Lei Jun's new answer

For almost all internet players, they are searching for an answer that solves all the problems of the internet.

This so-called answer is, in fact, more about finding new development directions in the post-internet era.

Everything we've seen so far—blockchain, the metaverse, industrial internet, and the integration of digital and physical—falls into this category.

For Lei Jun, he is also searching for new directions and answers.

If we were to summarize and define the answer Lei Jun has found, AI would undoubtedly be the most fitting.

Whether it's AI's deep transformation of traditional smartphone businesses or AI's empowerment of Xiaomi's car manufacturing, all of this demonstrates this point.

From the perspective of Lei Jun and Xiaomi, when AI becomes the "foundation" for both smartphones and cars, the ultimate question that smartphone manufacturers and new carmakers have been tirelessly pursuing seems to have a new answer.

Through AI, players can not only preserve the legacy they accumulated during the mobile internet era but also amplify the new dividends they gain from car manufacturing.

For Lei Jun, this is not only a major step forward for Xiaomi but also a significant advancement for the tech industry.

Starting with AI, the internet era and the IoT era will no longer be fragmented or isolated but will become entities that can synergize and truly empower each other.

I

In fact, a profound transformation led by AI is unfolding in the internet industry and even the entire tech sector.

Whether for internet players or tech players, everyone is using AI to find new breakthroughs for development.

However, just as the internet requires a computer or a smartphone as a carrier and channel, AI also needs such a carrier and channel.

Only then can AI, like the internet, bring sustained and long-lasting impacts to people's production and lives, becoming a new way of life.

For Lei Jun, the reason he led Xiaomi to success in the internet era was largely because he recognized the increased demand for smartphones brought by the advent of the internet. Thus, he began manufacturing Xiaomi smartphones to meet user needs, which led to Xiaomi's success today.

Because of this, the internet once became one of the "three axes" that helped Xiaomi achieve rapid growth.

It can be said that Lei Jun's deep understanding and flexible application of the internet truly brought Xiaomi to its current development stage, making it a key player.

As the internet era fades, especially as AI-led new technologies begin to replace the internet as the new "infrastructure," we see more and more dividends released around AI.

In the AI era, finding new carriers for it and enabling it to better serve users have become questions that every player must deeply consider.

Increasing signs indicate that smart cars will become the carriers of AI.

Their value and significance will be akin to that of smartphones in the internet era.

For every player, to make a mark in the AI era, they must continuously meet users' demands for new carriers.

In this process, smart cars are undoubtedly one of the most important carriers.

Lei Jun led Xiaomi into the new race of car manufacturing precisely because he foresaw the trend of smart cars becoming the new carriers of AI.

From this perspective, Lei Jun's new answer represents the direction where smart cars will replace smartphones as the new carriers of AI.

II

As the car manufacturing industry enters a new cycle, especially as competition shifts from the capital level to the market level, relying solely on concepts, gimmicks, capital, and marketing is encountering increasing difficulties and challenges.

At this moment, merely manufacturing cars or focusing on the concept of carmaking without bringing fundamental changes to cars is facing growing challenges.

The exit of many car manufacturers and the development struggles of established players are direct manifestations of this phenomenon.

For car manufacturers, only by truly infusing new concepts and meanings into carmaking and bringing fundamental changes can they remain at the table and succeed in the new cycle.

This applies to Lei Jun and Xiaomi as well.

Against this backdrop, we see Lei Jun focusing on new development directions represented by intelligence.

According to Lei Jun, "Intelligence is the soul of cars, and intelligence in the electric vehicle era has just begun. The automotive industry is a century-long race; as long as you genuinely love it and want to do it, any time is the best time."

In fact, Lei Jun's statement is not far-fetched but reflects his deep insight into the car manufacturing industry.

Previously, car manufacturing was dominated by the internet. Many carmakers described themselves as using internet methods to build cars.

Indeed, using internet methods to build cars can achieve rapid development and attract capital in the short term. However, without bringing fundamental changes to cars, internet-style car manufacturing will inevitably face the same difficulties and dilemmas as other internet models.

Today, the car manufacturing industry has entered deep waters. Internet-style car manufacturing is facing increasing problems and challenges.

Overemphasizing concepts, blindly prioritizing capital, and focusing solely on marketing without bringing fundamental changes to cars will eventually lead the once-booming industry into a dead end.

This is the inevitable outcome of the internet model.

The reason is that the internet model only changes the operational mode of industries superficially, not their intrinsic and underlying essence.

When the efficiency provided by the internet model can no longer meet the growth of user demands, internet-led development will encounter difficulties.

The same applies to the car manufacturing industry.

If we summarize the challenges faced by the car manufacturing industry today, the inability of internet-style car manufacturing to meet user and industry demands is undoubtedly the most fundamental one.

For any player aiming to make a mark in the new cycle of car manufacturing, abandoning the internet model and truly infusing new meanings into carmaking is key to bringing the industry into a new development stage.

III

Against this backdrop, we see more players focusing on AI and the underlying elements and operational logic that can bring fundamental changes to car manufacturing.

As AI rises, new concepts like autonomous driving have become important directions that can deeply influence and transform car manufacturing.

Lei Jun naturally recognized this.

With Lei Jun's deep accumulation in the internet era, especially the robust internet ecosystem he has built, Xiaomi has become a strong competitor capable of making a mark in the AI era.

Because of this, as deep and thorough transformations of cars, represented by autonomous driving, began, Lei Jun focused on the direction of intelligence.

From this perspective, Lei Jun not only found a new answer for Xiaomi's development but also for the car manufacturing industry.

For Xiaomi, as the internet becomes saturated, especially with declining smartphone shipments, it urgently needs a new engine to replace smartphones.

In his annual speech, Lei Jun also revealed that the fundamental reason for entering car manufacturing was his and his team's deep reflection after the smartphone era.

In other words, car manufacturing is undoubtedly the new answer to smartphone manufacturing.

However, viewing car manufacturing merely as a replacement for smartphones fails to fully grasp the meaning of Lei Jun's new answer.

In my view, Lei Jun leading Xiaomi to shift focus to car manufacturing is just the beginning.

The key to Xiaomi's future and direction lies in how, as car manufacturing matures, AI can bring new changes to both smartphones and cars.

When AI begins to empower Xiaomi's old and new businesses, the dividends it releases will be immense.

Therefore, the AI-led deep transformation of smartphones and cars and the new opportunities it brings are the new answers Lei Jun has found.

It is foreseeable that as AI brings profound changes to various industries, especially as more smartphone manufacturers and carmakers focus on this, Lei Jun has once again caught the new wave of the era.

As Lei Jun finds ways for AI to transform smartphones and cars, especially by inheriting the internet's legacy and applying it to both fields, the potential for Xiaomi's growth becomes even greater.

Conclusion

Lei Jun has found a new answer.

This new answer is not only about finding new dividends in the transition from the internet era to the IoT era but also about the new dividends released by AI's deep transformation of smartphones and cars.

In fact, this new answer is not just for Xiaomi; it also holds valuable lessons for car manufacturers.

Through Lei Jun's new answer, we see a new wave of development led by AI unfolding.

For every player aiming to make a mark, only by continuously finding the right ways to embrace AI and truly using AI to bring new momentum to their development can they succeed in this era.$XIAOMI-W(01810.HK)

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Author: Meng Yonghui, Senior Writer, Columnist, Industry Observer, Influencer, Digital Economy Scholar.