The success of Xuanjie 01 is only step one. Xuanjie is still far from final success. There's a long road ahead. So here, I really hope you'll support us and we'll keep working hard, keep pushing forward till the day we make it. That's great.
On that note, one small detail. When the project first started, I said, 'Keep calling it Pine Cone. Wherever we fall, get up where you fall.' But I never thought. Everyone flat out refused. Then what? We had to pick a new name. Xuanjie. The meaning is simple. It's a solemn promise. That Xiaomi builds chips. This time we mean it.
Next up, let's talk about Xiaomi cars, the story of taking on Nurburgring. This June, Xiaomi announced some absolutely huge news. The SU7 Ultra prototype on Nurburgring's official lap time leaderboard ranked where? Number three out of every car in history. The Ultra prototype came in third and the production Ultra topped every production EV on Earth. The news shook the global auto industry.
A lot of people are curious. Xiaomi is a phone company making cars. At best, they're rookies in the auto industry. So, how are they so fierce? Well, that story starts 4 years ago. Let me introduce someone. A name many Mi fans probably know him well. He's Xiaomi's chief test driver, head of dynamic performance engineering. He was born in Guji, Zhejiang. He says there was a repair shop by his home. He grew up in that repair shop. He says the shop's tools were his toys. In college, he lived on car forums. After graduating, he became a chassis engineer to master chassis work. In his spare time, he learned racing. Then he trained hard and he even won several racing titles. So you can see just how obsessed Aken is with cars.
Four years ago, Xiaomi said it was building cars. The screen flooded with 'Beat Tesla.' And then he and a friend were watching our launch, fired up. Later, a colleague of his was about to join Xiaomi. He asked him right away, 'Can you take me with you?' To prove his resolve, he even said, 'Wherever Xiaomi builds its cars, I'll move my whole family there.' Just like that, Xiaomi brought together a crowd of car lovers, ambitious engineers. They were all dying to use Xiaomi's platform to do something world shaking. Think about it with this many great engineers together. What could we possibly do?
In September 2021, at Xiaomi Auto's first company-wide meeting, they unveiled a bold plan to build the world's best pure electric performance car. When Xiaomi Auto started building cars, it set this insane goal. Even now, it still scares me. To be the best in the world. There were tons of obstacles. For example, back then, no good high performance motor existed. So, what do we do? Do we just drop the project? So, we gritted our teeth, dug in our heels, steeled ourselves, built our own team, did it ourselves? And that became the Xiaomi V8s Super Motor. This motor was even made in our own factory by ourselves. No outside factory at all. You know why? Cuz if I used one, they'd say it's supplier tech. So infuriating.
So now you get it. Why this time? I chose to go solo. Doing it ourselves is pricey. Honestly, after months of certification, this Ultra project officially got the green light. Officially approved. Then after spring festival the project got cancelled. So what happened?
I don't know if you remember. I mentioned this once after spring festival 2022. We had a really long meeting. At that point in time, SU7's R&D was at the most critical stage and our resources and people were badly lacking. It was painful. We focused on the most critical project to make sure SU7 succeeded. In the end, we gritted our teeth and painfully killed the Ultra. After we killed it, everyone went quiet. Everyone was down.
Nobody expected that a month later it flipped again and we reeled the little ones back in. This one. I remember this one back in May. That meeting we held it online. It went on for days to help everyone relax a bit, liven up the mood. I even shipped a bottle of red wine to every co-worker's home. So we drank through the whole call. So one engineer, he was lit, raised his glass and said, 'Porsche is a god to me. Can we build a car that beats Porsche at the Nurburgring?' Now, honestly, when this crazy idea first came up, it lit up the whole room. Think about it for a car engineer. How exciting is that? Driving a car we built ourselves, flying down the track, and passing a Porsche. Thanks. So, everyone was incredibly excited and riding that excitement. With our SU7 project already hitting a big milestone, the pressure wasn't so bad. We gritted our teeth and restarted the Ultra project the moment we announced it. The whole engineering team went wild. Aken himself was so excited he jumped. So at a company as crazy as ours. No matter how hard it gets, we were going to make Ultra work. Ultra was a bunch of engineers chasing a dream. So once that decision was made, everyone got to work full steam ahead.
