By Meghna Sharma Yes, Vivo is a Chinese company. It is a Chinese multinational consumer goods and technology company headquartered in Dongguan, Guangdong, China. Vivo was a subsidiary of BBK Electronics, a Chinese electronics conglomerate. However, Vivo became an independent entity after BBK Electronics officially went defunct in 2023. Major product offerings by Vivo include smartphones, smartphones accessories, tablets, TWS earbuds, smartwatches, software and online services. The company develops software for its own phones, distributed through its V-Appstore. iQOO is a sub-brand of Vivo.
| Details | Info |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Founder | Shen Wei and Duan Yongping |
| Headquarters | Dongguan, Guangdong, China |
| CEO | Shen Wei |
| Sector | Consumer electronics |
Company History
Vivo was founded on 22nd May 2009 by Shen Wei and Duan Yongping as a manufacturer of feature and music phones. The official Vivo brand was introduced with the launch of Vivo X1, a Hi-Fi smartphone model, in the year 2011. Subsequently, the company launched Xplay and Xshot series. By 2014, Vivo was growing rapidly in China and had entered India, Thailand and Southeast Asia.
Vivo became one of the top 5 smartphone brands in China in the year 2016. It also became the official sponsor of the Indian Premier League in the same year. In the year 2017, Vivo launched Vivo X20 featuring under-display fingerprint sensor. It was followed by Vivo NEX, first smartphone with pop-up selfie camera, launched in June 2018.
In the year 2019, Vivo launched iQOO as a independent sub-brand focused on gaming and performance phones. Vivo launched its first tablet, Vivo Pad, in the year 2021. The company entered the European market in the same year.
Current Status
Vivo is among the top 5 largest smartphone brands in the world, with a global share of around 9% in the smartphone market. It is a market leader in India, with a market share of 18-20%, and is also strong in Indonesia, Thailand and other Southeast Asian markets. Vivo’s major manufacturing bases are China, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh. The company also has 10 major R&D centres worldwide.
Vivo’s latest launch is Vivo Y500 Pro, which is a mid-range 5G phone featuring a 200 MP main camera, 32 MP selfie camera, Android 16 and 7000 mAh battery.
Future Outlook
Vivo is poised for high growth in 2026 and beyond on the back of its foldable devices, AI enhanced imaging technology and mid-range 5G devices. The company is likely to expand its AI ecosystem, including Google Gemini integration.
Vivo is looking to increase its penetration in emerging markets in Africa and Southeast Asia.