Tampere, a city in southern Finland, is now becoming a hotspot for smartphone makers, considering the track record of contributing to the camera and imaging-related innovations. As per the recent development, the Chinese handset maker Xiaomi has officially opened an R&D under the registered name – Xiaomi Finland Oy.
Largest camera R&D center outside China!
The R&D hub will focus on smartphone camera technologies, including camera algorithms, signal processing, machine learning, video, and image processing.
Apart from hardware, the software also plays an important role in increasing the quality of photos and videos shot on mobile phones. According to the company claims, this is Xioami‘s largest camera R&D center outside China.
Recruited Nokia veteran!
The Xiaomi Finland R&D team consists of 20 people so far and is headed by senior director Jarno Nikkanen. “We are a compact team of around 20 people now, but we are quickly scaling up by building up this team, especially talents specialized in camera algorithm.”
Jarno Nikkanen was an ex-Nokia employee with a PhD degree in Signal Processing from the Tampere University of Technology.
Why Finland?
It’s worth mentioning that Xiaomi and Nokia have already signed an agreement allowing sharing patents between the two companies. As per the deal, the Finnish handset maker will provide network infrastructure equipment to Xiaomi and give access to its patent-rich portfolio.
The Chinese smartphone company has registered the company back in May and has rented an office at the Hermia Technology Park. Notably, the company is near the University of Tampere’s technology campus, which is considered as the leading facility in imaging-related research.
Xiaomi senior VP Wang Xiang said:
The setup of this R&D team in Finnish city Tampere is a milestone in our global expansion journey. In this journey, not only do we consolidate ourselves in operations and business, but we also work with local talents to further improve our products with highly innovative technologies.
Joins home-grown rival!
With this move, Xiaomi joins its home-grown rival Huawei in setting up a research arm in Tampere. Huawei, known for some amazing camera phones, hired some former Nokia employees. Moreover, the company partnered with German lense-maker Leica as well. Right now, Xiaomi is planning to achieve the same.
€2 million into R&D!
According to SuomiMobile, Xiaomi has invested around €2 million into the unit, and all of the smartphone maker’s 2 million shares are registered with Xiaomi Technology Netherlands BV, a company incorporated in the Netherlands.
Main image credits: testing/Shutterstock
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