(Yicai) March 4 -- Honor plans to invest more than USD10 billion over the next five years to transform itself into an ecosystem company focused on artificial-intelligence-powered devices, the new chief executive officer of the Chinese smartphone manufacturer said recently.

Li Jian announced the substantial investment at the launch event for the Honor Alpha Plan which was held at the Mobile World Congress 2025 on March 2. This was Li’s first public appearance since taking the helm in January.

The Honor Alpha Plan will begin by creating a truly smart smartphone, Li said. This will be followed by the second phase, which involves exploring industry tie-ups and artificial general intelligence technologies, while the third phase will focus on creating a smart world.

Li emphasized the importance of an open ecosystem in his speech. "The world should not have only one Apple. Unity among stakeholders is a prerequisite to addressing AI challenges," he said.

"Directing substantial research and development funds towards AI is a clear sign of Honor’s strategy adjustment under the new leadership," a market analyst told Yicai at the event.

"Honor needs to expand its ecosystem, extend beyond mobile phones and use AI to redefine products such as PCs, tablets, wearables and earbuds,” said one of the Shenzhen-based company’s tech directors. “The USD10 billion investment over the next five years will go towards constructing this ecosystem."

Future competition in terminal devices will center on AI-enhanced products and data, therefore smartphone makers must move beyond thinking in terms of hardware and find a place within the AI ecosystem, the analyst added.

"2025 marks the start of the first phase of the Honor Alpha Strategy. We expect Honor to ramp up its efforts in developing AI features and to release more ecosystem devices to build a comprehensive hardware platform, expand its global user base, and execute its strategic vision," market research firm Canalys said in a report released yesterday.

The Singapore-based company also pointed out the challenges that Honor will face in implementing its new strategy. It is difficult to convert AI innovations into products that people are willing to pay for. Honor must show users the unique value of its proprietary device ecosystem, and this requires the company to build robust partnerships with all players in the AI ecosystem, it added.

Editor: Kim Taylor