Sure. On a project this complex, problems kept piling up. There were so many I don't even want to get into it. Let me just name one of the most unexpected ones. August 2023 when our project hit a new stage. Our first contact Nurburgring. They were very polite and replied fast, but nobody expected. After that, radio silence. We kept sending 20 emails into the void. The problem we hit was we wanted to take on Nurburgring, but they just ignored us.
3 months later, right before Christmas, we got a second email. They finally agreed to meet us. After New Year's, our project team raced to Nurburgring. It was snowing hard. Once we met, we found out why. Their first question was, 'You're a Chinese phone company. Why come all this way?' They just don't get it. The Nurburgring people were actually really nice and they saw how passionate we were. They just didn't get it. They thought we were kidding. But when we laid it all out, our plan and the Ultra project, Xiaomi's ambition, it finally won them over.
Track slots were tight, but the Nurburgring team fought to get us one. Think about it. We applied for a slot in early January and got pushed to early October. A lot of people don't realize how tight those slots are. First, once winter hits, it's closed 5 months a year. Plus, there's races all the time, fan events, and the world's best car and parts makers. I'll test there and book the whole track. So, you see how tight the Nurburgring is. To make sure we had enough time to get a good result. We just went all in. We booked the factory two days straight, October 9th and 10th. And then we were totally prepared, ready for Ultra to shine.
Little did we know, October 9th, it rained all day. Everyone's mood really low. The forecast said we'd still have a shot tomorrow. So, we kept cheering each other on to witness this big moment. Early on the 10th, I rushed over to Nurburgring starting at 7:00 in the morning. I stood by the track. Turns out I watched rain all day. It rained again. All that effort we spent that we fought for all last year just to get these two days all washed out. So racing at Nurburgring. So what's the second challenge? Weather. It all came down to luck.
The rest well you all know. We fought for all kinds of chances. We went to the Nurburgring to car makers all over the world. It was twist after twist. Then on October 28th, we finally got our chance to run a lap. Just 10 minutes. Just that one lap. The Ultra prototype set a record. The world saw Xiaomi Auto's power for the first time. Thank you all.
Right now looking back on the Ultra project, it really really moves me. If not for the engineers' love and passion deep in their hearts. If we hadn't held on, refused to give up, Xiaomi could never have made a miracle like this. So every time I see that one lap we got last year set a world record. It moves me deeply too. This year on April 1st the Ultra production car took on the Nurburgring. This time the weather was great for laps. That's all. And it left behind two absolutely stunning results. Two cars, just four laps each. Looking back on 3 years, so many setbacks, but the final result, beat everyone's expectations.
There's a saying that I really love. So, today I'll share it with you. Just keep working hard and leave the rest to fate. Well, it seems the one regret is Aken. Last October to guarantee success. He gave up his one shot at a lap to Nurburgring local David. This year, sadly, he couldn't put down the lap time he wanted. Right now on the official lap board. There's no Chinese driver's name yet, but he believes that one day he'll be on the Nurburgring board and write his own name up there. Thank you all.
Win respect with real strength. Xiaomi's string of results at the Nurburgring is quietly changing how the world sees Chinese cars.
And the SU7 lineup, its first launch brought results that stunned the world. What kind of results? Let me just list a few. The SU7 was last year. The bestselling sedan over 200,000 yuan, gas cars included, the bestselling sedan on the sales chart of all models. It came in eighth and that counts cars worth tens of thousands. It ranked eighth and it topped the resale value charts. It holds its value best.
Expected to launch this June. It did something even more amazing. 200,000 orders in 3 minutes. And that number shook the entire auto industry. It was so stunning, in fact, it sparked endless doubt. So, the next day at 4:00 p.m., we released our locked orders. 18 hours in, locked orders topped 240,000. Over 240,000 orders locked in 18 hours. So, why was YU7 such a massive success? Today I want to tell you the story behind it.
A lot of people may not know this. When the YU7 project first started, it was under enormous pressure. That was the summer of '22. Right when SU7 was in its most critical stage. SU7 is a pure electric sedan. Other than Tesla, there had never been an electric sedan that sold well. So back then almost nobody believed in it. Nobody believed in it. What if SU7 failed? YU7 was our last card to play. It had to shoulder the mission for Xiaomi Auto of turning the tide. So inside the company, we had really high hopes.
And right at that time a competitor here in China was doing incredibly well. That was when Li Auto launched the L9. That whole TV, fridge, big sofa design was a phenomenal success. Li Auto created a whole new big space SUV category. Honestly, that's impressive. Lots of car makers just follow Li Auto's lead and they do well. What's so funny?
