Rebirth 99 to become a car giant

The commissioning ceremony of the Nanshan Semiconductor Imperial City Factory was so grand that it was undoubtedly featured on China Channel's news broadcast that night.

Although this matter did not reach the top of Weibo's hot searches, it definitely occupied the position of the most popular news on professional media such as Zhongguancun Online.

The entire Chinese semiconductor industry circle is also discussing the significance of the commissioning of this factory.

"Mr. Wang, Nanshan Semiconductor has been at the forefront of the global semiconductor industry this time."

"I think the company can consider contacting Nanshan Semiconductor to see if they are willing to sell us related equipment that can produce 14-nanometer process chips."

"Only in this way can we break through the technical threshold as quickly as possible and catch up with the mainstream."

As the COO of SMIC, Yang Bingning has been under great pressure in the past two years.

SMIC was once the leader of China's semiconductor industry, but now it has been easily surpassed by Nanshan Semiconductor.

This is definitely hard to accept.

But the situation is stronger than the people. Nanshan Semiconductor is better than SMIC in terms of equipment control and talent layout.

It is simply impossible for Yang Bingning to overtake Nanshan Semiconductor.

However, although it is impossible to overtake, we cannot fall too far behind.

If SMIC starts investing in a 14nm process chip factory now, it should be able to enter mass production in the next year at the latest.

This speed is basically relatively fast in the global semiconductor industry.

As long as this rhythm is maintained, SMIC's influence can continue to increase and even replace TSMC as the world's largest chip foundry.

"At this time, even if we are willing to buy lithography machines from Nanshan Equipment, they may not be willing to sell them, right?"

Wang Anguo's thoughts obviously began to change.

Simply being angry will not solve the problem.

Since Nanshan Equipment's products can be sold externally, it doesn't seem too much for SMIC, as a Chinese enterprise, to purchase the most advanced equipment directly, right?

Anyway, according to Cao Yang’s speech at the commissioning ceremony of the Nanshan Semiconductor Imperial Capital Factory, they are already studying chip technology with a 7-nanometer process.

By then, 14nm technology will be even less sensitive.

"It's hard to talk about this, but I think it's okay to give it a try."

“Don’t the relevant departments praise Nanshan equipment so highly now?”

“If they are unwilling to sell chip production equipment to domestic manufacturers, then that’s unreasonable, right?”

When Yang Bingning said this, Wang Anguo also felt that it made sense.

We are all Chinese companies. If Nanshan Equipment is open for business, there is no reason not to do SMIC’s business.

After thinking about this clearly, he quickly agreed to Yang Bingning's proposal and asked him to communicate with Nanshan Equipment in person.

Yang Bingning also acted quickly and called Pan Jinxing that afternoon.

However, Pan Jinxing would not directly answer whether it was possible or not for this kind of matter. He just invited the other party to come over for inspection, and then he immediately took Zhang Jing with him to report to Cao Yang.

“SMIC wants to directly build a 14nm process chip factory?”

"They haven't even put into production 28nm process chips yet, right?"

Cao Yang didn't expect that SMIC actually wanted to skip 28 nanometers and challenge 14 nanometers. It seems that this time it was really stimulated.

Since the establishment of SMIC, they have been treated like thousands of favors in China, and various policies are supporting their development.

Although their development speed cannot be said to be unsatisfactory, after all, their starting point is not very high. It is very difficult to catch up with their international counterparts quickly.

After all, not every company has people like Cao Yang.

But in recent years, SMIC's development speed has indeed not been very fast.

Especially for a 28nm process chip, there has been no breakthrough for several years.

According to Cao Yang's understanding, it may take another two or three years for SMIC to put 28nm process chips into mass production.

"Yes, according to the information I know, they originally only officially started building the 28nm process chip factory in the first half of next year, and planned to complete and put it into production between the second half of 2015 and the first half of 2016."

"Now they probably want to directly convert this factory into a 14-nanometer process factory."

As SMIC is the second largest company in the country, Zhang Jing must be paying close attention to their developments.

After all, you never know when the second child will start threatening the boss.

"If we don't even master the 28nm process technology, even if we sell equipment to them, we probably won't be able to increase the yield rate to a more appropriate level in a short time, right?"

Cao Yang quickly weighed the pros and cons of this matter in his mind.

Selling equipment is definitely a good thing for Nanshan Equipment, and Pan Jinxing will not have any obstacles.

