Xiaomi Inc has raised €900m in a new round of funding - the company is now valued at €37bn. It specialises in stylish, but affordable smartphones and sells mainly to the Chinese market.

The company was founded in April of 2010 - sales data suggests that it is now the world's third largest manufacturer of mobile devices - beaten by only Samsung and Apple.

Xiaomi has targeted the mid-priced smartphone market. The company's founder and CEO Lei Jun has predicted that it could overtake Apple in the next "five or ten years".

Xiaomi has been called the 'Apple of China' but this isn't always meant as a compliment. It is believed that the company would have legal difficulties operating in a number of markets because of potential patent claims from Apple and Samsung.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Apple's head of design Jony Ive admitted that he is not a fan of the company - or comparisons between it and Apple. He said: "When you’re doing something for the first time, you don’t know if it’s going to work. You spend seven or eight years working on something and then it’s copied. I think it is really straightforward. It is theft and it is lazy. I don’t think it is okay at all.”

The company even stage Apple style product launches.

Its flagship phone is some €250 cheaper that Apple and Samsung's top offerings.

The company has already faced difficulties in India where sales of its phones were temporarily stopped after a patent claim from Ericsson - this issue was later resolved.