Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

As a chip manufacturer that once competed with AMD, Intel and other giants in GPU chips, Nvidia still has a certain status in the American semiconductor market.

Unlike some design companies, there may be less than 100 people in the entire company, and there aren't many good products.

So even if it was acquired, everyone's response was not very big.

NVIDIA is different. After being acquired, it immediately attracted the attention of many people.

Next year's signing ceremony between Nvidia and Nanshan Semiconductor has not yet been held, and Intel got the news.

"Pat, is this news reliable?"

"NVIDIA was actually sold to a Chinese company?"

"Isn't that Huang very ambitious and wants to litigate with us to the end?"

Intel CEO Otellini always felt that the news he heard today was a bit bizarre.

As an American chip giant, Intel's news channels must be very well-informed.

Especially for companies like Nvidia that are currently in litigation with themselves, Intel has assigned dedicated personnel to investigate various news about Nvidia.

In the past year or two, the situation in the chip industry has not been so good.

Intel also has a deep understanding of this, but in Otellini's view, Nvidia is not yet ready to sell the company.

Could it be that the other party offered some conditions that Huang Jiansheng could not refuse?

"Otellini, although I find it a bit incredible, this news is true and reliable."

"Nvidia will formally sign the acquisition agreement with the other party the day after tomorrow at the latest, and the rest is a matter of going through the process."

"In the past, we always felt that China was very poor, had no competitiveness, and had no threat."

"But last year's Olympics made everyone realize that many of the previous perceptions of China were problematic."

"Not only is the company not weak in strength, but it is now the first to begin to recover from the impact of the financial crisis."

"Even this year their GDP growth target is still as high as 8%."

When Pat said this, Otellini couldn't help but nodded.

The actual situation is exactly what Pat said.

Huaxia, which no one paid special attention to before, is now an existence that cannot be ignored.

Whether Intel can get out of the quagmire first depends on how computer sales in China recover.

"If I remember correctly, 99.999% of China's computer CPUs are imported from overseas, right?"

"Although there have been several chip companies in recent years, none are internationally competitive."

"In this case, they are starting to engage in semiconductors, so they should not pose any threat to us."

"But the current action is so big that people can't help but feel a little worried."

Otellini has a relatively good understanding of China's chip industry.

Because of this, he is not optimistic about the development of China's semiconductor industry.

But this time Nvidia was acquired, and Otellini felt a sense of crisis.

Although Nvidia's size is completely incomparable with Intel, in the GPU segment, Nvidia is still very competitive.

Even in this field, NVIDIA's dominant position has been completely formed.

In this case, Otellini would definitely be worried if such a company fell into the hands of the Chinese.

"I went to learn about the situation of the Chinese company that acquired Nvidia. The other party's main business is actually the production of automobiles and related parts."

"Their development of the chip industry is mainly focused on car-grade chips in the automotive industry."

"So the threat to us is certainly very limited."

Pat felt there was still no need to scare Otellini there.

According to his many years of experience, it is not that easy for a new company to improve its chips.

Even if NVIDIA is a company founded by Chinese, there will still be many communication generation gaps.

"I hope what you said is right, but Nvidia's GPUs have very few application scenarios in cars and are almost never used."

"Otherwise, General Motors and Ford would have already started looking for Nvidia to purchase related chips."

"Nvidia will not end up selling the company."

Otellini couldn't help but find a reason for himself.

It's really not good to worry, so you should find some reasons to let go of your worries.

However, Nanshan Semiconductor is different from ordinary Chinese companies.

They can let go of their worries now, but it's hard to say in the future.

If Intel can find out about the sale of Nvidia, it is naturally possible for some American semiconductor companies to find out about it.

Just when everyone was speculating on the credibility of this matter, Huang Jiansheng and Zhang Jing directly held a simple press conference to announce Nanshan Semiconductor's acquisition of Nvidia.

At the press conference, Zhang Jing also emphasized the development opportunities that Nvidia has gained after its acquisition by Nanshan Semiconductor, saying that the company will hold Nvidia for a long time and support Nvidia's development.

"Chinese companies spend heavily to acquire NVIDIA!"

