Xiaomi’s second headquarters opens in CEO Lei Jun’s hometown

Smartphone maker Xiaomi on Wednesday officially opened its second headquarters in Wuhan, the capital city of China’s central Hubei province.

The building will house 10,000 employees over the next decade as the company invests more in artificial intelligence (AI) research.

The new headquarters, located in the Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone, is a research and development centre for AI, internet of things, big data, software and internet entertainment.

Xiaomi’s first headquarters are in Beijing.

Currently, the Wuhan facility houses about 2,000 employees, mostly local recruits, who work on projects including research and development on Xiaomi’s open platform for the Xiao Ai smart voice assistant, as well as a Xiao Ai data platform.

Xiaomi founder and chief executive Lei Jun, a Wuhan native, decided to build the headquarters in his hometown two years ago after the city launched a campaign exhorting alumni of Wuhan universities to return to the city and contribute to its development.

Construction began in November last year.

“Wuhan is the starting point of my life and my career, and I have many memories of my youth here,” Lei said at the launch ceremony.

“That’s why I want to do something for Wuhan and the Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone.” Ref: Property Report