YU7 as Xiaomi Auto's last trump card. So, what do we do? Go our own way or copy everyone else's homework? Since Xiaomi Auto was founded, this was the fiercest fight inside that meeting room. Things got really heated. By the end, they had to make a gentleman's agreement. When they couldn't fight anymore, block each other for 24 hours, cool off for a day, then keep arguing. Literally on WeChat chat blocked for 24 hours. Kind of like kindergarten kids, right? But as they argued, everyone's position became clear.
Like those big space SUVs like Li Auto, every car maker rushes in. Soon, dozens of models will launch just like dozens do today. The competition will be fierce. Really fierce. And not that many families have lots of kids. Total market demand is limited. If we built the same kind of car, we'd have no future. And after talking to tons of users, we found even if they buy an SUV, most of the time they're still driving alone. So, in the end, we had a bold idea. We decided to take a different path. What was it? Design for the driver. A great looking SUV that's fun to drive that still works for the family. That's what we figured out back then. We'd go down this road. Build a sporty SUV.
A sporty SUV rarely succeeds in the mass market. Usually only luxury brands dare because it was so so risky. So during certification some colleagues got really worried. Worried about what? Domestic market's so cutthroat. Can you even sell an SUV without tons of space? Honestly, it's about direction. Building huge space isn't technically that hard, but if you're making a sporty SUV, it's really not easy. Our team though put in a lot of time, pushing the design over and over. In the end, we proved with our design that our interior space is no worse than Model Y's. For family users, this space is definitely enough. And that's how we finally made up our minds and the project officially launched.
So from day one, the project went all in. No turning back. A huge investment. We tried to get every detail perfect. We went really, really crazy on this project. Let me give you one example. Our original standard version. What was the range? 620 km for an all-electric SUV. That's pretty good. CLTC range of 620 km. Way better than a Model Y. But late last year on a few long distance tests. I was on two of them. Beijing to Shanghai 1300 km. Left at 9:00 a.m. 9:00 at night. I drove two full days straight. After all that driving, we all felt it still wasn't enough. Lots of people buy an SUV just for long trips to make friends. We had to kill range anxiety for good. But by the end of last year, it was too late for big changes. So what now? We came up with the simplest, most direct, most brutal way. Just kill this version. Take the 835 km long range pro trim and just rename it the standard.
And the price stays the same. That's 215 more kilometers of range than the standard. When we pitched this, our procurement guys almost cried in the bathroom. When it landed on my desk, honestly, next to Model Y, it's just way too competitive. Check out the Model Y that costs 10 grand more. I'm not knocking Model Y. Model Y really is a really, really great car. You wait? We bought three Model Ys early this year. Took apart every single part. Studied every single part. Model Y's a really good car. If you guys don't go for the YU7, consider a Model Y. Other cars here are good, too. The Auto's i6 launches tomorrow night, too. Or the Li Auto i6. Really? Really? I actually think it's thanks to all our users that the whole new energy car industry keeps getting stronger.
So, at the launch event, I said it over and over. The standard isn't the entry version, not the cheap one or a crippled one. It's like other brands' pro trim, the Max, the Ultra. I'm not bragging. This standard trim is what we used to call the long range pro. That's how determined we were to get this car right.
Before the SU7 launch, I asked a lot of friends in the media. 23 in all, 21 weren't hopeful. This time, expectations. So again, I asked my media friends. Know what they said? They're all really optimistic. If anything, more pressure. This different kind of SUV. Will people really accept it? Deep down, we're still a little nervous, but I believe all the heart we poured into YU7 will resonate with so many people.
So at the end of the YU7 launch, I said something today. I want to read it again. So who did we design YU7 for? For those who can't stand mediocrity, who always stay ahead of their time. And those who carry responsibility with far horizons in their hearts, dropping the kids off at school at dawn and buying herself flowers on the way. Those who camp out with family on weekends. Dads who pack their fishing gear in the trunk. Those who live in the everyday grind of life but still hold the stars and see in their hearts. Thank you everyone.
I really want to say Xiaomi YU7 is what we Xiaomi engineers wrote for everyone who loves life. A most heartfelt, most hardcore love letter. Thank you all so much. Once YU7 launched, we'd get a result like this. So 3 years ago, that bold risky bet, 3 years of hard work. Looking back today, every bit worth it.
