Reinventing the Millennium

Yike and Bingxin face many problems. Even though Fang Zhuo has made a lot of preparations, he still feels pressured by the swift and precise restrictions imposed by BIS.

These unconventional competitions are not static and may cause chain reactions, which cannot be avoided.

Bingxin is trapped in the supply of photoresist and has a not-so-good operating time limit. Yike's problems will be transmitted more slowly, but the US market has been withdrawing step by step. Apart from them, Yike's e-commerce competition in China seems to be brightening up.

The head of Yike's live broadcast with a huge traffic volume further made Douyin famous, and the vibrant live broadcast e-commerce was also launched, which made many third-party merchants and bloggers who have accumulated fans in the past year very excited.

Among them, Li Guoqing took the fastest action.

Since he joined the short video platform, he has been thinking about the realization of commercial value. He has experience in e-commerce and is relatively not short of funds and resources. He suddenly saw the performance of Douyin's traffic conversion and started another entrepreneurial venture with great expectations after only a slight observation.

He has worked in e-commerce, group buying, and investment, and has a long career. He has drunk with major Internet leaders and has been Fang's opponent. Now he has learned to laugh at himself and knows how to mingle on the Internet...

If he doesn't start a business while the heat is on, wouldn't it be like not taking what God has given him, and then being blamed?

No, Li Guoqing is more cautious.

He has been tortured many times. Before he really made up his mind this time, he seriously sent a long Yixin to Fang, introducing himself, expressing his views on e-commerce live streaming, and showing his hope for good development on the Douyin platform. Finally, he expressed his desire to hear Fang's opinion.

Perhaps Fang was too busy recently, and this Yixin did not receive a reply until a day later, which made Li Guoqing's mood, which had gradually sunk, hot again.

"Qingzi, you are too polite. The prospects of live streaming e-commerce are good. You can do it with experience like you, but you need to pay attention to ensuring product quality so that it can last longer."

Li Guoqing even posted this reply from Fang directly in the latest video, and widely solicited netizens for the name of the new company.

——Did Mr. Fang really call you "Qingzi"? ?

——Just call it "Qingzi Selection", and those who agree, please like it so that Mr. Qingzi can see it.

After soliciting opinions, because of the huge difference in the popularity of the answers, Li Guoqing simply carried out the "net sense" to the end and organized "Qingzi Selection" in a daily update.

The blooming of such an old tree of an Internet business veteran is just a microcosm of the development of Douyin live e-commerce. Yikexi's Double Eleven event has proved the feasibility of new traffic platforms in e-commerce, and Yiguo can even provide some warehousing and excellent logistics services. In addition, Alibaba has focused on Tmall in the past two years, so what reason is there not to try more?

Tmall took the lead in launching live e-commerce, but the entire Alibaba e-commerce traffic is still a problem. It is naturally stronger than Yiguo, but the traffic of social media platforms is not of the same order of magnitude. When this kind of traffic can be converted into e-commerce, the trend of strength and weakness has reversed.

Alibaba's expansion momentum this year is very strong, but after Double 11, industry insiders have discovered a new situation. Alibaba seems to be slowing down competition in other markets, and the stock price, which has been rising since its listing, has suddenly stopped.

The reason is not mysterious. Yike's counterattack on Alibaba's core business, which gathers the resources of Yixin, Yiguo, Douyin, Mi Tuan and other companies, makes it difficult to see Alibaba's future.

Originally, it was thought that Yike encountered a serious crisis and the domestic market would shrink significantly, but looking at the current situation... Yike's crisis is a crisis, and it has a way to make its opponents follow it...

"Ali traffic theory" and "new era of live e-commerce" these remarks that appeared before Double 11 have become popular again.

Fang Zhuo's working time is almost all allocated to Bingxin and Yike, but after get off work, he can still hear Xiao Su's informal report.

This naturally makes him happy to see it happen, but because the thorny problems at hand cannot be solved, the joy is just like a small ripple on the lake.

