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According to the latest Hurun Rich List 2026, Xiaomi founder Lei Jun ranked 17th. Although his wealth shrank by 48% compared to last year, his net worth still stands at 169 billion yuan.
Now, this billionaire is building a true "Mi Home" for his employees. On October 24, Xiaomi Ecosystem Chain General Manager Chen Bo posted a video on Weibo stating that the Xiaomi Wuhan Optics Valley Mengxiangjia project would officially open for sale the next day.
As Xiaomi Group's first residential community sold to employees, the Optics Valley Mengxiangjia project consists of three 18-story mid-rise buildings and one 33-story high-rise, covering multiple unit types ranging from 110 square meters to 143 square meters. According to filing information, the project's overall average filed price is approximately 13,885 yuan per square meter, about 1,200 to 2,400 yuan lower than surrounding new homes, and the gap can reach several thousand yuan compared to some newer second-hand homes.
It is worth noting that this is not Xiaomi's first move in employee housing benefits. Previously, Xiaomi had built a total of 12 employee apartment buildings in Beijing, Nanjing, and Wuhan, providing more than 4,200 housing units.
From thousand-yuan apartments to million-yuan residences, Xiaomi's increasing investment in employee housing benefits may be related to the increasingly fierce talent war. Today, the "talent grab" among major tech companies has extended deep into the housing sector.
However, Xiaomi is currently facing certain performance pressures. Xiaomi's latest financial report shows that in the first half of this year, the company achieved revenue of 208.063 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8.44%; it recorded a net profit attributable to shareholders of 14.186 billion yuan, a decrease of 37.86% compared to the same period last year. In the second quarter of this year, Xiaomi's two flagship businesses—smartphones and smart electric vehicles and AI innovation businesses—faced declining shipments and expanding operating losses, respectively.
Xiaomi Sells Homes to Employees as Real "Mi Home" Lands in Wuhan Optics Valley
On October 24, Xiaomi Ecosystem Chain General Manager Chen Bo posted a video on Weibo announcing that the Xiaomi Wuhan Optics Valley Mengxiangjia project would officially open for sale the next day. Radar Finance noted that this is not only Xiaomi's first employee residential project in Wuhan but also Xiaomi Group's first residential community sold to employees.
In the video, Chen Bo introduced that the Optics Valley Mengxiangjia project consists of three 18-story mid-rise buildings and one 33-story high-rise, totaling 297 units, covering 110-square-meter three-bedroom two-bathroom small units, 122 to 125-square-meter medium units, and 143-square-meter large units with a 16-square-meter sky garden.
The entire project is designed according to fourth-generation residential standards, with a floor area ratio of 2.0, equipped with sky gardens, wind-and-rain corridors, and leisure facilities including a gym, yoga room, healing space, billiards room, and reception lounge within the community.
In terms of location, the project is not far from Xiaomi Wuhan Technology Park, close to living amenities such as the Leopard Creek Park along the Optics Valley Central Ecological Corridor and Wuhan Children's Hospital Optics Valley Campus. At the same time, the project will also include community commercial space, with targeted recruitment of tenants and unified operations based on Xiaomi employees' needs.
According to filing information, Wufangtong, and Beike Zhaofang, the Optics Valley Mengxiangjia project's overall average filed price is 13,885 yuan per square meter, about 1,200 to 2,400 yuan per square meter lower than surrounding new homes, and the gap can reach several thousand yuan compared to some newer second-hand homes. Among them, Building 1, as the main 33-story three-bedroom building, has an average filed price of approximately 13,609 yuan per square meter, with total prices ranging from approximately 1.388 million yuan to 1.8 million yuan. Buildings 2, 3, and 4, as mid-rise products, have average filed prices ranging from 13,884 yuan per square meter to 13,892 yuan per square meter, with unit total prices ranging from approximately 1.83 million yuan to 2.13 million yuan.
According to National Business Daily, the Wuhan Optics Valley Mengxiangjia project was acquired by Xiaomi Group's affiliated company—Mikongjian Wuhan Information Technology Co., Ltd.—in June 2021 at a base price of 303 million yuan for Wuhan P (2021) No. 073 land parcel. At that time, the transaction floor price was 8,326.92 yuan per square meter. The transfer documents show that the bidder must commit to introducing an internet headquarters or regional headquarters centered on smartphones, smart hardware, and IoT platforms if the land parcel is won, with a total project investment of no less than 8 billion yuan. At the same time, the sales targets of the built housing must be formal employees affiliated with Xiaomi Group (employees who have signed labor contracts with and have social insurance paid by companies under Xiaomi Group), with the Wuhan Optics Valley Central City Construction Service Center designated by the East Lake High-tech Development Zone Management Committee responsible for supervision and implementation.
