Xiaomi released its first smartphone in August 2011 and has rapidly gained market share in China to become China's largest smartphone company in 2014.[5] As of 2017 Xiaomi is the world's 5th largest smartphone company.[6][7] Xiaomi has expanded into developing a wider range of consumer electronics, including a smart home (IoT) device ecosystem.[8][9][10][11] Xiaomi has 15,000 employees[2] in China, India, Malaysia,[12] Singapore and is expanding to other countries such as Indonesia, the Philippines and South Africa.[13][14] Lei Jun, the founder and CEO, has an estimated net worth of US$6.8 billion. He is China's 24th richest person in 2017. Xiaomi is the world's 4th most valuable technology start-up after it received US$1.1 billion funding from investors, making Xiaomi's valuation more than US$46 billio.