Lei Jun has now carved out his own niche, free from the shadows of others.

On February 4, Xiaomi Group's share price surpassed HK$40 for the first time during the trading day, pushing its total market value beyond the HK$1 trillion mark. This milestone was sustained in the days that followed. According to rankings by relevant institutions, Xiaomi has firmly established itself among the top three automotive companies globally in terms of market value, surpassing BYD and trailing only Tesla and Toyota.

Just a year ago, Xiaomi's share price hovered around HK$12. Many attribute the surge to the promising outlook of Xiaomi's automotive business and the significant influence of Lei Jun's personal brand. Xiaomi's new narrative of "people, cars, and homes" is gradually becoming a reality.

While Xiaomi's automotive business is not yet an independent entity, this ranking underscores a significant achievement. For Lei Jun, Xiaomi's market value exceeding HK$1 trillion is a positive and significant milestone, indicating that he has propelled his final entrepreneurial venture to new heights, indelibly marked with his name. After this milestone, Lei Jun stands firmly as Lei Jun, no longer "Leibusi" or "Leisike."

"Supporting Role" Lei Jun

Looking back at Lei Jun's entrepreneurial journey, he has consistently ridden the waves of trends but has seldom been at their epicenter. His journey can be divided into two distinct phases: the preparatory period at Kingsoft and the explosive growth and recognition phase at Xiaomi.

Lei Jun gained fame at a young age, debuting earlier than industry giants such as Jack Ma, Pony Ma, Robin Li, and William Ding. Qiu Bojun, the "Father of WPS" and the soul of early Kingsoft, was Lei Jun's idol and mentor. In 1992, at Qiu's invitation, the 23-year-old Lei Jun joined Kingsoft to jointly carry the banner of revitalizing national software. At that time, Pony Ma and Robin Li were still students, and Jack Ma was a genuine teacher.

For many years, Lei Jun diligently worked at Kingsoft. During this period, he keenly sensed the opportunities in the internet, but Kingsoft's core business was in software, and it was slow to react to the internet wave. For example, in 1998, Lei Jun suggested to the Kingsoft board of directors that they acquire the financially struggling NetEase, but the deal fell through due to a disagreement over price, leading to Ding Lei's rejection.

In 2000, Lei Jun personally founded Joyo.com, with Chen Nian, who later founded VANCL, as his entrepreneurial partner. The awkward part was that Joyo.com was merely a division within Kingsoft, lacking "independent personality," which suppressed Lei Jun's voice and determination. Ultimately, under the dual pressure of external financing difficulties and internal lack of support, Joyo.com only lasted four years before being sold to Amazon.

What Lei Jun found difficult to accept was that half a year after the sale of Joyo.com, the Chinese internet rebounded, portal websites ushered in a wave of listings, and B2C e-commerce also embraced a new spring. Joyo.com had fallen just before dawn.

Kingsoft finally went public in 2007, but Lei Jun was already somewhat physically and mentally exhausted. He once said, "The entire Kingsoft company was dragged down by going public, and this exhaustion is difficult to express in words."

This statement encapsulates two meanings: one for Kingsoft, which missed the golden age of the internet due to its pursuit of going public; the other for Lei Jun personally, as Kingsoft's listing did not fully represent his personal success. Despite possessing all the top-tier qualities, Lei Jun was surpassed by his peers and relegated to a "supporting role" in the internet tide.

Xiaomi's official biography describes how Lei Jun spent more than half a year reflecting after leaving Kingsoft, asking, "We worked so hard, so why didn't we become mainstream in the internet wave?"

This reflection left Lei Jun feeling defeated for a long time. In a conversation with internet entrepreneurs, he talked about feeling lonely for not seizing the opportunities of the internet.

Not Wanting to Be Anyone's Shadow

After all, Kingsoft does not bear the Lei surname, and Lei Jun aspired to be the protagonist. After a few years of rest, in 2010, Lei Jun founded Xiaomi, riding the wave of mobile internet to make smartphones, thus beginning the true chapter of "Lei Jun."

Initially, he wasn't entirely confident. Xiaomi's "triathlon" model of "software, hardware, and internet," as well as its product philosophy and design benchmarks, were seen as "affordable alternatives to Apple." The industry also referred to him and Meizu's Huang Zhang as "disciples of Steve Jobs."

At the Xiaomi phone launch event in 2011, Lei Jun took the stage wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans, with a stage presence and image strikingly similar to Steve Jobs. He was considered imitable and was affectionately nicknamed "Leibusi" by netizens. However, it is said that Lei Jun himself did not like this nickname and preferred that the outside world focus on Xiaomi's products and services rather than comparing him to Steve Jobs.

