Xiaomi buys $300 million stake in Chinese video portal iQiyi

Xiaomi has confirmed it will invest US$300 million in Baidu-backed online video portal iQiyi for an undisclosed stake in the company, according to Techweb. The money is part of Xiaomi founder Lei Jun’s pledged US$1 billion to accelerate content acquisition. Lei’s personal fund also participated in the investment.

Last week, the company also revealed it would invest an undisclosed amount into Youku Tudou, another leading video portal in China.

Xiaomi plans to make a major announcement today at 2pm Beijing time today, which will likely include the partnership with iQiyi. Many fans are also expecting a larger-screen version of Xiaomi’s smart TV.

Both Youku and iQiyi are developing exclusive, original TV shows and movies. The portals’ libraries of exclusive content can help Xiaomi better monetize its cheap gadgets, which are likely sold at or near cost of production.

In July, iQiyi launched its own in-house film studio, and now has eight co-produced movies in the pipeline.

Chinese authorities have clamped down on domestic video sites this year, banning many foreign TV shows and forcing them to obtain licenses to stream overseas TV series.

See: How Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent will dominate China’s movie industry in 3 years

(Source: Techweb)