Reinventing the Millennium

On the first day of the New Year in the Gregorian calendar, Zhang Zhongtong seemed to deliver the industry's New Year's speech in San Diego, California.

In this exclusive interview from Bloomberg, he talked about the development of the global industry and the cooperation between the 28nm process and Qualcomm chips, but the most important and resonant part was the part involving Bingxin and Fangzhuo.

While Zhang Zhongtong promoted mainland competitors, he reviewed the wrong decisions made by Taiwan reporters, including CEO Cai Lixing in the previous two years.

Judging from the scope of media communication, the voice of a certain manufacturing boss will not spread too widely, but the industry will basically see it, and it may even cause a deeper impact.

Fang Zhuo was circulated the relevant content immediately, and after reading it carefully, he only had one comment.

"If you have bad intentions, you should be punished."

But he is not particularly angry. In business, there is competition and struggle, and there is no friendship in private. This is not the first time that Zhang Zhongqi has tried to promote this kind of nature. He had issued an industry white paper as early as when he came back to take charge of the station. It is not surprising. .

However, two days later, what made Fang Zhuo angry and funny was that Sina reprinted part of the news, citing foreign reports, and used the title "No. 1 person in the semiconductor industry."

When Sina does this kind of work, other websites will follow up and reprint it.

Only in the evening, my old friend Zhang Rujing mentioned this matter when he called me for a chat.

This year's Lunar New Year is relatively early. The New Year's Eve falls on January 22, which means there is only half a month left.

"Mr. Fang, I wish you a good year and wish us the best in the semiconductor industry." Zhang Rujing quoted the praise when he came up.

"Mr. Zhang, this is a bad name." Fang Zhuo sighed, "This is flattery and slander."

"Who said that? Zhang Zhongtou has been immersed in the industry for sixty years. He has to fall under your pomegranate skirt, bow to you, and hope that you will not overwhelm him in his lifetime. This is not the first person. What is the second person? One person?" Zhang Rujing laughed.

"There is a new idiom in the industry this year." Fang Zhuo said, "Mr. Zhang wishes Mr. Fang a happy new year - uneasy and kind."

Zhang Rujing laughed again. After laughing, he suddenly realized that his surname was Zhang.

He continued: "Zhang Zhongtou really praised you so much that I was stunned after reading the news. However, even though he wanted to praise you, I think he appreciates you anyway."

"How is the 28nm of your ice core?"

Fang Zhuo heard Zhang Rujing's change of subject and said thoughtfully: "Well..."

Zhang Rujing smelled the smell and turned into Zhang Rujing: "Zhang Zhongyi didn't tell lies? Did he get the real news? Has Ice Core already conquered the research and development of 28nm?"

"I'm not sure if he got the news when he said that." Fang Zhuo held the phone and frowned, "Maybe he heard the news, maybe he just made a wild guess."

Zhang Rujing thought for two seconds: "A person like him wouldn't guess blindly, would he?"

"Do you think someone like me can make blind guesses?" Fang Zhuo asked.

Zhang Rujing replied without hesitation: "You can."

"Would someone who doesn't know me think I'm just guessing when they hear what I say?" Fang Zhuo said disapprovingly, "The gap has been narrowed. It must be something useful."

When Zhang Rujing heard this, he felt that it was true. Others would definitely think that Mr. Fang's words were very valuable. If they involved some industry statements, they might not have to study them in detail.

In the past, there was no movement in Bingxin. Even if Hu Zhengming joined, the reporter would be indifferent. Now that he has reached a new level, he will not pay attention to his manners.

"Looking at the interview that Bloomberg conducted for him, he chose the first day of 2012, and he was very considerate of me." Fang Zhuo said with a smile, "This kind of propaganda is obviously encouraging, but in fact it is instigating. It really means a bit of rhetoric."

He took a sip of tea and said, "Mr. Zhang must have paid attention to the public opinion situation in the United States. Moreover, Qualcomm is still an important customer of ours. He went to San Diego to poach our customers."

The Qualcomm chips installed in Yike's Selfy are all from Ice Core's production capacity. The cooperation between Ice Core and Qualcomm is actually very good. In today's mobile phone chip design market, Qualcomm is undoubtedly the No. 1, and Its manufacturing OEMs come from three companies: Taiji, Samsung, and Bingxin.

As the cooperation between Samsung and Qualcomm deepens, orders from Samsung have exceeded ice cores.

However, Qualcomm is not willing to give up the Selfy series of products. Even though Fang Zhuo hinted that the new S will be equipped with Zhurong chips, it is still actively promoting and lobbying for continued cooperation between the two parties, just like there is a certain degree of competition between it and Samsung. Samsung this year The flagship model in South Korea is also equipped with its own chips, and it is not ruled out that it will continue to expand the scope of installation in the future.

