.
Yike and Bingxin will face severe challenges in the foreseeable future, but this will not delay existing development plans.
Intel, Taiwanese journalists, and Samsung have all shown strong responses to the Yike system, and the semiconductor industry conference led by the US company BIS has also quietly held several times, with close discussions surrounding the Eastern Yike system.
At the same time, Yu Hong, co-founder of Yike, had arrived in Washington and was waiting to discuss with the White House’s digital economic advisors. However, to her surprise, meetings of this nature were repeatedly postponed.
In Washington, Yu Hong could personally feel a certain atmosphere related to Yike, and he could also feel a certain entanglement after meeting lobbyist Zhao Zhishan and some friends from the Yike camp.
On December 17, Yu Hong, who had been waiting for a week in Washington, received a clear reply. Christmas was coming soon, so we would not open it until after the holidays.
Yu Hong also felt the festive atmosphere of Christmas in Washington, but it was still a week away... which was probably some kind of difficult and difficult reaction for Yi Ke to deal with.
On December 18, she had a phone call with Fang Zhuo, briefly chatting about informal contacts in Washington and the still-hot sales of Yike products.
Just as "the world's first" has had a huge impact on Washington and the semiconductor industry, Mars 8.8 and Mars 8.8 Pro have had an equally huge impact on consumers, which has also boosted the sales of other products.
From last year to this year, Yike has invested its energy in the field of smart home, which has won the early adopters of many consumers. The "unparalleled" tablet has vaguely become the second sales curve, followed by notebook computers that Yike has entered across fields.
From the hotel room where Yu Hong was staying, she could see the shining Yike billboard on the street, and below she could vaguely see the customers chatting in the Yike experience store.
She couldn't help but said to the boss on the other end of the phone: "Our products are great, it would be great if we could keep making progress."
This is the purpose that Yike has been practicing since its establishment, and with the accumulation of time and products, it has changed from no one paying attention at the beginning to a business spirit created by Yike.
"Actually, I'm quite optimistic." Fang Zhuo replied, then smiled, "I just hope for one thing now."
Yu Hong looked at the night view of the city further away and asked, "What?"
"I hope I won't be like Li Jianxi in the future, who is hospitalized when he gets old, and you have to carry him out when something happens." Fang Zhuo said seriously.
Yu Hong couldn't help laughing. Mr. Fang was interviewed by Bloomberg. His subtle malice and ridicule were quite obvious under a magnifying glass, but...
Surprisingly, almost no one criticized his demeanor, as if everyone thought that the man who once scolded his business partners in the spotlight should do such a thing.
"Okay, keep in touch. You can receive your guests. I'm going to spend Christmas in Washington." Yu Hong glanced at the time and planned to end the call.
"Pay attention to safety, and if the situation goes wrong, run away." Fang Zhuo did not forget to warn him, and then waited until the other person laughed and then the sound was blind.
He shrugged, put down his cell phone, and continued to work on the welcome ceremony for today's visitors in the office.
The head of Yike takes his guests seriously, and the guests also take this secret visit extremely seriously.
As the first female CEO of AMD, Su Zifeng does not receive high praise. Although she has made several good decisions since joining AMD in 2012, no one thinks that she can make a turnaround when she takes office this year.
For example, the CEO of Intel, its biggest rival, said very directly that no matter how strong Su Zifeng’s technical understanding and management skills were, she would not be able to pull AMD back from the edge of the cliff.
Indeed, AMD's current situation is already very bad, with its stock price falling to $2, which may not even be the lowest.
How to get out of the predicament, or in other words, how to continue to live, is a big question before Su Zifeng.
After much thought, she decided that she still needed to focus on improving the competitiveness of her products. However, the process technology performance of AMD's partner GlobalFoundries had been poor from last year to this year, and it seemed to have become a burden for the cooperation.
At this time, Ice Core International, which has produced the world's first 16nm process, comes into view.