"NVIDIA was acquired for a total amount of US$1 billion!"

"Another chip company cannot hold on. When will the spring of the semiconductor industry come?"

"Chinese people have also begun to burn money in the chip field. Nvidia will not be the last chip company to be acquired!"

"Who is Nanshan Semiconductor? It acquired most of Nvidia's shares for US$1 billion!"

"The wolf is coming! Chinese companies are beginning to enter the American semiconductor industry!"

…

Various reports first began to appear on ig websites in the United States.

China's Internet originally imitated American websites. Without any deliberate guidance from Nanshan Group, the four major portals had already noticed the American reports.

Without any hesitation, everyone immediately realized that there was big news!

Nanshan Semiconductor acquires an American chip company!

It’s still the kind of acquisition involving $1 billion!

This news immediately detonated the Chinese IT circle.

Whether they are engaged in the Internet, making mobile phones and computers, or other industries closely related to chips, they have all paid attention to this big news.

The phone number posted on Nanshan Semiconductor’s official website was immediately blown away.

"Mr. Cao, is this news true?"

Xu Jun from Warwick HiSilicon directly called Cao Yang.

Obviously, he couldn't wait to know the result.

Laymen may not know the significance behind this acquisition. How could Xu Jun not know it?

This is the first time that a Chinese company has acquired a foreign chip giant.

Combined with other news from Nanshan Semiconductor in the past six months, it is impossible not to attract the attention of industry insiders.

"it is true!"

"We have been talking to Nvidia for half a year, and we finally reached an agreement recently."

The signing ceremony was held and the news was all over the place.

In this case, there was no need for Cao Yang to lie.

Although people are afraid of being famous, pigs are afraid of being strong, but Nanshan Semiconductor is famous, which is definitely a good thing for talent recruitment.

When Nanshan Semiconductor went to poach people in the past, many technical staff had concerns.

I am now changing jobs to Nanshan Semiconductor. Although my salary has increased, will the company go bankrupt after a year and a half?

This kind of worry is not unreasonable at all.

But now that Nanshan Semiconductor can spend $1 billion to acquire Nvidia, many people's concerns are gone.

There is no one who is engaged in chip design who has not even heard of NVIDIA.

Many people even think that even if Nanshan Semiconductor fails, they can still consider internal adjustments to Nvidia.

"Mr. Cao, this is a big deal. When NVIDIA's market value was at its highest, it reached US$7 billion."

"This kind of chip design company, even in the world, can be considered a famous one."

"Their patented technology on GPU is still very advanced."

"Although the function of GPU is relatively simple, with the emergence of smartphones, the demand for GPU should also be increasing."

"In the future, your US$1 billion spent may be able to get back US$10 billion."

Xu Jun is obviously still optimistic about Nanshan Semiconductor's acquisition of Nvidia.

If he had to choose, he would also support Warwick's acquisition of Nvidia for US$1 billion.

However, there is no way to assume many things.

Of course, Warwick's current demand for GPU chips is still very small, which is one of the important reasons.

If the chips used in base stations are worth US$1 billion, Warwick may also be willing to acquire them.

"With your auspicious words, I hope that the business case of Nanshan Semiconductor's acquisition of Nvidia will become a positive case in MBA courses in the future, rather than a negative example."

"In the future, our Nanshan Semiconductor will also be fully involved in various automotive-grade chips. In terms of patent licensing, I think we can both authorize each other and develop together."

Xu Jun is optimistic about Nanshan Semiconductor, and Cao Yang is also optimistic about Huawei HiSilicon.

In the field of chip design, they have the ability to be world-class.

As for wafers and packaging and testing, Nanshan Semiconductor just does it by itself.

The construction of an ecosystem cannot rely solely on Nanshan Semiconductor itself.

There must be a series of companies surrounding Nanshan Semiconductor.

For example, as a chip design company, Nanshan Semiconductor will be involved in so many chips in the future. It is impossible to design all of them by ourselves. Some of them will definitely need to be outsourced.

This will generate corresponding demand and require corresponding companies to undertake it.

Even at Nanshan Equipment, it is impossible to make all the equipment by itself. Some equipment that is not so important can be purchased from partners.