Therefore, the Wuhan Optics Valley Mengxiangjia project can only be purchased by Xiaomi employees. Some market sources say that the internal price for Xiaomi employees is expected to be around 12,000 yuan per square meter.
From Thousand-Yuan Apartments to Million-Yuan Residences, Lei Jun Builds a Talent Retention "Housing Network"
In fact, in terms of employee housing benefits, Xiaomi has not only built the Optics Valley Mengxiangjia project but also established youth apartments in multiple locations.
In July of this year, the Xiaomi Wuhan Technology Park Youth Apartment officially opened for occupancy. It is reported that the apartment is operated by Vanke's long-term rental apartment brand Port Apartment, with a total of 3 buildings and a total construction area of 50,000 square meters, covering 960 units of 26-square-meter studio main units and 30 units of 30-square-meter studio units. All rooms can accommodate up to two people and are equipped with independent bathrooms. Appliances and furniture in the rooms, including air conditioners, washing machines, refrigerators, water heaters, and smart locks, are all Xiaomi and ecosystem chain products.
On the first floor of the apartment, Xiaomi has also planned convenience commercial facilities such as a 24-hour convenience store, barbershop, and SF Express parcel station; shared facilities including a shared kitchen, billiards room, small gym, reading area, board game area, and home theater are available in public areas and are free for residents.
In terms of pricing, according to Hubei Daily, the average monthly rent for Wuhan Xiaomi Youth Apartment is approximately 1,099 yuan, with the lowest at only 949 yuan, including central heating and internet. In the same area, a one-bedroom apartment rents for about 1,600 yuan per month.
According to public information, Xiaomi's layout in youth apartments can be traced back to 2021. In August of that year, Xiaomi officially established Mi Apartment (Beijing) Commercial Operation Management Co., Ltd. At that time, then-Xiaomi Group Public Relations General Manager Wang Hua stated that Xiaomi employee apartments are mainly aimed at reducing the pressure on employees, especially fresh graduates, who face difficulties in renting, long commutes, and high rents, as a measure to enhance employee happiness. Tianyancha information shows that the company is wholly owned by Xiaomi Communications Technology Co., Ltd. and has been renamed Mi Xingchen (Beijing) Housing Leasing Co., Ltd.
In July last year, Xiaomi took the lead in simultaneously launching youth apartments in Beijing and Nanjing, with a rent standard of 1,999 yuan per month. The Wuhan Youth Apartment that opened this time is its third youth apartment nationwide and also the largest. According to Xiaomi founder, Chairman, and CEO Lei Jun, Xiaomi has cumulatively built 12 employee apartment buildings with more than 4,200 housing units.
Some views hold that from providing employees with youth apartments at thousand-yuan monthly rents to building million-yuan residential communities, the essence behind Xiaomi's series of housing benefits is a competitive layout for core talent.
Xiaomi's semi-annual report shows that as of June 30 this year, Xiaomi had approximately 52,900 full-time employees, an increase of 3,855 from the same period last year. Among them, R&D personnel increased by 10.25% year-on-year to approximately 25,000. Wuhan Optics Valley, as Xiaomi's "second headquarters," has seen its Xiaomi employee count continue to climb since Xiaomi moved in in 2017. According to the official WeChat account of "China Optics Valley," Xiaomi currently has approximately 8,000 employees in Wuhan, with R&D personnel accounting for more than 60%, and is building a ten-thousand-person R&D center.
Currently, Wuhan has become Xiaomi's largest R&D and smart manufacturing base outside its Beijing headquarters, and is also an important implementation hub for its "human x car x home full ecosystem" strategy.
China City News pointed out that the "talent grab" among major tech companies has now extended into the housing sector. Among them, JD.com laid out employee housing earlier and invested heavily, spending 7 billion yuan in Beijing alone to build nearly 5,000 fully furnished, well-equipped comfortable apartments for young talent. Another internet giant, Tencent, has also planned more than 4,000 fully furnished talent apartments within "Penguin Island," focusing on "small but refined" units of 20 to 35 square meters, with rents only 60% of similar apartments in the surrounding area.
