China’s Qihoo gets serious about mobile, throws $400M into joint venture with smartphone maker Coolpad

Chinese software giant Qihoo announced last night it has taken a 45 percent stake worth US$409 million in a joint venture with Coolpad, the domestic smartphone vendor.

According to the official release, the joint venture will see Qihoo become the default provider of certain mobile services for Coolpad’s line of Dazen phones.

“We are very excited to form the partnership with Coolpad,” said Qihoo chairman Zhou Hongyi in a statement. “Combining Coolpad’s extensive experience in smartphone industry with Qihoo 360 strong presence in mobile internet, the partnership will build one of the leading mobile Internet ecosystems in China, which offers users smooth integration of hardware, software and applications. This is one of the key initiatives we are taking to strengthen our position in Chinese mobile Internet and further establish ourselves as a leading mobile Internet platform in China.”

During Q2 2014, Coolpad claimed 12 percent market share of smartphone shipments in China, according to Canalys. Forbes reported that most of its sales come through partnerships with China’s big telecom companies, but it has recently begun investing in ecommerce as an alternative sales channel.  Its Dazen line of phones launched earlier this year as an online-only brand, possibly inspired by the success of Xiaomi.

Qihoo, meanwhile, has established its presence on mobile through its Android app store, its flagship mobile security app, and its mobile search technology. In conversation with Tech in Asia earlier this month at Asia Beat Taiwan, Qihoo VP Shen Haiyin discussed how the company intends to invest more in internet-of-things and smart home technology over the coming years. Smartphones will likely serve as the control hub for a house full of other internet-enabled gizmos, so owning a consumer’s pocket real estate arguably marks the first step toward’s owning that consumer’s kitchen or living room real estate.