Even so, Xiaomi phones couldn't escape Apple's shadow. The solution to Xiaomi's business dilemma had to be found by looking at Apple. In recent years, Xiaomi has continuously pursued high-end positioning, and Lei Jun has bluntly proclaimed: benchmark Apple.

When Lei Jun announced Xiaomi's foray into the automotive industry, his new idol became Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla. He not only replicated Musk's style at Xiaomi's launch events, just as he had replicated Steve Jobs's: wearing a light gray suit and dark blue shirt. He tried to explain away the similarity, saying, "Men's suits only come in a few colors, so it's easy to accidentally match."

Lei Jun also aligned with Musk in terms of product philosophy and marketing strategies. The former saw Lei Jun reuse Musk's positioning of Tesla as intelligent and technologically advanced; the latter saw Lei Jun seemingly do better, as he personally became the most popular entrepreneur in China in 2024, earning labels such as "protagonist of a thrilling story" and "domineering CEO," bringing immense traffic to Xiaomi. Through these methods, Lei Jun also earned himself a new nickname: "Leisike."

The lesson Kingsoft taught Lei Jun can be summarized in four words: go with the flow. Lei Jun's personal signature on WeChat is also "go with the flow." This has become the secret to Lei Jun leading Xiaomi in rewriting the "people, cars, and homes" story. When his entrepreneurship had not yet broken through, Lei Jun could be "Leibusi" or "Leisike," with the weight of the "Lei Jun" role being pushed back.

In fact, Lei Jun does not want to be the shadow of any industry giant or a copy of any successful entrepreneur. He hopes to have his own achievements and name. This intention gradually became apparent after Xiaomi's business achieved remarkable results.

In 2019, Lei Jun posted a Weibo message: "After more than nine years of striving as a migrant in Beijing, I finally bought a house! Xiaomi's Science and Technology Park, with 8 buildings, covers an area of 340,000 square meters and cost 5.2 billion yuan!"

In 2024, when the first Xiaomi SU7 was delivered, Lei Jun again posted a Weibo message, bluntly stating, "From today onwards, Xiaomi officially becomes a car manufacturer," and joked, "Shouldn't you call me 'Factory Director Lei' now?"

Obviously, Lei Jun's preferred name is still "Lei Jun," naming the foundation he has built after himself. Just yesterday, in a group chat, many congratulated Xiaomi on entering the global top 100 companies, saying, "Congratulations, Mr. Lei." Lei Jun also timely came forward to send red envelopes and express his gratitude. The background is that since 2025, Xiaomi's share price has increased by more than 20%. According to statistics from the Futu Global Rankings, Xiaomi has officially entered the global top 100 in market value.

However, for Lei Jun and Xiaomi, the path of "people, cars, and homes" is still long. Xiaomi's high-end strategy for smartphones has been ongoing for several years, and both Lei Jun and Lu Weibing have stated on different occasions that this strategy has been successful. Yet, according to Xiaomi's second-quarter financial report for 2024, the overall ASP (average selling price per phone) of smartphones decreased by 0.8% from 1112.2 yuan in the second quarter of 2023 to 1103.5 yuan in the second quarter of 2024.

Xiaomi's automotive business has generated buzz and is a top player in the automotive market, but its annual delivery volume of 135,000 vehicles is still insignificant compared to other automakers. Although Lei Jun once explained that "Xiaomi's automotive manufacturing strength is still underestimated," on December 31, 2024, during a New Year's Eve live stream, Lei Jun set a "New Year's first flag" to deliver 300,000 vehicles.

Fortunately, Lei Jun remains clear-headed, knowing that all traffic needs to be supported by real performance. This is his greatest confidence in gaining recognition and being deeply tied to the Xiaomi brand. When Xiaomi's market value hit a new high, Lei Jun stated that on the afternoon of the first day of the new year, Xiaomi Group held its first important meeting of the year: a high-end strategy seminar. Xiaomi reviewed and summarized its explorations over the past five years and conducted in-depth discussions on the new direction of high-end positioning for the next five years.

Regardless, Lei Jun is currently in his best state, accurately and steadily receiving the immense traffic that comes his way. Moreover, compared to Xiaomi's hardware products, which receive mixed reviews, he personally enjoys a high degree of tolerance from public opinion. This is precisely the best opportunity for him to gain recognition. With a market value of trillions, Xiaomi has also embarked on a new starting point.