Xiaomi and Shunwei Capital are planning to invest USD 300 million into Baidu’s online video portal iQiyi.com, the Wall Street Journal reported. Shunwei Capital was set up by Xiaomi chairman and CEO Lei Jun. No financial details were disclosed.
IQiyi said the investment will make Xiaomi the second-largest shareholder of the portal behind Baidu. Xiaomi VP of content investment and operation Chen Tong said the investment was mainly for content. IQiyi.com CEO Gong Yu said the plan is to produce original content, such as animation, TV drama and variety shows for iQiyi’s young users.
According to Bloomberg, Xiaomi’s investment in IQiyi.com values the portal at USD 2-3 billion, sources familiar with the matter said. The sources said the USD 300 million investment was for a stake of 10-15 percent. Baidu will invest an additional USD 100 million and hold about 80 percent, they added. Xiaomi may make a further investment in IQiyi, Yu said at a briefing in Beijing. More than 60 percent of IQiyi’s traffic comes from mobile devices, a company statement said.