Before this secret visit, Su Zifeng made a special call to Nvidia's head Jensen Huang to seriously seek advice and discuss the risks faced by Bingxin and Yike as well as the opportunities contained therein.
In the end, most of her ideas were supported by Huang Renxun, and she flew to Shanghai more determinedly.
As for why I believe Huang Renxun’s judgment...
This is my cousin, who speaks much more frankly than others.
Su Zifeng was very low-key during her trip to Shenzhen. She was guided by her secretary all the way to Yike 23. Before entering the office, the one thought that flashed through her mind was the recent evaluation from Time magazine.
——This is a living legendary business leader.
Ding.
The door to the CEO's office was opened by Liu Zonghong with a brush of his face.
Su Zifeng had just taken a step forward, and before she could say hello to the head of Yike, she heard mechanical sounds suddenly coming from both sides.
"Hello, Mr. Su!"
Su Zifeng looked to both sides in astonishment and saw two robots standing on both sides like doormen, slowly bending down as they greeted each other.
She said "uh", and for a moment she didn't know whether she should respond to the robot or whether she should say hello to Mr. Fang immediately.
"Welcome, Mr. Su, please take a seat, please take a seat." Fang Zhuo was very satisfied with the effect of the robot and welcomed the head of AMD with a smile.
Liu Zonghong closed the door and left without pouring tea or coffee this time.
"Mr. Fang, is this a product that Yike is preparing to sell? It's really..." Su Zifeng paused and commented, "It's unique!"
"Haha, it's just an internal research and development project. I think it's quite interesting." Fang Zhuo said, and then ordered, "Hey, Siri, pour me two cups of coffee."
The robot that was closer to Fang Zhuo slid to the automatic coffee machine, pressed the button, waited for a moment, slowly took out the coffee cup, and then slowly slid to Fang Zhuo.
Then, it repeated the action again.
Fang Zhuo first placed the coffee in front of Su Zifeng, and then took a sip of the second cup of coffee.
This process of the robot took a long time, and some coffee liquid even spilled out, but Su Zifeng watched intently, even a little stunned.
If she was amazed by the greeting just now, her jaw dropped in shock at her current execution.
She held the coffee cup and said in shock: "This...Mr. Fang, you..."
"It's just a trick to tease the guests. If I change the coffee machine, it will most likely not work. The current effect can only be achieved by repeating and modifying it many times." Fang Zhuo said with a smile, "That's bluffing.
We have done special optimization, but it is still far from the effect we want.”
Su Zifeng took a few sips of coffee silently and said honestly: "It really scared me... Will this be Yike's next blockbuster product?"
"It's hard to say, well, it should be said that there is a high probability that it won't. It's quite difficult. First of all, there must be a core that can understand our real requirements. This core is not smart enough, and the product will only become a specific toy." Fang Zhuolue said.
Shen Yin, "Without an intelligent core, deep learning cannot be achieved. Secondly, the fine perception of the external environment, such as vision, hearing, and touch, needs to be improved. Otherwise, more complex grasping, movement and operation will not be possible."
After saying this, he smiled and said: "This is just a big toy now, and the progress of the overall system engineering is required before it can become a truly mature product."
Su Zifeng couldn't help but look back at the industrial-style robot and sighed: "Yes, keep making progress."
"This robot is quite capable of bluffing people. I sent a video of it pouring coffee to Rubin of Android, and he almost jumped to our Yike company on impulse." Fang Zhuo mentioned an interesting incident.
Andy Rubin, the founder of Android, is an avid robot enthusiast and was amazed by the performance in the video.
If Fang Zhuo hadn't revealed that this was just a joke, he would have almost flown to Shanghai.
Su Zifeng's planned opening was completely disrupted by Yike Robot. She stabilized her mood and congratulated Yike on this uncontroversial hit product.
"Mars 8.8 is really easy to use, and its achievements make people proud." Su Zifeng took out the latest version of Mars from her pocket and added, "This is my compliment from a consumer perspective."
