(Yicai Global) Aug. 17 -- Chinese tech giant Xiaomi is forging ahead with its strategy that combines phones with the artificial intelligence of things along with four partner appointments and a new entrepreneurship program.

The company's core focus is mobile phone × AIoT over this decade, founder Lei Jun said in an internal email to celebrate the Beijing-based company's 10-year anniversary by setting new goals for the next decade. Yicai Global has seen the email.

Smartphones were the starting point for Xiaomi's success 10 years ago and they still are its most important core business, Lei said, adding that the firm's AIoT ecosystem needs to add more technologies and users.

Early this year, Lei said that the company will invest CNY50 billion (USD7.2 billion) in the field of integrating fifth-generation wireless networks and AIoT over the next five years.

The push starts from within. Xiaomi will launch a new entrepreneurship program to select 100 young managers while rewarding those that deliver good ideas, Lei wrote in the email.

The firm has selected partners from its executives for the first time to join the five founding partners. The four new ones include President Wang Xiang, Vice President Zhang Feng, as well as Zhou Shouzi, senior vice president and president of the international department, along with Lu Weibing, VP and general manager of Redmi.

The group were chosen based on their contributions, an insider told Yicai Global.

In addition to Lei, Xiaomi's founding partners include Vice Chairman Lin Bin, Mi Finance Chairman Hong Feng, SVP Wang Chuan, and SVP Liu De, public data show.

In the first quarter, Xiaomi IoT platform had 252 million connected devices, while the firm's Xiao Ai smart speakers had more than 70 million monthly active users, according to the company's earnings report.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine