Chinese smartphone firm Xiaomi is planning to pump over ¥50 billion ($7.18 billion) into artificial intelligence (AI) and 5G technologies over the next five years, Reuters reported on Thursday (Jan. The announcement was made by Xiaomi Chief Executive Lei Jun, who posted a letter on the company's social media account. "We need to turn our continuous advantage we have in AIoT [artificial intelligence of things] and intelligent life into absolute victory in intelligent full scene, and completely cement our king status in the smart era," the chief executive said in the letter. He said in the letter that the company is now a "global technology leader" and pointed to 2019 as an important time for Xiaomi's global expansion. "… our overseas revenue now accounts for almost half of our total group revenue."