Xiaomi looks to expand its IoT segment with a boost from Naver's Clove AI

Xiaomi is a fast-rising player in the world of consumer electronics. There are no two ways about that. The way it has spread, disrupted the market and made itself the numero uno player in the Indian smartphone market is in itself a validation of the overlying fact. 

In China, it is another beast altogether.

On Wednesday, the Chinese electronics giant entered into a strategic partnership with Naver, a search engine company based out of South Korea. Naver is also the parent company of LINE messenger and the developer of Clove personal assistant.

As per the memorandum, Xiaomi will start using Clova as the AI in their IoT devices from now. Xiaomi through its Korean distributor, Youmi, will merge Naver’s AI into their own AI development. 

Xiaomi’s IoT segment boasts of light bulbs, air purifiers, smart home kit, robot vacuum among others which will soon be powered by Clova.

Xiaomi’s aspiration to jump the AI bandwagon is pretty evident. When in the West, companies like Google and Apple are aggressively developing AI and capturing different markets, Xiaomi is planning on leaving no stones unturned when it comes to AI implementation in their products. The company is planning to launch as many as 80 products this year in South Korea alone.

Xiaomi India is also set to begin with their 2018 portfolio next week where it is expected to unveil the successor to yesteryear’s Redmi Note 4. It is also rumored that the company is looking to bring more of their electronic products to India this year.

Siddharth Chauhan
Siddharth Chauhan is the Consumer Technology Reporter at Digit India. He used to work as an Assistant Editor at TechRadar India