On December 9, just as Fang Zhuo hurriedly finished the meeting and was about to take a flight to Beijing, he suddenly received a call from Professor Hu Zhengming, who told him that he had arrived in Shanghai and wanted to talk about the situation of Bingxin.

Fang Zhuo was a little surprised, so he changed his schedule and waited for Professor Hu.

Hu Zhengming is currently in a semi-retired state at Bingxin. On the one hand, he is still studying the optimization of FinFET technology, and on the other hand, he is engaged in education and scientific research.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Fang Zhuo met Hu Zhengming and felt that he was in a good spirit.

He just wanted to say hello when he heard Professor Hu's teasing.

"Mr. Fang, thank you for your hard work." Hu Zhengming stepped forward to shake hands, very solemnly.

"It's not hard, it's mainly because everyone is hard-working." Fang Zhuo felt that the old professor was quite formal today.

Hu Zhengming sighed, "You've fallen to the point of performing live, isn't it hard?"

"Well... if the number of people watching me perform rises to several million, it won't be called performing." Fang Zhuo smiled, "It's called a new attempt of public media."

"Mr. Fang, you are this." Hu Zhengming gave a thumbs up and got to the point, "Once the photoresist is restricted, Bingxin will have a difficult time in the next two years."

"If two years is a certain number, then this time is not too difficult." Fang Zhuo said with a smile, "If the people in Xinyang Luzhou told me that they can come up with usable light in 730 days from now, Damn it, we’re all going to have two drinks now.”

"Photoresist is indeed a problem." Hu Zhengming mused, "but now there are companies that don't have photoresist problems."

"You mean to temporarily transfer it from SMIC for use?" Fang Zhuo thought about Professor Hu's meaning and said, "Not only do we know the current photoresist time limit of Ice Core, but others also know it. Moreover, SMIC's 16nm is still It takes time, and sometimes being too advanced is a problem.”

Hu Zhengming smiled and nodded. The ice core is too advanced now.

In addition to the limitations caused by this factor, like the current photoresist problem, other processes can also be borrowed and borrowed. The photoresist required by Ice Core's 16nm process is different from the photoresist used by SMIC's 20nm.

The former requires higher resolution and better light absorption and pattern transfer.

If the photoresist used in SMIC's 20nm process is directly moved to the ice core's 16nm process, it will affect the dimensional accuracy of the chip and the integrity of the circuit. It will also be difficult to have a standard contrast ratio in finer structures, which will cause problems in the development process. Difficulty distinguishing pattern from background.

In addition, there are compatibility issues in different processes, and process defects such as residues, bridging or missing may occur.

These comprehensive problems will lead to a significant decrease in yield. Even if a large amount of process parameter adjustment and optimization work is carried out, the production cost will rise sharply to an unacceptable level.

Ice Core uses the second-generation FinFET 16nm, which is still the first in the world. This also brings about the problem that the mainland industry that is too advanced is difficult to match.

It is hard to blame the mainland industry for this. Under the global division of labor, the photoresist market is dominated by American and Japanese manufacturers. Even if you go to Europe, you cannot buy usable photoresist.

Similarly, Samsung was faced with the situation of being cut off from the supply of photoresist and other materials by Japan, and it was unable to solve the problem. In the end, it took many rounds of mediation between South Korea and Japan to finally reach an agreement.

In 2012, Bingxin promoted the joint creation of "core materials" by domestic manufacturers to try to solve the problem of stuck necks. Although some results were achieved, they were still unsatisfactory. In the end, they could only continue to develop "core materials" in person. After the game, keep working towards your goal.

This process has lasted for three years. No one can guarantee how long it will take to break through in the future.

Fang Zhuo poured tea for Professor Hu, and the two drank tea in silence for a while.

While Professor Hu was drinking tea for a while, Secretary Liu came in to take a look, and he further elaborated on his thoughts about the ice core.

