Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp. ( XIACF ) plans to invest at least 50 billion yuan ($6.93 billion) in chip design over a minimum 10-year period starting from 2021, founder Lei Jun announced Monday on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

What Happened: The Apple Inc ( AAPL ). rival has already invested 13.5 billion yuan to develop its advanced mobile chip XringO1, according to Lei, Reuters reported. The company’s chip design division now employs more than 2,500 people, underscoring Xiaomi’s commitment to semiconductor self-sufficiency.

This significant investment comes amid escalating U.S. semiconductor sanctions against Chinese tech companies. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. recently disclosed in its 2024 annual report that ensuring complete compliance with U.S. chip technology embargoes has become increasingly challenging.

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Why It Matters: TSM, which produces chips for Qualcomm Inc. and MediaTek that are used in Xiaomi ( XIACF ) devices, noted that business partners have increasingly violated semiconductor sanctions to access advanced technology.

Xiaomi ( XIACF ) currently holds third place in global smartphone market share, according to recent Counterpoint Research data, behind Apple ( AAPL ) and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Price Action: Xiaomi Corp’s stock was trading at 51.50 HKD ($6.58) on the Hong Kong Exchange as of 11:59 a.m. Monday, marking a 0.98% gain for the day. Year to date, the stock has surged 51.47%.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.