novelslam Chapter 1393 Tendency (4k)
Chapter 1393 Tendency (4k)
Chapter 1393 Tendency (4k)
Regarding Qualcomm's move, this is something worth discussing at the Yike General Office meeting. After all, the entanglement between Yike and Qualcomm in patent litigation has lasted for more than a year.
The lingering patent litigation will eventually have a result, and the current trend seems to be more favorable, which is quite encouraging.
However, this focus on Qualcomm was quickly replaced by the latter after Executive Vice President Yu Hong brought up the topic of "Yi Ke Automobile".
From Q3 last year to Q1 this year, EBG President Zhang Yaqin officially issued two reports, the main purpose of which was to explore the feasibility of Yike's entry into electric vehicles. However, his call did not cause much discussion.
On one hand, the Mars 8.8 series is about to be launched, and Yike’s focus is on its debut, but on the other hand, Mr. Fang has not shown any interest in discussing it.
Yike is a technology company focusing on consumer electronics and mobile Internet. The automotive field is very traditional. If it is set as a future goal, considering that its price far exceeds that of mobile phones, this is at least a very significant strategic shift.
Although EBG is one of Yike’s five business groups, its internal ranking and Zhang Yaqin’s own influence are not enough to drive such an important strategic decision.
but……
If it was Mr. Yu who proposed it, the effect would be different.
As the co-founder of YiKe, one of the creators of the global market, a member of YiKe's board of directors and executive vice president, her status and influence far exceed Zhang Yaqin.
At the same time, considering that Mr. Fang mentioned in the last general office meeting that Yu Hong should pay more attention to the development of EBG, and that she spoke out about strategic issues not long after returning to China, it is hard not to think about Mr. Fang’s thinking behind this.
"From mobile phones to cars, we must be extremely cautious in this direction of advancement. Our company is now facing the challenge of global market uncertainty, so we need to be even more cautious."
Different from Yu Hong's radical attitude when she discussed with Fang Zhuo in private, she mentioned the overall project of "Yike Automobile" at the general office meeting, but her attitude was much more restrained.
"However, we also need to see a new development opportunity and the thinking and choices of our peers."
"Apple has been recruiting a team of software and automotive engineers from Tesla, Google, Mercedes-Benz and other companies. According to the leaked information, it is named "Titan Project" and will make large-scale investments starting from autonomous driving technology."
“I think it’s a good reference.”
Yu Hong sat in the conference room and talked freely.
Fang Zhuo took a sip of tea and suddenly realized a problem. When President Yu spoke, others would look at him at the same time. When she spoke, they would look at him. When she spoke, they would look at him...
"This table is so long and everyone is sitting so crowded. How about we sit more dispersedly?" He suggested out loud and took the lead in moving the chairs.
The executive vice president sitting next to the chairman stared at him with a half-smile, then silently left space as he was told.
Fang Zhuo felt much better now.
I don’t know if it was due to the slight adjustment of the seats, or if everyone had already digested the surprise from President Yu’s proposal, but YMS President Qi He still expressed a different opinion despite facing his old boss.
"We don't need to follow Apple's strategy, and its strategy may not succeed." Qi He pointed out the imperfections in Yu's example. "Since Jobs' death, Apple's innovation in mobile phones has stagnated. In the past two years, both the cheap iPhone and the enlarged iPhone have seen their reputation and stock price decline."
He said calmly: "From last year to this year, many media have been reporting on Apple's internal car-making plan. At this juncture, it does not rule out the need for new concepts and stories to support the stock price. What I mean is that Apple is indeed making cars, but how much energy and determination Apple has to make this happen is also worth discussing."
Yu Hong nodded and took over the conversation: "So, we are just exploring the feasibility. I hope everyone will consider the company's longer-term future, including Mr. Zhang. We mentioned the 'car' not because of the 'car', but because we think it can be an effective carrier for the development of future technology and can give full play to our advantages to a large extent."
"Whether it will work or not, the initial investment is unavoidable, and the project establishment is just to maximize the concentration of R&D strength."
"Not only are there such trends abroad, but there are also good policies in China. Domestic automakers, such as BYD, launched a '542' strategy last year, aiming to produce electric cars that can accelerate from 5 to 2 km/h in less than seconds, have full-time electric four-wheel drive, and consume less than liters of fuel per km."
