In a significant move highlighting its deepening commitment to core technology, Xiaomi has awarded its highest internal accolade, the "Ten Million Technology Award," to the team behind its self-developed "Xuanjie O1" smartphone chip. This recognition underscores the strategic importance of semiconductor development for the Chinese tech giant as it seeks to build a comprehensive "Human x Car x Home" ecosystem.
Xiaomi's Xuanjie O1 Chip Claims Top Honor
Xiaomi recently concluded its 2025 annual technology awards ceremony, where the internally developed "Xuanjie O1" mobile System-on-Chip (SoC) secured the premier "Ten Million Technology Award." This prestigious award, personally presented by founder and CEO Lei Jun, represents the highest recognition for technical achievement within the company. The award itself was upgraded from a previous "Million Dollar" prize to its current CNY 10 million (approximately USD 1.4 million) value, reflecting the growing scale and ambition of Xiaomi's R&D endeavors. Lei Jun praised the chip team, stating the Xuanjie O1 was "well-deserving" of the honor and commended its positive reception since launch.
Xiaomi Xuanjie O1 Key Specifications:
- Process Node: Second-Generation 3nm
- Transistor Count: 19 billion
- Die Size: 109 mm²
- CPU: 10-core, 4-cluster (2x Super-large, 4x Performance, 2x Efficiency, 2x Super-efficiency)
- Max CPU Frequency: 3.9 GHz
- GPU: Arm Immortalis-G925 (16 cores)
- Reported Benchmark: AnTuTu > 3 million; Single-core > 3000, Multi-core > 9500 (specific test unnamed)
- Claimed Advantage: Higher performance and lower power consumption vs. Apple A18 Pro GPU
Technical Specifications and Performance Benchmarks
The Xuanjie O1, unveiled in mid-2025, represents a major leap in Xiaomi's chip design capabilities. Manufactured on a cutting-edge second-generation 3-nanometer process, it packs a staggering 19 billion transistors into a compact 109mm² die. Its CPU architecture employs an innovative ten-core, four-cluster design, combining two "super-large" cores, four performance cores, two efficiency cores, and two "super-efficiency" cores, with the top cores clocking up to 3.9 GHz. This configuration has yielded impressive benchmark scores, with reported single-core results exceeding 3000 points and multi-core scores surpassing 9500 in industry-standard tests. For graphics, the chip integrates a 16-core Arm Immortalis-G925 GPU, which Xiaomi claims outperforms competitors like Apple's A18 Pro while maintaining superior power efficiency. AnTuTu benchmark scores for devices using the chip have reportedly breached the 3 million mark.
Broader R&D Strategy and Future Roadmap
The award for the Xuanjie O1 is a centerpiece of Xiaomi's aggressive five-year R&D plan. CEO Lei Jun revealed that the company invested approximately CNY 105 billion over the past five years, exceeding its initial CNY 100 billion commitment. Looking ahead, Xiaomi plans to double down, with a planned R&D expenditure of CNY 200 billion over the next five years. The strategic focus, as outlined by Lei, is a sustained assault on foundational technologies including proprietary chips, operating systems, and artificial intelligence. This investment is aimed at constructing a defensible "moat" for its expanding ecosystem of smartphones, cars, and smart home devices. Lei Jun also hinted at a major milestone for 2026: the convergence of its self-developed chip, operating system, and AI large language model in a single consumer device.
Xiaomi R&D Investment Commitment:
- Past 5 Years (2021-2025): ~CNY 105 billion (exceeded CNY 100B target)
- Next 5 Years (2026-2030): Planned CNY 200 billion
- Strategic Focus: Core technologies in chips, operating systems (OS), and artificial intelligence (AI).
Other Award-Winning Innovations
While the Xuanjie O1 took top honors, the awards ceremony highlighted the breadth of Xiaomi's innovation across its product portfolio. The second-prize winners included the "2200MPa Xiaomi Ultra-Strong Steel," developed for its electric vehicle, the YU7, which boasts the industry's highest strength for mass-produced hot-formed steel. Another notable winner was the innovative architecture for Xiaomi's smart glasses. Other recognized projects spanned advanced driver-assistance systems for its cars, breakthroughs in battery material science like ordered mesoporous silicon-carbon, and imaging technologies such as LOFIC for high dynamic range, demonstrating R&D depth beyond just semiconductors.
Xiaomi 2025 Technology Award Highlights:
- Top Award (CNY 10M): Xuanjie O1 Chip Team
- Representative 2nd/3rd Prize Projects:
- 2200MPa Ultra-Strong Steel (for Xiaomi YU7 car)
- Xiaomi Smart Glasses Innovation Architecture
- End-to-End + Reinforcement Learning Valet Parking System
- Ordered Mesoporous Silicon-Carbon Battery Material
- LOFIC High Dynamic Range Imaging Technology
Conclusion: A Strategic Pivot to Core Tech
The elevation of the Xuanjie O1 chip team with Xiaomi's top technical award is more than an internal celebration; it is a clear statement of strategic intent. By rewarding fundamental semiconductor innovation so highly, Xiaomi signals a long-term commitment to reducing external dependencies and controlling its technological destiny. As the company pours hundreds of billions into R&D, the success of chips like the Xuanjie O1 will be critical in determining whether Xiaomi can truly compete at the foundational level with global tech leaders and secure its position in the next era of intelligent, connected devices.