Midea launches new platform, AI brand

Home appliance giant Midea Group set up a new industrial internet platform and a new brand for artificial intelligence-based home appliances on Oct 19, as part of the company's plans to upgrade its business.

The industrial internet platform will help Midea, based in South China's Guangdong province, to become the country's first independent industrial internet platform provider, leading the industry with strong, comprehensive capabilities in manufacturing.

"Already successfully deployed internally within the group, the platform can now serve as a facilitator for more industrial partners to connect to the cloud by offering either customized digital transformation services for large enterprises or cost-effective package solutions for small and medium-sized businesses," says Zhang Xiaoyi, vice-president of Midea.

According to Zhang, explosive growth of the industrial internet business can be expected in the near future, along with the implementation of China's policies to guide industrial development.

The size of the global industrial internet platform market is projected to reach $91.4 billion (79 billion euros; £70 billion) by 2023, and the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at the highest compound annual growth rate, according to a report by market research firm MarketsandMarkets.

"The new industrial internet platform will effectively address the pain points in manufacturing, such as the difficulty of managing sudden breakdowns," Zhang says.

The company also unveiled a new brand for its AI home appliances, Colmo, an initiative to respond to consumer demand by leveraging its technical strength and consumer insights.

Colmo products will feature core AI technologies with support from the company's emerging technology center in Silicon Valley. The new industrial internet platform and the new brand for AI home appliances will help Midea make greater efforts in sustainable business growth, he says.

Looking ahead to its future development, Paul Fang, chairman of Midea Group, says: "Perhaps no company will last forever. Still, Midea aspires to go further."

Founded in 1968 in Shunde, Foshan, a traditional manufacturing hub in the prosperous Pearl River Delta, Midea has now become a Fortune 500 company with diversified businesses in consumer appliances, HVAC systems, smart supply chains and robotics and industrial automation systems.

"With the new vision, mission and value statements, Midea has engaged itself in a new and more profound exploration in smart manufacturing, smart living and ways of giving back to society," Fang says.

Midea's business revenue increased year-on-year by 51.35 percent to 240.7 billion yuan ($34.7 billion; 30 billion euros; £26.5 billion) in 2017.