Xiaomi enlisting engineers for autonomous driving business in Beijing

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese tech giant Xiaomi recently launched a hiring spree in Beijing with the plan to bring a host of engineers for autonomous driving business, according to the company's official website.

Photo credit: Xiaomi

The engineers are recruited for such professional posts as data platform, in-car basic architecture, decision-making & planning, millimeter-wave algorithm, embedded software, high-definition map, algorithm optimization, simulation platform, and sensors. They will all work in Haidian District, Beijing.

The job listings raise a speculation among industry insiders that Xiaomi may locate the R&D headquarters of its automotive business in Beijing. However, until this report is prepared, the rumor has not been confirmed by Xiaomi yet.

Xiaomi announced its foray into electric vehicle (EV) sphere on March 30, 2021. The company plans to invest about $10 billion over the next decade in manufacturing EVs, and Lei Jun, Xiaomi's chairman and CEO, will lead the new standalone EV division.

It was rumored that local authorities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan approached Xiaomi as they sought to introduce the tech company's automotive business. Local media outlets also revealed that Lei Jun made on-the-scene investigations at many automakers like BYD, SAIC-GM-Wuling, and Great Wall Motor.

In the latest quarterly earnings call, Xiaomi's president Wang Xiang said the company's car manufacturing development is still in its early stage.  

Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Fund, a fund backed by Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi, led the D3 financing round of Chinese autonomous driving startup ZongMu Technology, which was just closed in early June.

ZongMu Technology said it is among the first companies Xiaomi invested in after the smartphone maker announced its entry into EV domain.