"Mr. Fang, I think BIS and the Japanese manufacturers driven by it have only limited the scope to ice cores this time. Photoresist is a sharp problem. It is very sharp, but if the scope is expanded, it may also be affected by many of our fields. "Counterattack." Hu Zhengming said, "So, BIS only wants to attack the most prominent ice core."

Fang Zhuo nodded slightly. That's right. Although BIS has extended its jurisdiction by modifying the FDP, it does not control everything. It just hangs a sword that can be dropped at any time. What it really controls is the ice core. There are several aspects of equipment, technology, and materials, and the most acute one is the time-sensitive photoresist.

"In this case, since the ice core production is really likely to be reduced and stopped now, then the mountain can't be overcome, so I will go over." Hu Zhengming said slowly, "Let's make the technology more mobile."

"BIS has concerns and is only targeting ice cores and is unwilling to attack in an all-out manner, so we will take advantage of this period to accelerate SMIC's technology research and development."

"SMIC not only has photoresist, but now also has NXT:2000i, which is more advanced than Ice Core. This is even the most advanced photolithography machine besides EUV."

"SMIC's platform can achieve greater results. We have the power to quickly promote SMIC to become Yike's backup manufacturer. We also have the opportunity to continue to develop more advanced processes."

"Although many of SMIC's equipment are American-made, we should first resolve whether they are available and then solve other optimization issues. The yield rate can be sacrificed anyway."

"Since BIS has concerns, it doesn't want to, it doesn't dare to impose measures on a larger scale at this time, whether it's for election reasons or interest disputes, then we have to seize this, maybe not much, time to keep technology awake. ”

"Mr. Fang, you were right not to promote the merger of SMIC and Bingxin earlier. If we can continue to push the manufacturing process further based on SMIC, the situation will be different."

Hu Zhengming said with a smile: "SMIC orthodoxy is in Bingxin, and Bingxin orthodoxy can also be in SMIC."

Fang Zhuo understood what Professor Hu meant and said slowly: "Professor Hu means to ask Dr. Liang to bring people to SMIC?"

Hu Zhengming nodded: "You and UMC in Baodao have talked about letting Liang Mengsong go there as a consultant. What's wrong with SMIC? Are you worried that SMIC will also be restricted? If so, how can it be better than the current situation? How much worse?"

He got up from the sofa and paced around the office: "Huali's first phase of de-beautification 45nm can even achieve a competitive yield. Bingxin has gradually gained experience in adjusting equipment processes. Xinyang Luzhou's R\u0026D will inevitably If we can produce results, we can have a DUV+SAQP 10nm solution based on today’s results. This is not its limit, how can it get worse?”

Hu Zhengming looked at Mr. Fang and said with a smile: "Mr. Fang, do you think it can get worse than it is now? Looking back, this is the most difficult stage."

SMIC also did not buy EUV, but it did get NXT:2000i, which is more advanced than Bingxin's existing equipment. The latter's DUV+SAQP solution has been advanced to 10nm and is expected to be expanded to 7nm.

Ice Core's existing 16nm process can ensure excellent competitiveness throughout 2016 and provide good competitiveness for products in 2017. If we push forward one step further, it will take at least another two years.

Not counting 7nm, just looking at the two process nodes being optimized and developed is 4 years.

Hu Zhengming never believed that with such a foundation, it would be worse than it is now in four years.

Fang Zhuo thought for a moment, nodded in agreement, and said thoughtfully: "Then I'll talk to Dr. Liang and see how the time is allocated to the team."

"Liang Mengsong will definitely not have any objections. Anyway, he is in the mainland, and research is not research anywhere." Hu Zhengming said this first, and then continued, "In my opinion, he should not reinvent the wheel when he goes to SMIC. Let’s go straight to work on 10nm so that we can maximize it.”

Fang Zhuo looked at Professor Hu and suddenly found that the professor was communicating with him step by step.

He couldn't help but smile and said: "Professor Hu, SMIC and Ice Core have made some progress in 16nm technology exchanges. Now we are asking people to abandon 16nm and switch to 10nm. There are many difficulties and risks. "

"Don't you often say that SMIC and Ice Core are like the same spirit?" Hu Zhengming said seriously, "You have promoted the integration of industry resources in the past two years. This is the largest integration. What is there to worry about? The industry is just a game of chess."