However, this will have an impact on the development of Nanshan Semiconductor, and it is necessary to evaluate how high the impact is.

"Even if they can confirm the equipment order in the past month, we will definitely have to start production and deliver the equipment in the second half of next year."

"The factory construction and equipment installation will basically not be put into production until the first half of 2015."

"It basically takes about half a year for our own factory to reach a satisfactory yield rate."

"SMIC has no experience, so if it can achieve a good yield rate within one year, it is considered very good."

"In this way, SMIC's 14nm chip factory will not pose any threat to us before 2016."

Pan Jinxing expressed his views on the side.

He is definitely inclined to support selling the most advanced photolithography machines and other equipment to SMIC.

If the most advanced equipment of Nanshan Equipment is only sold to Nanshan Semiconductor, it will definitely affect many businesses.

It is also easy to be taken advantage of by competitors such as ASML.

"We have now started building the Chang'an factory. Basically, your Chang'an factory will be able to enter large-scale mass production in 2015."

"In the future, our chip technology for the 7-nanometer process should be almost developed, and the new factory can consider the 7-nanometer process."

"From this perspective, it doesn't matter much if we sell the equipment to SMIC."

"Anyway, our customer groups are still different. They mainly do OEM work for some foreign-funded enterprises."

"Our factory is mainly for self-use, supplemented by OEM for customers such as Huawei and HiSilicon."

Zhang Jing is not stupid, so he can naturally feel what Pan Jinxing and Cao Yang are thinking.

So he simply became a good person and supported selling the most advanced equipment to Zhang Jing, a competitor.

This is because he currently does not feel that SMIC has the strength to threaten Nanshan Semiconductor's position.

Once a technical advantage is formed, it is not easy for other manufacturers to break through.

“Since everyone thinks it can be sold, let’s sell it.”

"However, in terms of the delivery time of the equipment, it is enough to deliver it according to the normal schedule. There is no need to compress it in any way."

"If there are other domestic chip equipment manufacturers who want to purchase similar equipment, there is no need to worry anymore."

"As long as the money is available, I'll sell them all!"

Cao Yang directly gave his conclusion.

Anyone in the country can buy equipment and sell it if they are given the money.

However, Pan Jinxing was also very keenly aware of this point and asked: "Mr. Cao, if companies like Samsung and Intel come to us to buy lithography machines, will we sell them?"

Although this possibility is not particularly high, Pan Jinxing feels that it is not a bad thing to confirm it in advance.

By then, even if those companies don't really want to buy, they will definitely arrange for people to come and test it out.

At this time, knowing where your bottom line is is obviously more conducive to communication with the other party.

"Sell!"

"Sell to anyone!"

"But if it's companies like Samsung and Intel, they can make a fuss about the delivery time of the equipment."

After Cao Yang said this, Pan Jinxing was completely relieved.

"The United States hates us so much now that they don't allow their companies to purchase products from Nanshan-based companies."

"They don't even spare auto parts, let alone photolithography machines."

"I think even if the other party expresses their intention to buy, they have to be careful and not give them all the technical information."

Zhang Jing reminded him from the side.

In the early years, when China received visits from foreign guests, there were many cases where technology was stolen.

At that time, we didn't pay much attention to patents, and there was even no such concept in China.

So after someone steals our stuff and registers the patent, we have to pay patent fees to others when we use it.

The situation can be described as extremely ironic.

But these cases have actually happened.

I can only say that life is sometimes richer than novels.

"This is indeed something we need to pay attention to. We can also learn from some of Asmai's practices."

"I won't give you any key technical information. If you like it, buy it or not. If you don't, you will be kicked down!"

Cao Yang knew that what Zhang Jing said was very reasonable, and it was likely to happen to Nanshan Equipment soon.

So I simply expressed my opinions as well.

While Cao Yang and Pan Jinxing were discussing this topic, Qualcomm was also busy preparing information.

"Mr. Wang, judging from the information we have heard from many sources, after the Nanshan Semiconductor Imperial City Factory is put into operation, it can indeed produce chips with a 14nm process."

"However, the yield rate should still need to be further improved, and there is no way to mass produce it on a large scale in a short time."

Qualcomm is determined to win the smartphone chip market.

China's mobile phone sales rank first in the world, and it is naturally a market that Qualcomm attaches great importance to.

In order to "high-pass tax", their staff are also very motivated to work every day.

"The yield rate was not very satisfactory when it was first put into production. It will gradually improve later. This is also a normal situation in the industry."

