Chinese Tech Giant Xiaomi To Shut Its Short-Video Platform Zili In India

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi-owned short-video platform Zili will shut its operations next month, becoming the latest Chinese app to exit India.

Zili, which was launched on Google Play Store in November 2018, informed its users through the app that it will shut its operations on March 13, 2023 at 23:59 PM “due to an operational adjustment”.

The app has already been taken down from the Play Store.

“All services on Zili app will be disabled on and from the shutdown date, including but not limited to the functions of download, Z-points encashments or withdrawal, etc. and all user data would be deleted from our server after that date and will no longer be retrievable,” Zili said in a notice. 

While the decision to shut the app is expected to have resulted in layoffs in the country, a detailed questionnaire sent to Xiaomi on Wednesday (February 22) on the development didn’t elicit any response till the time of publishing this story.

As per Google Play Store, the app had over 10 Cr downloads (over 100 Mn) before it was taken down. Zili became an instant hit among short-video content creators following the Indian government’s decision to ban 59 Chinese apps, including popular short-video platform Tiktok, in June 2020.

According to data from app analytics firm Sensor Tower, Zili saw 3 Mn installs in three weeks before the Indian government’s ban on Tiktok. However, this number shot up to 8 Mn in the three weeks following the ban. In terms of growth in absolute downloads, Zili was second only to Roposo, whose downloads increased from 5.5 Mn during the three-week period prior to the ban to 13.3 Mn in the three weeks after the ban. 

The ban on Tiktok saw a number of startups pivoting to the short-video model and seeing rapid growth initially. However, most of them, including ShareChat, Roposo and Chinagari, seem to be struggling with declining downloads and engagement.

Xiaomi’s move to shut Zili comes at a time when Chinese firms operating in India have come under the scrutiny of the Indian government for tax evasion and other reasons amid tensions between two countries over border disputes. Chinese smartphone manufacturers Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo are under investigation in India for tax evasion and have also seen raids by the I-T Department in the past.

Amidst this, Xiaomi shut its digital payment app Mi Pay and digital lending app Mi Credit last year. The Chinese tech giant also plans to divest its stake in Indian startups.

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