There is competition, cooperation, and concerns. This is the prerequisite for everyone to still stand together.

As the purest of the three manufacturing OEM companies, Taiji already has the largest share, and it is obvious that cooperation will be expanded this time.

"Can Ice Core counterattack?" Zhang Rujing asked.

Fang Zhuo had a headache: "Mr. Zhang, you really treat me as a god. Why didn't I think of asking you this question back then?"

From his perspective and the information he knew, SMIC lost two cases, and the second time was obviously biased, but Zhang Rujing was unable to solve this matter.

"We are different. You are the number one person in the semiconductor industry." Zhang Rujing said, "I am just Zhang Zhongmo's defeated general, the one who has been defeated many times."

"There is no good solution. Our 28nm has solved the main technical disputes, but there are still problems to be solved. Trial production will take place in the second half of the year at the earliest." Fang Zhuo told the truth when talking about this, "The challenges faced by ice core It is the attention of the United States, and Zhang Zhongmo is providing material to those congressmen."

"It's a pity, I thought there would be a program during the Chinese New Year." Zhang Rujing said with a smile.

"There is no program. I originally wanted to spend the New Year in peace before going to the United States this time." Fang Zhuo said helplessly, "What is this called? The tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop."

After finishing this sentence, he added: "However, Samsung is also developing very aggressively in the OEM field. Lee Jae-yong has launched a Kill TW plan, and the media's publicity is about to come."

In response to the semiconductor industry in Baodao, Samsung has formulated a plan to "kill TW". The storage field has basically achieved its goal. Gao Qiquan, who is now responsible for the storage area of ​​Bingxin, also has factors to enter the mainland because of this. In the field of wafer foundry, Samsung is also unwilling to let go.

In the past few years, with Samsung's efforts, it has developed rapidly in the field of wafer foundry. It has become one of the few foundry companies in the world relying solely on its own and Apple's orders.

Zhang Rujing laughed: "Okay, I know that no matter what, you will always be unable to hold back your anger."

"It's not that I can't bear it, I'll just do it." Fang Zhuo sighed, "If I can use my technical strength to speak for myself, I'd rather say nothing. Also, if the reporter wants to take the Apple order, he has to help publicize it."

"Is the reporter going to take the Apple order?" Zhang Rujing asked.

"Look, you have to accept my guess, right?" Fang Zhuo said with a smile, "There is no clear rumor, but it is almost the same. I guess the reporter must be in secret contact with Apple now. No matter what the truth is, Apple and The conflict between Samsung and Samsung is becoming more and more acute. Zhang Zhongmo won’t let me have a good year, so I will cause him some trouble.”

Most of the orders for Apple's core components come from Samsung, especially the chips, which are rounded out by Samsung. It is precisely because of its orders that Samsung's foundry business can develop so fast.

However, the competition between Apple mobile phones and Samsung mobile phones is becoming increasingly fierce. Anyone sitting in the position of Apple CEO will find ways to get rid of Samsung's constraints.

At this time, Taiji’s pure wafer foundry nature once again showed its superiority.

Taiwan Journal does not make mobile phones and has no competing interests. It is almost Apple’s only choice under the current circumstances.

Zhang Rujing was thinking in his mind: "The technological gap between Samsung and Taiji is only one generation. It may be slightly better than Ice Core now, but it uses a front gate solution at 28nm. Isn't this what you have been struggling with? What if? You and the reporter are right, Samsung may have hidden dangers in this regard, and 28nm is a node with a long life cycle."

He habitually combined the information and analyzed the situation.

"Well, if there is no problem with our technical solution, we can look forward to Samsung's overturn. That would be fun." Fang Zhuo said with a smile, "We are planning to expand the 28nm production line this year to prepare for this sweet node."

"Are you so...sure?" Zhang Rujing asked worriedly.

Ice core's 28nm has not yet been put into trial production, and the yield issues caused by the technical solution have not been completely implemented. Now such a decision is at risk.

"The next 22/20nm will be a transition node. It will take a long time to reach 16/14nm. The market demand for 28nm will grow rapidly. When mobile phone chips are digested, demand will continue to spread to other products."

“This is an opportunity to take market share.”

"I believe in Academician Liang and the others."

Fang Zhuo gave the reason seriously. When 28nm is commercialized, the technology will further mature and the relatively complex HKMG process will continue.

However, 22/20nm requires the use of two pattern exposure technologies, which will increase the number of mask processes, leading to an increase in costs and an expansion of the process cycle, making it impossible to control IC design and production costs well.