As for chip packaging and testing, except for some more critical chips, many projects can be handed over to other professional packaging and testing companies.

After all, this aspect is China's strength.

It is also an area that chip companies in the United States do not like very much.

But it is an indispensable part.

China has enough skilled workers, so there is no need to worry about the high cost of packaging and testing, making it uncompetitive.

"No problem, I happen to have an idea in this regard."

"Isn't the wafer factory in your magical city already under construction?"

"Some of our Huawei HiSilicon chip foundries can be considered to be produced by your wafer fab in the future."

"Even some packaging and testing work can be left to your factory."

"Similarly, if some of the chips Nanshan Semiconductor plans to produce are similar to Huawei HiSilicon, we can also leave the related chip design work to us."

"Let's work together to develop China's chip industry."

"In the future, the chips used in our various equipment and products will not need to be imported from overseas."

"Even imports are the result of a comprehensive weighing of options, rather than a choice made without any other options."

Before the emergence of Nanshan Semiconductor, Warwick HiSilicon was considered the most professional company in chip design in China.

The higher he stood, the more Xu Jun was able to realize the country's weaknesses in this regard.

Although the emergence of Nanshan Semiconductor has stolen the limelight from Warwick and HiSilicon, Xu Jun doesn't mind at all.

To some extent, the development and growth of Nanshan Semiconductor is also a good thing for Huawei HiSilicon.

"Mr. Xu, what you said makes so much sense. I think so too."

"The development and growth of China's semiconductor industry is related to the future development prospects of Warwick and Nanshan Group."

"Even the future development limits of Warwick and Nanshan Group will be determined by the development of the domestic semiconductor industry."

"Although Nanshan Semiconductor will definitely not be able to make money in the past few years, I am prepared to suffer losses for five consecutive years."

"The money that should be burned cannot be reduced by a penny."

"In the future, maybe within a year, we can make back all the money we burned in the past."

"Mr. Cao, you are so right."

"That's how the semiconductor industry is. Maybe you've been losing money for several years in a row, but once you can make money, you can make it all back in a year or two."

“There’s no room for opportunism here.”

"We at Warwick HiSilicon have been able to get to where we are today because we lost a lot of money before."

"Fortunately, we have been holding back losses and achieved some results today."

Xu Jun found that he really made the right call this time.

The two of them chatted more and more animatedly.

"By the way, Mr. Cao, I heard that Nanshan Equipment is independently developing equipment used in the chip production process, and is even studying lithography machines?"

Taking this opportunity, Xu Jun felt it was necessary to confirm whether some of the rumors in the market were true or false.

Xu Jun is naturally very clear about the importance of chip production equipment.

Warwick HiSilicon only engages in chip design, not chip production, and leaves the production process to TSMC and other companies because chip production involves too much equipment.

Not to mention the huge investment, sometimes you can’t buy the right equipment even if you have money.

Maybe you can’t buy the most advanced equipment even if you have money.

As a result, your fab is destined to lag behind the industry.

But after spending so much money, we can only own a fab that lags behind the industry. What’s the point?

Warwick, who has always pursued excellence, has obviously made what he thinks is the right choice.

Of course, from the perspective of future generations, it is difficult to say whether this choice was always correct.

But now Nanshan Semiconductor has begun to enter wafer production. From a certain perspective, it can be regarded as helping Huawei and HiSilicon make up for the gap.

"More than 90% of chip equipment is imported from abroad, and we can produce very little domestically."

"Even if some of the equipment can be produced, it will be on the low-end route, and the future will be very limited."

"But if we don't engage in the equipment industry, it will always be in the hands of European and American manufacturers."

“If people master the equipment, they have the right to technological progress in this industry.”

"If this situation is not broken, China's semiconductor industry will never be able to become the world's number one, and it will be difficult to even enter the world's advanced level."

"Especially in the area of ​​lithography machines, ASML's advantages are too obvious. In the future, it is estimated that if we cannot make high-end lithography machines ourselves, we will have to buy them from ASML."

"Affected by the financial crisis now, ASML has responded to our purchase needs, and the price is relatively reasonable. Even because we bought equipment that was unsubscribed from other manufacturers, the price was lower than before."