"Thank you, Mr. Su, for being one of the 26.36 million users of our Mars series." Fang Zhuo thanked and threw out the latest sales figures.
The sales figures of Mars 8.8 and Mars 8.8 Pro in the first month after the launch were 26.36 million units. It is still the last week before Christmas and may even exceed 30 million units.
The title of No. 1 in the world and the popularity constantly driven by public opinion have helped the Mars series refresh the sales record of Yike Company every day since its release.
Su Zifeng suddenly heard the undisclosed sales volume of Yike, and the envy in her heart suddenly jumped up. She murmured: "The best-selling mobile phone in history..."
Fang Zhuo heard this comment and corrected him: "No, the Nokia 1100 sold more than 250 million units from 2003 to 2009. That is the best-selling mobile phone in history."
Su Zifeng glanced at Mr. Fang and re-evaluated: "The best-selling smartphone in history!"
"It is still the best-selling smartphone in the first month of history." Fang Zhuo added a qualifier. As long as there are enough qualifiers, it will always be the first.
Su Zifeng heard the confidence, relaxation and ridicule in these words, and there were only two words: "Admire."
Fang Zhuo grinned: "It's not bad."
Su Zifeng: "..."
She vaguely felt that Mr. Fang was different from what she had imagined. She thought that the Mr. Fang she met this time would have a more stern and cold style. Unexpectedly, well... it's hard to say.
"Mr. Su, when you come here, I thought you would go to Luzhou first." Fang Zhuo mentioned the secret visit from the other side.
Su Zifeng said directly: "Luzhou's technology has been verified on Mars 8.8. If we can negotiate with Mr. Fang, I will be even more happy to go to Luzhou."
"Why not choose Taiwan Journalist?" Fang Zhuo raised a question that was indeed doubtful.
Since Ice Core came out with 16nm, AMD was among the first manufacturers to inquire. However, although Ice Core is ahead of schedule this time, there are still risks due to its nature in mainland China. Moreover, Taiwan reporters have stated that they are working overtime, so from last month to
Now, there are many interested manufacturers, but few have actually placed orders.
And Su Zifeng came directly this time, which undoubtedly expressed a certain attitude.
Su Zifeng gave an answer: "Because Yike has money, Mr. Fang is also willing to give money."
Fang Zhuo: "Well..."
He didn't expect that the answer was quite lacking in depth.
"Our cooperation with GlobalFoundries is not going well, but we signed an exclusive OEM agreement. If we change manufacturers now, we will need to pay at least US$400 million in compensation." Su Zifeng did not pretend to be mysterious, "This money will be my final decision.
A huge barrier to decision-making.”
GF was first spun off from AMD, and the two maintain an exclusive cooperation. However, GF's process is so-so. 28nm has the same solution problems as Samsung. After mining the pit, it rushed to catch up. The current reputation of 20nm is not good.
Also, Su Zifeng just became CEO this year.
Fang Zhuo understood, unless...she could find a sponsor willing to pay.
What manufacturer is Taiji?
Can it pay to fill this hole?
No, it doesn't lack customers.
Can I take out the ice core?
Or, can we collaborate in more complex ways?
Fang Zhuo frowned slightly and then quickly relaxed, smiling: "Mr. Su is an honest person. Well, I have three questions."
Su Zifeng took a sip of coffee first and then listened attentively.
"Is the building for sale?" Fang Zhuo asked.
When Su Zifeng heard this unexpected question, she changed her mind and gave an equally unexpected answer. She smiled bitterly and said: "It was sold last year. Mr. Fang, you are asking too late."
Fang Zhuo blinked, hey, he didn't pay attention to this matter.
He asked again: "Is ZEN for sale?"
Su Zifeng's expression changed slightly and she shook her head firmly: "Mr. Fang, this is not for sale."
ZEN is the x86 processor core developed by AMD, and I want to rely on this to make a comeback.
Fang Zhuo also took a sip of coffee before asking the last question: "Does the company sell it?"
