Xiaomi ramping Artificial Intelligence Robot

 The cell phone company is developing 140 autonomous vehicles, humanoid robots

Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi is moving forward with plans to become a major AVs player.

The company in Beijing, China, a leader in the sale of smartphones from Samsung and Apple, presented the company's development at the event.

Founder, president and CEO Lei Jun said Xiaomi's self-driving technology has been tested, with 140 cars deployed across China for testing.

Photos of the Xiaomi test car were published on a Chinese website, and Li posted a video on Weibo.

He said Xiaomi will invest $490 million in R&D in the first phase of the project, which aims to become a major player in the AV industry by 2024. 

The company develops sensors, chips and has a dedicated team of over 500 people working in all areas of the business, including graphics and algorithms. This segment will grow to 600 by the end of the year.

Xiaomi is also taking advantage of the expertise provided by existing companies, especially in areas such as artificial intelligence and voice assistant technology.

The company has grown significantly since announcing in March its entry into the AV electronics industry, which it says will become a $10 billion industry within 10 years. 

Its pursuit of self-driving cars has accelerated since it bought California-based self-driving car company Deep Motion for just $78 million in August.