"But this time and that time."

"Just because Asmai is so friendly now doesn't mean he will always be so friendly in the future."

"Or to put it another way, ASML will definitely not be very friendly to Nanshan Semiconductor in the future."

"Even ASML will definitely not be friendly to Chinese manufacturers in the future."

"This is determined by its particularity and cannot be changed by our efforts."

"That's why I'm planning to let Nanshan Equipment set up a semiconductor division to specialize in the research and production of various semiconductor processing and production-related equipment."

"So far, there have been some results."

"Almost all of the equipment in the Modu wafer fab is imported. If a new wafer fab needs to be built in the future, at least half of the equipment can be purchased from Nanshan Equipment."

"And when the third wafer fab is built, I hope that 80% or even 90% of the equipment will be domestically produced."

“Ten years from now, I hope that all the equipment used by China’s wafer fabs will be made in China.”

Those who deserve to brag should brag.

Maybe Huawei HiSilicon will also build a wafer fab in the future.

Besides, although Warwick HiSilicon only engages in chip design and not production, it still requires the use of some equipment.

They even have their own experimental fab to support chip design.

There is also a lot of cooperation that can be done here.

"The three major and four minor processes involve a lot of equipment."

"Photolithography, etching, deposition, as well as ion implantation, cleaning, oxidation, and detection."

"Each process has a series of equipment that needs to be researched and developed."

"Among them, etching machines, thin film deposition, and photolithography equipment are the core equipment of semiconductor equipment, and the technical threshold is very high."

"If Nanshan Equipment needs to take down all these equipment, the money burned will probably be tens of billions."

As Xu Jun spoke, he himself took a breath of air.

Although he had heard about Nanshan Equipment's semiconductor equipment before.

But he has always felt that Nanshan equipment should only involve a small part of the equipment, and it is impossible to develop equipment for the entire industry chain.

There is currently no equipment manufacturer in the world that has such capabilities.

But now, according to Cao Yang, Nanshan Equipment is the most important equipment in the semiconductor processing process, and all production lines must be domestically produced.

As a result, at least 80% of the equipment needs to be produced by Nanshan Equipment itself.

The difficulty is no easier than designing a top-notch chip.

"In the past few years, nothing about the equipment researched and produced by Nanshan Equipment has been easy."

"International machine tool giants no longer impose special equipment export restrictions on China, because the equipment they can produce can also be produced by our Nanshan equipment."

"Even the most advanced CNC five-axis machine tools are no longer on the list of restricted sales."

"This situation would have been unimaginable ten years ago."

“But Nanshan Equipment did it.”

"There are also high-end carbon fiber equipment, which was previously monopolized by companies from Japan and other countries. Even if we want to spend money, we can't buy it."

"After the entry of Nanshan Equipment, it has not only achieved 100% localization of carbon fiber equipment, but also made the domestic carbon fiber technology level catch up with the international forefront, making an indelible contribution to the development of the domestic aerospace industry."

"As for battery production equipment and other various equipment, needless to say, they are all developed by Nanshan Equipment itself."

"Although etching machines, thin film deposition, and photolithography equipment are very difficult, everyone knows their principles. As long as you are willing to spend money to try, you can eventually find relevant solutions."

"At worst, we can't go down the road others are taking, so we'll just find another way."

"In the end, the localization of relevant equipment will definitely be achieved, and I am very confident about this."

When Cao Yang said this, Xu Jun couldn't help but straighten up.

Nanshan Group is serious about chip development!

This investment is definitely many times greater than that of Warwick HiSilicon.

If China's semiconductor industry can achieve some results in the future, it will definitely be closely related to Nanshan Semiconductor.

"Mr. Cao, if there is anything that requires Warwick Haisi's assistance in the future, please speak up as soon as possible."

"As long as I can handle it, I'll help with it."

"If I can't handle something, I'll find someone who can handle it."

"I hope that one day, we can jointly witness China's semiconductor industry becoming a leading international industry!"

Xu Jun took a deep breath and made a very bold promise.

If even Shida and others heard this, their eyes would probably fall out of shock.

They knew very well that Xu Jun was not someone who made promises casually.