Reinventing the Millennium

Mr. Chenxing Yang's presumption and Wei Boyun's situation were just a small episode for Fang Zhuo.

He once had great hopes for Morningstar, and to this day, Morningstar still retains its office in the Silicon Valley R\u0026D Center. However, with Morningstar's repeated tape-out failures, this hope has turned into a calm understanding of reality. .

Morningstar's technological accumulation is indeed still a bit weak. Its failure to overtake at this juncture means that the window left for it is getting smaller and smaller.

Yike can't wait for Morningstar, and the same is true for other mobile phone companies targeting entry-level models, so that's all.

Fang Zhuo believes that Morningstar's struggles and shocks will continue for some time. Product share has been affected and competitors are making efforts. Even though the TV market is still growing, Morningstar really can't find a suitable direction to break out. Correspondingly, the stock price may not be as good. nice.

However, this fact or prediction still requires Morningstar’s senior management to spend time accepting it.

Fang Zhuo has a good impression of Wei Boyun, but he hopes he can understand and accept this faster.

The appearance of Morning Star this time did not interfere with the relationship between Yike and Gaode.

When the reality and the vision are close to the same, and when the management and shareholders work together to promote it, the whole thing will be completely finalized as everyone drinks and talks.

Amap is valued at US$800 million, and Yike invested US$120 million, accounting for 15% of the shares, becoming the largest institutional shareholder.

Both parties will work together to promote the development of AutoNavi in ​​the domestic market and the mobile Internet era.

This news was not concealed, and soon attracted the attention of competitors. When superimposed on another piece of news, it also caused some discussion about Yike's plan.

On June 20, Fang Zhuo attended Sogou’s press conference in Beijing.

Rumors that have been circulating since the Lin'an Internet Symposium have finally come to fruition this time. Sogou will be spun off from Sohu to operate independently. Yike will invest in Sogou for strategic cooperation, which will challenge Baidu's search market.

To give a more accurate figure, Sogou is valued at US$150 million. Sohu and Zhang Chaoyang collectively hold 68% of the shares. Yike invested US$24 million to hold 16% of the shares. Sina used business packaging and US$6 million in cash to hold 16% of the shares.

In addition, Sogou's board of directors has 7 seats, with Yike and Sina getting 2, Sohu 4, and Sogou 1. Zhang Chaoyang serves as chairman, Fang Zhuo serves as co-chairman, and Wang Xiaochuan serves as director and becomes Sogou's CEO.

From the perspective of power structure, Sohu still firmly controls Sogou, and according to the agreement, Sohu has the right to change the size and composition of the board of directors after two years, and will be able to appoint most directors, leaving only one seat for Yike.

The atmosphere at the press conference was high from the very beginning.

All reporters participating in the meeting seemed to have received a signal. Are they really going to challenge Baidu?

With the former "Three Portal Musketeers" Sohu and Sina cooperating, and the powerful Yike joining forces, will the domestic Internet search market change?

The reporters on site were very enthusiastic and sought answers during the question-and-answer session.

Fang Zhuo smiled throughout the whole process. He actually saw that many reporters asked questions to him before he gave a centralized answer.

"Today's protagonist is our Sogou, Wang Xiaochuan."

Today is the day for Sogou to operate independently. CEO Wang Xiaochuan is in place, sitting in the middle. On the left is Sohu Zhang Chaoyang, and on the right is Fang Zhuo, the former world's richest man, financial art practitioner, double head of Yike and Sina, and Chinese business leader.

"A friend asked just now how much Yike has invested, its shareholding ratio, and the company's dominance... Look at our seats. You should know that Sogou is a brand new company, and Wang Xiaochuan is its helmsman. ."

"From my point of view, Sogou was not born to challenge anyone, but to better serve the domestic market. Competition cannot be avoided in this process. To be honest, competition with Baidu cannot be avoided, but our original intention Or better serve users.”

"Wang Xiaochuan is excellent. I believe everyone will realize this more clearly in the future."

“I really like Sogou’s successful incubation of internal company projects, which is rare in China. Sogou and Sohu are fish and water. Sogou, which was born out of Sohu, will become better and better.”

"This investment by Yike and Sina actually doesn't matter how much they invest or how much share they hold. Sogou itself also has enough funds, otherwise it wouldn't have raised money until now. You don't need to pay attention to this. This is a strategic decision. cooperate."

"I am very optimistic about Sogou's development. Maybe Mr. Zhang is more rational than me. Therefore, he and I agreed to look at Sogou's development in two years, and everyone will be optimistic about it at that time."

Fang Zhuo put down the phone with a smile, and suddenly heard a voice from below, and added: "This two-year period is not a bet. We do not set revenue and profit targets for Sogou. I think a company like this does not need to bear the burden as soon as it goes on the road. burden."