"Compared with traditional gasoline vehicles, electric vehicles have largely circumvented industry barriers and core technologies, which is also a good opportunity to accelerate the industry."
The executive vice president's attitude was very gentle. He showed no emotion in the face of rebuttal and simply introduced what he had noticed.
At this time, European President Pan Ben laughed and said, "I often see BYD taxis when I come back from the airport sometimes."
There was a hint of disapproval in these words towards the new example brought up by the old boss.
"Buffett has also bought a large number of BYD stocks. This industry definitely needs accumulation." Hua Xia President Liu Qiangdong said. He has also spent a lot of time studying the demands of electric vehicles and EBG this week. This is because President Fang mentioned President Yu and EBG in the last general office meeting.
He continued, "I feel that the overall project establishment is not a problem, the problem is how to do it. Steve Zadesky, who is in charge of Apple's 'Titan Project', said that Apple wants to build a fully autonomous car without a steering wheel. Is this too advanced? If a car is made with such a goal, then I am clearly opposed to it."
"But if we proceed step by step and combine our strengths in chip design, chip manufacturing, system ecology and algorithms, and even artificial intelligence, I will vote for President Yu."
Liu Qiangdong has opened up a sub-direction on today's topic, and which direction should be used to establish the project?
Zhang Yaqin looked at the president of Yike Huaxia with approval.
Yu Hong remained calm.
"An autonomous car without a steering wheel must be an L5-level car, so I think Cook is trying to promote Apple's new story," said Qi He. "Car manufacturing is a huge investment. Although Mr. Zhang and EBG believe that this is the carrier of future technology, compared to such heavy assets, I prefer breakthroughs in machine learning itself. If I vote, I will definitely vote for this."
The discussion atmosphere in the conference room gradually became more intense. This was the first time that Zhang Yaqin felt the importance that the senior management attached to the proposal to build a car, and the expression of radical and incremental goals also made him think.
Fang Zhuo just listened and didn't participate much in the discussion.
Because of the company's problems, he actually had to admit that his future plans were more focused on five years rather than a longer period of time, and he was relatively optimistic about the company's R&D investment mechanism.
When everyone's enthusiasm for the discussion gradually died down, Fang Zhuo put down the teacup that carried his thoughts and said slowly: "I don't agree with the radical plan to build a car."
As soon as the boss spoke, the meeting room fell completely silent.
This sentence seems to set the tone.
"But I'm not sure whether I will still disagree with the radical car-making plan two years from now." Fang Zhuo's second sentence was a denial of himself.
Yu Hong frowned.
"Based on objective reality, Yike needs to face many problems, but at the same time, we also have advantages in many aspects that you can all be aware of. If we put aside Yike's situation, I think it would be a good route to first conduct research on assisted driving, collect operating data at low cost, and then make improvements through algorithm iteration." Fang Zhuo gave his own thoughts.
Liu Qiangdong nodded immediately. Mr. Fang’s idea was close to his own, but Yi Ke’s situation could not be ignored.
"Collecting operating data requires larger-scale use. The speed of progress will not be optimistic if we rely solely on simulation algorithms and internal testing," said Yu Hong. "And this also requires the cooperation of car manufacturers. Well... we can cooperate with car manufacturers or acquire shares to cooperate in everything from assisted driving to batteries, motors, design, and manufacturing."
She changed the subject: "But those also need to be done after we establish the project. We have to work out the outline before we can conduct the experiment."
Qi He, Pan Ben and others remained silent, their eyes fixed on the boss's face. Mr. Fang's attitude had shifted a little compared to before.
"Let's do a comprehensive argument first. We should not be in a hurry. We should not be in a hurry for one or two days, one or two months, or even one year." Fang Zhuo glanced at the people present. "A comprehensive argument from market to policy to technology will make the truth clearer. I think your discussion today is good."
He raised his wrist and gave a time: "After the first general meeting of the New Year, I hope to see more arguments that will motivate me to make a decision."
The trend that was about to rise within Yike seemed to have been stopped again, but the proposal of the car-making plan still tied a knot in the minds of all the participants. No matter what the outside world thinks about Apple's car-making, judging from Mr. Fang's intention, if it is to be done, it will definitely not be for the stock price.
"Oh yes, Yike will consider a secondary listing in Hong Kong between the end of this year and next year. It depends on the situation." Fang Zhuo made another surprising change at the end of the meeting.