He remained silent and continued: "You said, in a limited and unpredictable time, is it more strategically meaningful for SMIC to obtain 16nm production capacity or to break through 10nm?"

"A game of chess is a game of chess, and two companies are two companies." Fang Zhuo said a little helplessly, "SMIC is running well now. I stepped in to stop its step-by-step research and development. This..."

"Mr. Fang, if you are kind and don't control the army, why can't you be ruthless now?" Hu Zhengming frowned and said, "Just think of it as Nokia, as Sony, as Penguin, as Alibaba, as..."

Fang Zhuo stopped Professor Hu's lobbying: "Hey, hey, Professor, okay, okay, let me think about it."

He complained again: "You are talking about competitors, this is a friendly businessman."

Hu Zhengming observed Mr. Fang's operations and said, "Friends and businessmen are sometimes rivals."

He continued: "Back then, Bing Xin had the opportunity to take over SMIC, and there was no objection from above, right? Also, Mr. Fang, you were the one who stopped Datang from taking over SMIC before, and now it's not for you to do so. What's wrong with doing something unethical and taking risks?"

Fang Zhuo looked at Professor Hu helplessly.

"If you think this is a matter between two families," Hu Zhengming joked, "Now that you have made a hostile takeover of it, no one will gossip about it, right?"

Fang Zhuo sighed: "I never have any ill intentions..."

His words were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone on the table.

Fang Zhuo took a look and saw that it was Larry from Google.

"Regardless of bad intentions or good intentions, who can say anything to you at this time?" Hu Zhengming hurriedly said something before Mr. Fang answered the phone.

Fang Zhuo indicated that we would talk later.

But as soon as he rang the phone, Larry's angry voice instantly came to his ears.

"Fang Zhuo!!"

Fang Zhuo couldn't help but put the phone slightly away from his ears.

Hu Zhengming originally wanted to take a walk outside the office, but when he saw that there was no external sound and he could hear the high-pitched voice on the other side, he changed his mind and sat back on the sofa.

"Larry, what's wrong with you?" Fang Zhuo wondered. This didn't seem like a reaction to any new news.

"Fang Zhuo!! I still think too much of you!!" Larry was furious.

Fang Zhuo was really confused: "What happened to me?"

"Whose people are doing the German map company that Yike wants to acquire!?" Larry asked.

Fang Zhuo was no longer confused, oh, this is the matter.

He replied: "Yike has not acquired it yet, but it has been approved. We may not acquire it."

"I'm not asking you about the acquisition, I'm asking you whether you are behind that company!" Larry said word for word.

Fang Zhuo pondered deeply and thought about what kind of answer the other party wanted.

Larry had already read the answer from the silence. He sneered: "Fang Zhuo, Mr. Fang, you really never have the interests of your partners at heart."

Fang Zhuo glanced at Professor Hu on the sofa on the other side.

Hu Zhengming noticed this scene. Although he couldn't hear what the person on the other end of the phone was saying, he suddenly had an inspiration. Was Mr. Fang just thinking about what he said, "Friends and businessmen are sometimes rivals."

"Yike has not acquired, and this C.M. company does not have much market share. I don't understand why you are so angry now?" Fang Zhuo first questioned, then questioned, "Is it because Google is planning to cut off from Yike? Is it because you want to harm it? I?"

Larry laughed angrily: "Who wants to cut it? Who created YMS in China? Who secretly created a map company in Germany? Who wants to harm whom?"

"YMS is what I want to do? It's because Google can't do it in China! What happened to the German company? It has some investment from me! Can't I invest?" Fang Zhuo retorted, "Google has such a big ecosystem in the world, and I can't afford it. If you don’t like it, why should I do it?”

"Is it your investment or your people?" Larry insisted on this point.

