A couple of new LeEco devices were revealed online through the Chinese telecommunication regulatory board TENAA. (Photo : LeEco/YouTube)
China's version of "Netflix" is coming to the United States and has planted its roots into the heart of Western technology: Silicon Valley.
According to Breitbart, the Leshi Internet Information & Technology, more popularly known as LeEco, just bought Yahoo's 48.6-acre land in Silicon Valley for $250 million or some $5 million per acre to serve as its headquarters in the U.S.
Yahoo Finance sees this move as a massive opportunity for the Chinese firm to make its mark on foreign soil and probably stand in equal competition with some of the technology advancement giants like Apple and Tesla.
While it is relatively unknown to the rest of the world, LeEco is known as the "Netflix of China" because of its steady streaming services that is said to match that of the Western-owned streaming website.
Based on Breitbart's probe, the land was initially procured by Yahoo for $106 million in 2006 and earned a net profit of $143 million after selling it to the Chinese company.
The company is set to build buildings in the 3-million-square-foot space, which would house their 12,000 workers.
According to Yahoo Finance, LeEco's plan is to begin servicing streaming consumers by tying up with Netflix or they may also start out on their own.
However, the company's spokesperson who talked with the outlet said that these can only be made possible after they launch their smartphones in the U.S. this coming fall.
GSM Arena, a known mobile review and news website, sees some of LeEco's smart devices as a "quite interesting" bunch considering its packed surprises.
But Gartner analyst CK Lu believes that LeEco's streaming service is still no match to Netflix.
"LeEco has been very successful in China because it is able to sell hardware at cost but be profitable [through] video service subscriptions," Lu explained. "However, the U.S. is a difficult market for any entrants from China. Carriers have a lot of controls on the mobile phone market. In the U.S., LeEco doesn't have the advantage on the content to sell its hardware."
