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Xiaomi is still the biggest smartphone maker most folks in the West have never heard of. How big, exactly? According to Reuters, the Chinese company raked in a massive 74.3 billion yuan (about $12 billion) in 2014.
61 million phones sold
Chief executive Lei Jun said on his official microblog account Sunday that the company's pre-tax sales were up 135 percent from 2013, thanks to sales of about 61 million phones, a 227 percent increase. Although the post didn't include related profit numbers, Reuters notes that the company has been scraping by on thin profits despite its growing size: a filing from last month said the company had made about $56 million in 2013 net profit.
Still, investors are bullish on Xiaomi. Although it trails behind Apple and Samsung, the company recently took in a $1.1 billion round of funding, valuing it at about $45 billion.