"What I'm worried about is that by then, people will have used the latest chip technology in mobile phone chips, but we don't have products with similar performance, so we will be passive."

As the general manager of Qualcomm China, Wang Jing definitely hopes to make the company continue to grow and develop.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been putting pressure on Sales Director Yu Jinli.

"In terms of chip design, the 14-nanometer process is no problem for us. The company has long been able to design chips based on this process."

"In terms of processing, we mainly look for chip foundry manufacturers. As long as companies such as Samsung, TSMC and SMIC have put into production the 14-nanometer process, we can hand over the chip foundry business to them."

"I even heard that Intel will be able to put into production 14-nanometer chips next year. At that time, it will be okay to ask the headquarters to hand over some of the chips to them for OEM."

"And I think Nanshan Semiconductor has already mastered this technology, and if Intel masters it soon, then Samsung and TSMC will probably master it next year."

"In the end, the 14-nanometer process chip we will launch will not be much later than Nanshan Semiconductor."

Yu Jinli feels that for Qualcomm, the issue of chip manufacturing process is not actually the biggest problem.

Nanshan Semiconductor must continue to develop new customers, so this threat is even greater.

After all, most of these smartphone manufacturers used Qualcomm chips before.

That is to say, manufacturers such as Apple mobile phones and Honor mobile phones have taken a bad lead and have to design their own chips.

General mobile phone companies do not have this capability.

"You should contact people from Samsung, TSMC and other companies and ask them when they can produce chips with the 14nm process."

"I will also communicate with the headquarters to see if we can also discuss foundry matters with Intel."

The relationship between Qualcomm and Intel is not good, or even not very good.

Previously, Qualcomm was very active in pulling American semiconductor companies such as Apple and Texas Instruments to suppress Nanshan Semiconductor, but Intel did not participate.

Now if Qualcomm wants to find Intel to manufacture chips, it is really not sure whether the other party is willing.

After all, there are actually very few foundry options for high-end chips.

"Mr. Wang, actually I have thought of a way, which is expected to quickly popularize the 14-nanometer chip processing technology in the industry."

Whenever Yu Jinli gets a chance, he always wants to express himself well.

Now Wang Jing is obviously a little distressed. If she can make some meaningful suggestions at this time, it will definitely be a bonus.

Maybe the position of deputy general manager of Qualcomm China will be his by then.

"what way?"

Wang Jing looked at Yu Jinli expectantly.

She is quite confident in this subordinate's ability.

In fact, the Chinese employees who were able to join high-tech giants such as Qualcomm in the early years actually had quite strong personal abilities.

Even many students from northern Qing Dynasty gave priority to working in these high-tech foreign-funded enterprises in the 1990s, and the wages were much higher than working as civil servants or joining state-owned enterprises.

It’s not like after 2023, everyone’s choices have completely changed.

"The most critical factor for Nanshan Semiconductor to be the first to put into production 14nm process chips is that Nanshan Equipment provides related photolithography machines and other equipment."

"We can definitely let companies such as SMIC, Samsung and TSMC go to Nanshan Equipment to purchase equipment."

"Although this will put some pressure on ASML and other manufacturers, it should still be acceptable as an initial transitional stage."

When Yu Jinli said this, Wang Jing quickly understood what he was thinking.

For Qualcomm, this idea cannot be said to be bad in the short term, but in the long run, it may not be a good thing.

So Wang Jing also had no idea how to choose.

Of course, those chip foundry companies are all big and big, and they will not implement it according to Qualcomm's suggestions.

But as an idea, it's obviously worth talking about.

…

The commissioning of the Nanshan Semiconductor Imperial City Factory is more of a feeling of admiration and envy for other domestic semiconductor companies.

But for international chip giants, it is a big stimulus.

The chip technology that has always been controlled by itself is now being caught up by Nanshan Semiconductor.

This is something that many people cannot accept.

So soon, Intel, Samsung and TSMC all officially announced that their 14nm process chip factories are expected to be put into production in 2014.

It also strives to achieve a substantial improvement in yield rate in the early stages of production. In and out of words, it means that its technology will not be worse than Nanshan Semiconductor.

What’s interesting is that these manufacturers are talking about yield rate, and they also educate everyone on the importance of yield rate on their official websites.

He even cited the example of a certain chip company, saying that after its factory was put into production, it took more than a year for the yield rate to reach a barely acceptable level.

