Xiaomi to acquire Nokia's network infra patent; to collaborate on AI, VR

Xiaomi is witnessing rapid growth in the Indian market and clocked over $1 bn in revenue in 2016

Latest news : In a strategic move, Chinese tech major Xiaomi and Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia on Wednesday signed an agreement for business collaboration and patent licencing where Xiaomi will acquire key patent assets from Nokia.

The multi-year patent agreement includes a cross-license to each company's cellular standard-essential patents. The financials of the deal were not disclosed.

"As a company seeking to deliver more exciting technological innovations to the world, we are excited at the opportunity to work more closely with Nokia in future," said Lei Jun, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi, in a statement.

Although not faring well globally including in China, Xiaomi is witnessing rapid growth in the Indian market and clocked over $1 billion in revenue in 2016.

Under the agreement, Nokia, which had recently revamped the feature phone market with its nostalgia-driven 3310, will provide network infrastructure equipment designed to deliver high capacity, low power requirements for large web providers and data centre operators.

Also read this: Aggressive tariffs, Rs 500 4G feature phone: Jio's game plan for disruption