Revenue and Net Profit Both Decline in First Half, Two Flagship Businesses Face Challenges
While continuously increasing employee housing benefits, Xiaomi is facing certain performance pressures. In August of this year, Xiaomi delivered a mid-year report card of "both revenue and profit declining": during the reporting period, the company achieved revenue of 208.063 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 8.44%; it recorded a net profit attributable to shareholders of 14.186 billion yuan, a decrease of 37.86% from the same period last year.
According to Xiaomi's financial report, its revenue is mainly composed of smartphone x AIoT, smart electric vehicles, and AI innovation businesses. But now, both of these performance "carriages" are facing considerable challenges.
In the second quarter of this year, Xiaomi's smartphone x AIoT segment achieved revenue of 84 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 11.3%. Among them, the smartphone business contributed 42.1 billion yuan in revenue, a decrease of 7.5% from 45.5 billion yuan in the same period last year. Xiaomi stated that the revenue decrease was mainly due to declining smartphone shipments, partially offset by an increase in smartphone ASP.
According to Omdia data, although Xiaomi's smartphone shipments have ranked in the global top three for 24 consecutive quarters, the downward trend is evident. In the second quarter of 2026, Xiaomi's smartphone shipments decreased by 26.5% year-on-year to 31.2 million units, mainly due to product matrix optimization, reduced shipments of mid-to-low-end smartphones, and weak global demand caused by continuous price increases of core components.
Additionally, affected by factors such as rising prices of core components, Xiaomi's smartphone business gross margin dropped from 11.5% in the second quarter of 2025 to 8.5% in the second quarter of 2026. During the same period, revenue from IoT and lifestyle products under Xiaomi's smartphone x AIoT segment was approximately 31.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 19.2%; internet service revenue was 9 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 0.6%; other related business revenue increased by 16.3% year-on-year to 1.6 billion yuan.
In terms of the automotive business, in the second quarter of this year, Xiaomi cumulatively delivered 104,200 new vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 28.2%, mainly due to increased deliveries of the Xiaomi YU7 series, partially offset by decreased deliveries of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra. On September 7, Lei Jun revealed that Xiaomi's cumulative vehicle deliveries had exceeded 800,000 units. In the same month, Xiaomi held its autumn flagship new product launch event, officially launching four extended-range SUV models in the Pengcheng series, with first-month deliveries exceeding 10,000 units.
Driven by sales growth, Xiaomi's second-quarter smart electric vehicle revenue grew from 20.6 billion yuan in the second quarter of 2025 to 23.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth rate of approximately 15.9%. However, the profitability situation is not optimistic. In the second quarter of this year, the gross margin of Xiaomi's smart electric vehicle and AI innovation business segment was 19.2%, a year-on-year decline of 7.2 percentage points, mainly due to a decline in the proportion of Xiaomi SU7 Ultra deliveries, rising prices of core components, and increased costs related to AI business.
According to Xiaomi, in the second quarter of this year, its smart electric vehicle and AI innovation business segment recorded an operating loss of 2.6 billion yuan, compared to an operating loss of 300 million yuan in the same segment last year, with the loss scale expanding more than 7 times year-on-year.
While both major segments—smartphones and smart electric vehicles and AI innovation businesses—are under pressure, Xiaomi has chosen to continuously increase AI investment. In March of this year, Lei Jun stated at the China Development Forum that Xiaomi's cumulative R&D investment over the past 5 years exceeded 100 billion yuan, and it plans to exceed 200 billion yuan in the next 5 years. According to the plan, Xiaomi plans to invest more than 60 billion yuan in AI over the next 3 years, and its R&D and capital investment in AI this year will exceed 16 billion yuan.
And AI competition will ultimately come down to talent competition. Luo Fuli, who now bears the important responsibility of heading Xiaomi's MiMo large model, is a technical expert "poached" by Lei Jun at great expense. Public information shows that Luo Fuli previously worked at Alibaba DAMO Academy and DeepSeek, and is known externally as an "AI talented woman." According to LatePost, on September 22, Luo Fuli successfully rose to level 22—the highest level in Xiaomi's job grade system.
With the continuous increase in employee housing benefits, can Lei Jun retain and attract more talent going forward to help the company achieve more breakthroughs? Radar Finance will continue to follow.
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