So the production time is actually not important. What is important is when you can start large-scale delivery.

This seems to make sense, and makes those who cannot accept the rise of Nanshan Semiconductor feel much more comfortable.

"Pete, Intel, Samsung and TSMC have all officially announced that they will put into production 14nm process chips next year. We must solve all the problems in the first quarter of next year no matter what."

"We need to speed up the production of parts that have no problems. We would rather leave the equipment idle and waiting than delay the subsequent delivery time."

Christopher is also under a lot of pressure these days.

Several shareholders and major customers are urging him to deliver the lithography machine as soon as possible. On the other hand, after they proposed the idea of ​​relocation to the local area, many people also approached him for lobbying work.

Some persuaded him to stay, while others persuaded him to relocate to their country.

And he also has to prepare various reports to report and explain to the board of directors to see what the company's final decision will be.

"Intel, Samsung, and TSMC have arranged a group of engineers to come over and help us debug the equipment. All problems should be solved in the first quarter."

"Starting from the second quarter, we can carry out research on the 7-nanometer process and strive to be the first to make breakthroughs before Nanshan Equipment launches related equipment."

Peter's mood is much better now than before.

With the help of engineers from several major chip manufacturers, the research and development progress can naturally be accelerated a lot.

These engineers are engaged in work related to equipment maintenance and process improvement, and can still provide a lot of help for the technical upgrade of ASML's lithography machines.

Once the related equipment of the 14nm process can catch up, Peter is confident that he will not continue to be passive when it comes to the 7nm process.

This time I will be more passive, because I was caught off guard by Nanshan Equipment.

"Then hurry up. The company has specially approved a research and development fund. Whether it is overtime subsidies or other subsidies, they have been fully considered."

"We must not let go of the chain at this time, otherwise we will really be overwhelmed by Nanshan's equipment."

"Now even TSMC has begun to consider purchasing some chip production equipment from China. Maybe in the future, even lithography machines will consider Nanshan equipment."

Christopher's sense of crisis is still very strong now.

Nanshan Semiconductor’s lithography machine technology has advanced too fast.

Although it has only been used by local manufacturers in China so far, ASML shareholders like Intel will definitely not use it easily.

But if ASML's technology has never been able to keep up, the situation will be completely different.

…

Just when various international chip giants are considering the 14-nanometer process chip technology as their key technology in the past year, a competition in chip technology has already begun.

But this time, traditional giants like Intel are chasing after Nanshan Semiconductor.

"Mr. Cao, after our preliminary investigation and statistics, Intel, Samsung and TSMC have officially announced that they will put into production 14nm process chip factories next year."

"Then SMIC officially arranged for the procurement team to contact Nanshan Equipment to purchase relevant production lines. They wanted to directly skip the 28-nanometer process and directly enter the 14-nanometer process."

"However, there is definitely no way for their factory to be put into production next year. It would be good to be able to put it into production the year after that."

With everyone at home and abroad paying so much attention to Nanshan Semiconductor, Zhang Jing naturally wanted to report to Cao Yang.

"They are in a hurry. They are all focused on announcing their 14nm process chip technology plans and schedule during this time period."

"But I don't think there's anything to worry about. We can't really achieve a significant change in market share by relying on a 14-nanometer chip factory."

Cao Yang was not worried at all.

Nanshan Semiconductor's customers are still mainly enterprises in the Nanshan Group and local customers in China.

There is not much conflict with customers from Intel, Samsung, TSMC and other manufacturers.

Besides, in response to the rise of Nanshan Semiconductor, they will definitely find ways to protect their customers and not be easily poached.

This is almost inevitable.

"That's true. We are not afraid of technical competitions at all!"

"In the past, we were able to catch up quickly even though our foundation was so weak. Now the company has developed and everything is on the right track."

"The training of various talent teams has gradually formed a system. The next ten years should be the ten years when our company has the strongest combat effectiveness."

"If they want to fight, then fight!"

Zhang Jing waved his hand proudly, looking confident.

He really has the confidence now.

Nanshan Equipment has mastered core chip equipment technologies such as photolithography machines, and sister companies such as Nanshan Chemical can provide great assistance in terms of materials.

And Nanshan Semiconductor itself has grown stronger and can enter the sprint period.

In this case, whether he is competing with Intel, Samsung, or international chip giants such as TSMC, he is confident.

If it had been three to five years ago, he might have felt guilty at that time.

Things are different now!