He turned off the microphone and indicated that he only had so many scenes today.

The reporters at the scene were reluctant, but seeing that Mr. Fang stopped answering and could only focus on other people, Wang Xiaochuan became the focus and asked him to evaluate this financing action.

Wang Xiaochuan...actually felt...not quite right this time.

First, Mr. Fang has a strong personality and always behaves erratically. Many cases have proven this. He is not the kind of person who can be restricted by equity, because other equity is also in the hands of people, and people may change. Or be pushed for change.

Second, Sogou’s strategy has changed from what it expected, from a three-stage rocket to a mobile-first one.

According to Wang Xiaochuan's idea, the three-stage rocket will be moved after it has achieved results, which will naturally bring more users. However... this is the common will after the communication between Sohu and Yike.

Even though he was reluctant, Wang Xiaochuan knew how to respond to questions at the press conference.

"I have always admired Mr. Fang. Mr. Fang has a unique insight and can see the essence and potential opportunities behind things. This time I can get the support of Mr. Fang and Yike, both for me personally and Sogou." It’s a huge encouragement.”

Wang Xiaochuan looked delighted.

Zhang Chaoyang opened the microphone and said with great joy: "We are joining forces this time. Just like Mr. Fang said, we must truly serve the majority of users."

The development of the times has allowed the portal websites that were fiercely competitive in the past to have extremely rare in-depth cooperation. In the future, in-site searches including Sina portal, blogs, and Weibo will be provided with technical support by Sogou, which was impossible in the past.

Zhang Chaoyang has been working hard since he lent out the "Happy Account". He felt the sincerity from Mr. Fang, and after full research and thinking, he recognized the development of mobile devices and believed that Sogou indeed has great potential.

Yike's YMS ecosystem requires search. This is no problem. Sogou can also use YMS to accelerate its development.

This is a win-win situation for strong alliances.

The happy Zhang Chaoyang, the serious Wang Xiaochuan, and the smiling Fang Zhuo basically constitute the on-site photos of the Sogou report.

After the press conference, Fang Zhuo was still not spared by reporters.

It's so easy to come across Mr. Fang's public appearance these days, so I have to squeeze out more information no matter what.

Fang Zhuo listened to the miscellaneous questions, many of which were still the aftermath of Yike’s financial war, including comments from some foreign media, reactions from Internet platforms such as Twitter, and Yike’s prosecution by hedge funds.

"Oops, I haven't looked at Twitter lately, and you guys are still looking at it."

"It's like this, friends, if everyone says good things about a person, then this person is quite scary."

"Now, some people say that I am good, and some people say that I am not good. Isn't this normal? Let's return to the individual, can you satisfy everyone? It's the same principle."

"As for the prosecution of hedge funds, Yike has legal affairs, so there is no need to worry about this."

"Let me say it for the last time. Yike is a mobile phone company. Its biggest purpose is to provide consumers with useful mobile phones. It was just a defensive plan before. Unfortunately, it has taken effect."

"The comments about Yi Ke and myself, whether they are praised or denigrated, whether they are published by the Washington Daily News, the New York Times, cover stories, or online collections, will pass."

"In my heart, this is a thing of the past, and we are all focusing on the company's subsequent development."

Fang Zhuo expressed his attitude in a kind manner.

I've already let it go, why are you still so entangled?

I have already started looking for Sogou, investing in Amap, and rejecting Morningstar. Why do you still remember the king of retail investors?

Fang Zhuo continued to answer a few questions. In addition to the situation abroad, everyone was also very interested in Yike's actions and asked about the intense situation that was looming this year.

Just today, Taobao announced a record of 618. The transaction volume successfully exceeded 10 billion, and it increased to 12.36 billion, which is still a 45% increase compared to last year.

Along with this number, some people say that the financial crisis not only did not affect the development of e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, but instead prompted consumers to pay more attention to options with price advantages.

Fang Zhuo knew what everyone wanted to hear from him, but he just mumbled it happily.

This press conference was his last event in Beijing.

Zhang Chaoyang reluctantly took Mr. Fang to the car and asked him a question before leaving.

"Mr. Fang, I think the new building you built by Yike in Shanghai is pretty good. Do you think the money in my account is for building a building or investing in another mobile project?"

"Mr. Zhang, you have a lot of money in your account." Fang Zhuo said with a smile.

This time, Zhang Chaoyang also invested in Sogou personally, with US$15 million accounting for 10% of the shares.

When Zhang Chaoyang heard what Mr. Fang said, he said with some complacency: "Changyou's listing performance is good, but it is not as good as you, the former richest man, and you still have some money sitting around."

