Emerging Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi raised over $1 billion in its latest round of funding, which now values the company at $45 billion, the Wall Street Journalreported.
The financing was led by tech investment company All-Stars Investment, as well as Russian investment firm DST Global and Singapore sovereign-wealth fund GIC – the latter two are already shareholders of Xiaomi. Private-equity firm Yunfeng Capital also participated in the round, the WSJ said.
The $45 billion valuation lifts Xiaomi above most other Silicon Valley and Asian technology startups. Back in August 2013, in its previous funding round, Xiaomi was valued at $10 billion.
Xiaomi, founded by Lei Jun in 2010, has risen to become the third largest smartphone vendor behind Apple and Samsung in the third quarter, IDC estimates. Xiaomi plans to sell 100 million phones next year, as the company continues to expand its footprint outside of China.
The $1 billion fundraising comes amid reports that Xiao has won a partial reprieve from its interim sales ban in India.