"You have a lot to do, okay, okay, I drove and mapped the German maps one by one, so what's wrong?" Fang Zhuo also raised his voice, "As long as Google doesn't abide by the contract, then Yike can only Fight back, as long as Google abides by the contract, Yike will never fight back, it’s that simple.”

"Fang Zhuo, Fang Zhuo, Fang Zhuo..." Larry couldn't bring it up in one breath. He only said Fang Zhuo's name. Google had already spoken for Yi Ke at the Washington meeting. He had also personally communicated with the White House and had already taken on the pressure. , I never wanted to receive news from Europe, and noticed that a Chinese executive of Germany's new C.M Maps company is from China's AutoNavi company.

AutoNavi has now been acquired by Yike and has become an important member of Yike YMS.

With such a piece of news, Larry didn't need to look for any other evidence. He was almost 100% sure that it came from Mr. Fang. He was shocked and angry for a moment, so he made the call.

Larry finally recovered: "This CM Map Company has been running for two years. Fang Zhuo, our cooperation has no basis of trust at all, right?"

"I trust you very much, Larry. What Google has achieved today is rare in the world." Fang Zhuo commented first, and then said, "I just don't trust Google CEO Schmidt, he is very unpredictable."

"Can I be more unpredictable than you?" Larry said sarcastically, and just as he was about to continue, he suddenly realized, "No, the CEO two years ago was me, not Schmidt!"

"But Schmidt is still the chairman of Google, still a technical advisor to Google, and still maintains a lot of influence, and he has also joined the Pentagon project." Fang Zhuo said plausibly, "He has close ties with the military Is it my only concern? Where does he stand?"

Larry was silent.

Fang Zhuo reiterated again: "If people don't harm me, I won't harm others. Larry, you can't point a gun at me and not allow me to have a wooden stick in my hand, right? Do you think you are crazy, or am I?" crazy?"

Larry's anger dissipated somewhat. He no longer wanted to question or continue the conversation. He did not answer Mr. Fang's questions. He only said in the end: "Mr. Fang, Yi Ke better stay strong."

"Thank you for your blessing. I will keep fighting with your blessing." Fang Zhuo responded.

call ended.

Fang Zhuo threw the phone back to his desk.

"Are you a friend?" Hu Zhengming asked in three words.

"Yes, business friend." Fang Zhuo was stunned, "Where were we talking about just now?"

Hu Zhengming said seriously: "I just mentioned that you were going to convene a SMIC meeting to introduce to them the arrival of Academician Liang Mengsongliang."

Fang Zhuo couldn't help laughing.

After he finished laughing, he shook his head and said: "Larry hopes that Yike will continue to be strong. Ha, they'd better kill Yike directly. Otherwise, they must come one by one when Yike recovers."

Hu Zhengming took a sip of tea: "For example?"

"If the limitation of photoresist on 16nm is solved, I will work with Intel first. Yike is already developing notebook CPUs and is already digesting AMD's ZEN." Fang Zhuo picked up the tea cup and said, "Intel is a product that wants to make a splash!"

He continued without hesitation: "As well as Samsung and others, Yike wants to decentralize chips and vigorously attack their domestic market!"

"SMIC should make greater efforts in technical cooperation. It is a game of chess among the industry and strives to capture the market share of GLOBALFOUNDRIES and UMC! Stop living, stop living!"

"Who else, who else, and Nvidia's computing card, it is more appropriate to use your own card for Yike's training data! There are also AMD's server chips, Yike's nine chapters must be pursued!"

"Come one by one! Come one by one!"

Fang Zhuo was pacing with a teacup in hand like a beast looking for food, with names constantly flowing in his heart, as if he was tracking the scent of prey.

Hu Zhengming looked at the red-eyed Mr. Fang and suddenly asked: "Isn't AMD a cooperative camp? It has obtained a license to cooperate with Ice Core."

"Oh, right." Fang Zhuo stopped, drank half a cup of tea, and suddenly sighed, "Hi, business friend, it's just a matter of convenience."