On the evening of September 25, Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun took the stage for his sixth annual keynote, titled simply: “Change.” But behind the polished presentation was the story of a company that nearly walked away from one of the most defining — and divisive — decisions in its history: whether to build its own smartphone chips, or abandon the dream for good.

Huawei is doubling down on its artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions. On September 29, company founder Ren Zhengfei personally signed off on the appointment of Richard Yu (Yu Chengdong), Executive Director and Chairman of the Consumer Business Group, as the new head of the company’s powerful Investment Review Board (IRB).