According to ice core's internal estimates, 22/20nm will be 1.5-2 times the cost of the 28nm process. This is also an important reason why Liang Mengsong and others explore the generation skipping to develop 16/14nm.

It’s not that 22/20nm cannot be researched, but its two generations are more cost-effective.

"Academician Liang, um..." Zhang Rujing was still not used to such a title, and sighed with emotion before praising, "Academician Liang is a genius, and you are always a weirdo. The two of you together are a 'strange combination', so No wonder people like Zhang Zhongtou have to praise him greatly."

"Who cares? Mr. Zhang, I was in Shanghai years ago. Come here with your big silicon wafer and we can chat in person." Fang Zhuo extended the invitation.

Zhang Rujing's large silicon wafers have made breakthroughs. Although they are not yet included in the supply of ice cores, they can enter SMIC's sequence first.

"Returning to SMIC." Zhang Rujing happily accepted the invitation. "It's faster than I thought."

"No need to say thank you." Fang Zhuo smiled.

"You should thank me for my hard work in the upstream." Zhang Rujing also smiled. He really wanted to thank him for his next sentence. Without Mr. Fang's funds and resources, the research and development of the wafers in his hands would be much slower.

Fang Zhuo said: "Okay, let's help each other and have two more drinks when we meet."

"Okay, I'll toast Dr. Jiang when the time comes." Zhang Rujing mentioned his old friend.

"Burn him a copy of our 28nm top-secret documents." Fang Zhuo thought of his last meeting with Jiang Shangzhou last year.

The number one person in the global semiconductor industry and the number one person in the mainland semiconductor industry reached a decision to meet last year.

The first week of January has passed, and the New Year atmosphere has already emerged, whether online or offline.

Just when the media was about to expose Samsung's Kill plan, Samsung's Lee Jae-yong jumped out in advance and accepted a media interview.

Also in the United States, he accepted an exclusive interview with the Wall Street Journal in Silicon Valley and also mentioned Bing Xin and Fang Zhuo.

As if making an appointment, Lee Jae-yong also gave high praise and said that "Chinese mainland semiconductors are booming under the leadership of Mr. Fang and Bing Xin."

This is actually a fact, but the purpose of mentioning it this way is self-evident.

The interview of the Samsung Prince also received echoes and support from Taiwanese executives on Twitter, making a strong footnote that Mr. Fang is the number one person in the semiconductor industry who supports him.

On January 9, Fang Zhuo gave an informal response on Twitter.

"Is ice core developing very quickly? No, it has been like this all these years. Is it that you have developed too slowly? Sometimes you wonder if you have put enough effort and effort into the process research and development these years."

"Had it not been for Yike's pursuit of excellence, I would not have entered this field myself. I am very happy that Yike has finally helped cultivate many excellent suppliers around the world over the years."

“This is an important factor in Yike’s success.”

Fang Zhuo still pulled out the Yike brand and regarded Bingxin as one of many suppliers.

Without waiting for any new news from Samsung and Taiwanese reporters, a wave of revelations came from the media. Samsung's "Kill TW" was rumored to have both nose and eyes.

It is said that the plan was established in 2009, and the decision-maker is none other than Samsung Crown Prince Lee Jae-yong himself.

Such a revelation was so impressive that the executive who tweeted about it suddenly felt a little embarrassed. The enemy of my enemy is not my friend.

This information has been hyped in the media for two days. Just as it subsided, news broke that Taiwanese reporters intended to poach all Apple orders.

Samsung is Apple's sole supplier of chips, and the latter accounts for more than 70% of Samsung's OEM production. This news has plunged Apple and Samsung, which were already at odds, into a new round of distrust and quarrel. There are even rumors that Samsung will restrict Apple. Threats to chip production capacity.

Zhang Zhongyan, who is in the United States, originally planned to visit Apple secretly, so he had to cancel the trip when he saw this. However, even though the timing was inconvenient, he still felt that the conflict between Samsung and Apple was almost irreconcilable, and the Taiwanese journalist was bound to win over Apple. .

When Lee Jae-yong and Cook spoke out one after another, a new piece of news was once again triggered. It is said that Apple is also interested in cooperating with Bingxin.

Fang Zhuo jumped out immediately to verify the attitude of the parties involved.

"We welcome Apple's inspection. If Apple wants a more robust supply chain, our place is definitely an excellent choice."

Can Apple cooperate with Bingxin?

No, Samsung has learned from its past mistakes.

Zhang Zhongtong had this judgment in his heart.

However, he did not expect that Apple CEO Cook would give a response, saying that he would seriously consider cooperation with Yike in the future.

Regardless of the U.S. off-site interference, news in the wafer foundry field was abuzz for a while, and it became chaotic when the New Year came. (End of chapter)