Yike, which is already listed on NASDAQ, is considering a secondary listing in Hong Kong...
This vaguely illustrates Mr. Fang's expectations for the future.
After the meeting, Yu Hong did not return to her 26th floor, but went to the president's office on the 23rd floor. She did not mention the heated discussion about car manufacturing: "Is there any new news from Washington?"
"There is not much definite news at the moment, but there are some more specific trends," Fang Zhuo replied. "BIS may push for ice cores in the second quarter."
BIS has been organizing relevant discussions and measures since the release of Yike Mars 8.8.
Yu Hong's heart sank. The ice core was further restricted. This must be the beginning of a chain reaction.
She took a few steps and asked again, "What about Yi Ke?"
"If the ice core is restricted to the outside world, then we can apply for a temporary license." Fang Zhuo said calmly, "90 days at a time, which is exactly one quarter. If BIS really takes action, I hope to push it to postpone it to Q3. In this way, we can get a temporary license to ensure a good product supply, and we can get by then."
Yu Hong nodded slightly. Using time difference to gain competitiveness is one of the plans.
She asked again: "What about SMIC?"
"We are already deeply cooperating. Bingxin's technology can really empower people. Hey, its market value itself is just that much, but it can play a big role by poking here and there." Fang Zhuo smiled, "BIS will play a time difference. If we can switch to SMIC for supply to hold out for a while, they will have elections again. They may not be able to hold out until Aozi comes down, but the pain will not be that painful."
According to the current situation, Amei will definitely try to emerge, but since the ice core is held down, Zhongxin can also try to emerge.
If you suppress one problem, another one will pop up. The time gained in between can have a profound impact.
"If we can achieve most of the breakthroughs, the semiconductor industry will eventually be subject to market competition," Yu Hong said slowly.
"It will take time to achieve a comprehensive breakthrough, but it's good enough if it can run well. Besides, I see that you are quite confident in car manufacturing. If you can really do it well, it will be a good help to Yike's transformation and the promotion of the domestic semiconductor industry." Fang Zhuo took a sip of tea.
"Are you inclined to agree?" Yu Hong asked.
Fang Zhuo shook his head: "I try my best not to make any preconceived positions and watch everyone's arguments and discussions."
He ended the topic, glanced at the message he had just received on his phone, and said with emotion: "Alibaba has successfully gone public again."
"Ali's development is still very good. Its Taobao is really vibrant, and its visit to the New York Stock Exchange was a real sensation." Yu Hong said with a smile.
Fang Zhuo hummed: "Its e-commerce is indeed hard to shake."
Yu Hong pondered for a moment, and suddenly asked: "Can the TikTok you guys created do things from a new dimension?"
Fang Zhuo smiled and said, "Why do you ask?"
"I see that you have invested a lot of resources. If the Internet and mobile Internet have given rise to the development of e-commerce in the past, can this faster mobile Internet bring more forms of expression in the future?" Yu Hong was just discussing casually, "Besides, I see that Weiwei is in a good mood."
Fang Zhuo laughed dumbly: "She was in such a good mood because Xiaoman was full of energy every day. She should have named him 'Daman' in the beginning."
Yu Hong was a little skeptical.
"But there's nothing wrong with your feeling." Fang Zhuo thought for a moment, "Alibaba started the IPO process last year, and it seems to have been delayed. This time, um..."
He picked up his phone and looked at the already listed Alibaba stock price, and continued: "The performance of this listing is very good. It looks like a big increase on the first day. It is expected to exceed 2000 billion US dollars on the first day. However, the Times version may indeed be slightly updated."
Alibaba's IPO price on the New York Stock Exchange was $68. It has now exceeded $80 and there is no sign of stopping. It raised $218 billion, which is also the largest IPO transaction in the history of Meliac.
Yu Hong took out her mobile phone and watched the discussions about Alibaba's IPO. She suggested, "Last time you asked for the words you gave to others back. This time, why don't you take advantage of the IPO to mend the relationship and give them a new word: 'Times have changed.' How about that?"
Fang Zhuo laughed but still corrected him: "It was Liu Zonghong who suggested coming back."
Yu Hong gave a thumbs up and praised, "Boss Fang, you are very rigorous."
Fang Zhuo waved his hand and actually considered writing something to fill the bare office.
(End of this chapter)