Now here, I want to tell you all a YU7 owner told me a story. He told his story. He said after their baby was born, he became the doting dad. He even bought a big six seat SUV. One night after work, suddenly he felt lost. Half an hour alone in the car. Between busy work and a happy family life, he'd slowly lost himself. A year or more. He did everything for each of them, but never bought himself anything, even a t-shirt. He said he watched the YU7 launch and he was deeply moved. That night, he convinced his family and bought himself a YU7. Thank you all.
Maybe the YU7 miracle comes from right here. So, from the final trump card to a brand new miracle. So, what's the YU7's lesson? When you hit a wall, try a different angle. Be bold. Go for it. You'll get a different result. From the SU7 to the SU7 Ultra, then the YU7. Xiaomi Auto's solid track record killed the doubt that a phone company could build cars, and China's auto industry is going through huge changes. In the high-end car market, Chinese brands have fully risen. Thank you.
The deep changes Xiaomi's been through have quietly changed so many people. Like my good friend Chen Nian. He's the founder of Venko. He's always crashing my live stream for clout. Calls himself my top donor. Just to be clear up front, he hasn't paid a cent for ads. If you've got a problem with Chen Nian or with Venko, any complaints at all, go straight to their live stream and yell at them. Okay.
Today, I deliberately didn't invite Chen Nian. I can see you. Last year, the Xiaomi SU7 launched. To me, it was the first report card from 3 years of car making.
This whole thing meant so much to me. I made a point to invite Chen Nian. He said he couldn't make it. Said he's in Dalian and writing a novel. Been holed up for over a year except the occasional meal out. He barely goes out. Honestly, I was a bit surprised. And it's true. It's been a while since I last saw him.
He told me back when Venko started up, he scaled way too big. In the end, he owed over a billion. Then over the next 10 plus years, almost every morning, he'd wake up and all he thought about was paying it back. And he kept at it for a full 10 years. 3 years ago, he finally paid it all off. The moment it was paid off, he was completely drained.
When he told me, for a second, I didn't know what to say or how to comfort him. All I could say was, 'I get it.' But guess what? The day of the SU7 launch. He still came. The SU7 launch was a big hit. That night, friends had dinner together. The vibe was great. Only he was unusually quiet. Barely said a word.
6 months later, Chen Nian suddenly asked to talk. We agreed on 9:00 the next night. When we met, I found out he'd gotten up early just to came by train from Hangzhou. I didn't catch on at first. Hangzhou, wasn't he up in Dalian writing a novel? How's that book coming along? That's when he told me last March after a book launch event. It really shook him. April, he moved the whole company to Hangzhou, leading it himself. A full pivot to live stream e-commerce.
Me? I asked off hand. The whole company moved to Hangzhou. That's a big move. How many people moved? He said about three or four. And right then I got it. The state he was in, a company once 10,000 strong, had basically gone to zero. The Chen I knew was a real bookworm. I was a bit worried about him. Could he handle live stream selling? Besides, Chen Nian at his age, can he still start from scratch? He told me full of confidence. The night the SU7 launched, something long dormant in me stirred and suddenly caught fire. He said, 'Lei Jun could reinvent himself. Jumped into cars. So can I.'
And in that instant one line popped into my head. So what if you're 50-something? It's the age to go for it. Thank you all.
Early this year, he came to see me again and happily told me, 'Venko's now top three in men's wear on Douyin. They say it's often number one. Haven't verified that myself.' And Venko's grown huge. Hundreds of staff, I hear. Chen Nian, a friend I've known 28 years. This time, I'm truly impressed. That's us over 20 years ago.
The past 5 years for Xiaomi and for me personally have been a complete transformation. I'm full of pride. We went from an internet company and firmly marched into smart manufacturing. From phones and consumer electronics. We built a whole new human-car-home ecosystem. The change goes far beyond cars, chips, and going premium. More importantly, 5 years of solid, grounded effort. Rebuilt Xiaomi's bones and soul. Thank you all.
My biggest takeaway these five years from lost to transformed. Sometimes it's a thousand mountains away. Sometimes it's just a thin sheet of paper. As long as you keep working and growing. Every person, every team can defy their fate. Thank you. That's it for our first half talk today. After a 3-minute break, we'll have the even bigger Xiaomi fall launch event.