Changyou is a company spun off from Sohu's gaming business. It is also the first Chinese company to be listed on Nasdaq this year. Its market value now exceeds US$1 billion, making it the leading gaming company in China.

Fang Zhuo looked at Zhang Chaoyang's expression and was really unsure for a moment.

The property market will definitely continue to be very good, but there are also many opportunities for mobile-side projects.

The question is, can Zhang Chaoyang make the investment?

He thought thoughtfully and said: "I have a private placement here, how about you invest in it and give it a try?"

Zhang Chaoyang laughed loudly: "Your fund is too aggressive. I'm afraid of overturning. Forget it, I'll think about it again."

Due to normal risk perception, MIGA funds are quite unique.

"You...please write down the phone number of Kong Yu, the head of my MIGA fund. If you have any questions, you can ask him." Fang Zhuo upheld his friendship and left a phone number. This old man seemed to have a different meaning now.

It's just that you can't spend much money on food, drink, and fun. Once the project is invested, it's not a small number.

After thinking about this, he lowered the window, made a phone gesture to Zhang Chaoyang outside the car, and said: "Remember to call Mr. Kong. He is good at this. It is always good to communicate more."

Zhang Chaoyang waved his hand and sent Brother Fang away.

Changyou went public this year and Sogou became independent. He is also confident that he will take Sohu into a big cause.

Let’s start with Sohu Video’s counterattack against Youku and Tudou.

Burn the video, clear the door, return to the C position, and shine again.

…

"Mr. Fang, are you back?"

"Well, there are still things to do in Shanghai. Taobao this month has put a lot of pressure on everyone."

The motorcade arrived at the airport, and Fang Zhuo received a call from Xiong Xiaoge.

Xiong Xiaoge asked again on the phone: "Where is your private plane? You didn't take it this time?"

"After returning to China, Mr. Yu has been inspecting the cultivation of the domestic mobile phone industry chain, and also inspected the situation of several Android mobile phone companies such as Meizu and Hanwang. It is more convenient for her to use a private plane." Fang Zhuo said, "I am relatively indifferent. This I’m just here to have a drink and have a good time, it doesn’t matter if it’s earlier or later.”

"Mr. Yu is prevented from going abroad because of you. It's really hard." Xiong Xiaoge sighed, "How's it going at Morning Star?"

"That's it." Fang Zhuo said lightly.

Xiong Xiaoge understood that this was because the company had become worse than a dog.

He reminded: "Mr. Fang, IDG also has shares in Morningstar."

Mr. Fang, don’t accidentally hurt a good person.

"Well, I know what's going on. It's fine." Fang Zhuo felt that Lao Xiong seemed to have nothing serious to do.

Xiong Xiaoge listened to the impatience on the phone and knew that this was a person who has passed away...

He quickly asked: "Mr. Fang, when I look at this app software, why did I click on Wang Fengyi's account? He also has something similar to QQ space, with lines of text."

This is Xiong Xiaoge's latest discovery, and after he added Mr. Fang back, he also saw Mr. Fang's thumbs up for him.

——Wang Fengyi: I attended the Shanghai Investor Summit today. Everyone said that I was the number one investor in China. I said I was not, but they insisted on saying that I was. I said that I could only be among the top five, but they insisted on saying that I was the first. Who leaked the news?

Fang Zhuo thought for a while and replied: "Oh, this software is being trialled on a small scale, and its permissions are also grayscale tests. They are just for testing. If you want, I will add it to you later."

Xiong Xiaoge said "hmm" and said, "Just to mention it casually, I am thinking about the user group and future direction of this software. Hey, you came to the capital. I didn't feel it before. This time I really feel that dragons and snakes are rising."

Taobao dominates the market, YMS successively finalizes AutoNavi and Sogou, domestic brands such as Hanwang and Meizu are spreading their products, online video websites have launched their banners, Penguin focuses on the mobile performance of QQ, and Mr. Fang is being circled in the country with murderous intentions. …

While Xiong Xiaoge was drinking, he also heard Mr. Fang’s impressions and brief comments on Wang Xiaochuan, Lei Jun, Jia Yueting, Cheng Congwu and others.

Speaking of mobile Internet, it seems that mobile Internet has not yet fully arrived, but a group of people have already taken advantage of the situation.

When Fang Zhuo heard what Lao Xiong said, the different people he met during this period flashed through his mind, and he smiled and said: "It's good. Competition is interesting. Yike must first do a solid job in basic work. Well, I am I like everyone’s subjective initiative.”

Xiong Xiaoge put down her mobile phone with the intention of successfully applying for the PP gray scale test. Nature and man are in harmony, and all changes have been established. Mr. Fang said that other people's subjective initiative is the strongest he has ever seen.