Lei Jun, CEO and founder of tech giant Xiaomi, has announced the company will now foray into the smart electric vehicle (EV) business.

Xiaomi is one of the largest smartphone and consumer electronics companies in the world today.

Lei, who started out with Beijing-based antivirus software company Kingsoft in 1992 after graduating with a bachelor's degree in computer science, founded Xiaomi in 2010. Xiaomi went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2018.

Lei, 51, said on March 30 that entering the EV market would be his last venture. He will serve as CEO of the wholly owned new subsidiary that will have an estimated investment of $10 billion in the next 10 years.

Xiaomi's strengths like its smart ecosystem and research and development ability will boost the new business, Lei said.