(Yicai Global) Dec. 6 -- Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Inc.'s next flagship model will use the new Snapdragon 845 processor, founder Lei Jun said during a keynote speech at the 2017 Snapdragon Technology Summit hosted in Hawaii by Qualcomm Inc. [NASDAQ:QCOM], which also designs and produces the chip.

The Xiaomi 7 will be the first of the manufacturer's handsets to use the processor, Lei said in a media interview after his speech. The Snapdragon 845 has great computing power, and Xiaomi's artificial intelligence team is working with Qualcomm to add new features to the latest handset before it hits the market early next year, he added.

"Xiaomi has invested in AI for two years and has more than 600 engineers," the company founder continued. "Breakthroughs in the field come from new algorithms, which depend upon data -- well-handled data is a prerequisite for AI." There are currently two ways to use AI, either through the terminal or though the server, but both ways respect user privacy, Lei said.

The firm is also considering plans to enter North America and is being meticulous in its preparation to ensure it succeeds first time around, he added. Xiaomi's international business will have grown by 300 percent annually by the end of this year, and anticipates it will double again in 2018, Lei said.

The Chinese brand has suffered setbacks over the past two years but returned to the list of top five manufacturers in the world in the second quarter of this year, according to analyses from several research companies, including Canalys, IDC and Strategy Analytics.