Leading Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. says it plans to invest over 50 billion yuan, or just over $7 billion, on artificial intelligence, 5G and “internet of things” technologies over the next five years.

The investment was revealed in an announcement posted to Xiaomi’s social media accounts by Chief Executive Officer Lei Jun Thursday. He did not provide specific details on how the money would be invested.

“We need to turn our continuous advantage we have in AIoT and intelligent life into absolute victory in intelligent full scene, and completely cement our king status in the smart era,” Lei said. “AioT” is an acronym for “artificial intelligence of things,” or a combination of AI and IoT technologies.

Xiaomi had previously pledged to invest 10 billion yuan over five years as part of its “all in AioT” strategy, Reuters said.

Xiaomi is one of China’s biggest smartphone makers, and has since expanded into other devices, including laptops, Smart TVs and household appliances such as Smart rice cookers. It does, however, continue to face strong competition in its primary smartphone market. Its biggest rival, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., continues to grow from strength to strength, recently capturing a record 42% of China’s smartphone market at the expense of other domestic firms.

Photo: Antonio E. Da Silva Campos/Flickr