Su Zifeng became even more determined: "Mr. Fang, I won't sell it."
"Mr. Su, let me give you a price. Listen to it." Fang Zhuo thought about it, considering the situation of AMD, and slowly said, "According to my opinion..."
Su Zifeng interrupted: "Mr. Fang, there's no need to say anything else!"
"So determined?" Fang Zhuo said.
"I'm afraid that you really offer me a price that I can't refuse..." Su Zifeng said helplessly, "Besides, even if you bid, Yike will not be able to successfully acquire it, and the SEC will not approve it."
"It doesn't necessarily have to be Yike as the main body. We can have more acquisition methods. If you don't mind, we can also dismember AMD. I can guarantee that you will have great independent rights and extremely abundant resources."
Funds." Fang Zhuo said seriously.
Su Zifeng took a breath and suddenly felt quite stressed. Looking at Mr. Fang again, his expression seemed much colder.
This is the world's best president in my imagination.
Ambitious.
She stood up and stressed: "Mr. Fang, I'm not here to sell the company. If you talk like this, I'm afraid I'm going to end this visit early."
"Okay." Fang Zhuo sighed and said, "Then, how can a small company with a market value of US$2 billion get me to spend US$400 million to support it?"
AMD is now just a Calami, with a stock price of $2 and a market value of $2 billion.
Yike and Bingxin are facing changes. If there is nothing too exciting, he doesn't want to cause trouble now. At most, he can let the MIGA fund buy stocks for financial investment purposes.
"AMD can provide long-term cooperation." Su Zifeng said.
"Long-term cooperation?" Fang Zhuo said with a smile, "How long-term? What if AMD is forced to terminate its cooperation with Ice Core?"
"If there are such non-majeure factors, AMD will actively help lobby and actively speak out for Yike and Bingxin. Even if the cooperation really has to end, AMD will be Bingxin's last foreign partner." Su Zifeng said seriously.
Said, "We are very optimistic about the technical level of ice core at 16nm. In fact, if we can continue to evolve at this benchmark, this will be enough for many years."
Never mind it, AMD needs to survive now.
Ice Core not only comes up with 16nm, but at the same time, the team headed by Hu Zhengming and Liang Mengsong is responsible for FinFET technology, which will inevitably continue to optimize FinFET.
Intel is about to launch a 14nm Core over there. AMD's flagship product this year is still the 32nm eight-core FX-9590. The notebook is slightly better, the 28nm Kaveri-based quad-core 7600P.
This is so far behind Intel!
Next year, in accordance with the cooperation with GlobalFoundries, we will only use HKMG's 28nm. It is stronger than this year, but it will be worse than its opponents.
Su Zifeng is really fed up with GlobalFoundries, but she just sold the building last year and is still losing money this year. She can't easily tear up the foundry contract. Bingxin has a strong technical team and Yike has abundant funds. Now the two have joined forces.
Facing trouble...
At this time, AMD has established a framework for in-depth cooperation and will soon be able to improve its product capabilities.
As for geopolitical risks, let AMD survive first, and then see how the Yike Department mediates it. If it can mediate for two years, it will be profitable.
If the cooperation is really ended in a short period of time, at the very least, the money for breach of contract with GlobalFoundries will be paid, and we will talk about the rest later.
Su Zifeng has emphasized internally more than once that AMD now needs to focus on products and reduce financial leverage, and this is a change that Yike can bring about in a short period of time.
In addition, Yike now also has its own notebook, which is also a cooperative project.
As Mr. Fang said, AMD is just a company with a market capitalization of US$2 billion. The big guys above are fighting with each other, so we should seize the opportunity first to develop more.
Fang Zhuo touched his chin. It was interesting. AMD sold buildings and factories. It has long been the style of a giant company.
Su Zifeng looked into the eyes of the head of Yike and made a small request: "Mr. Fang, if possible, I would like China to investigate Intel's monopoly."
Fang Zhuo was speechless: "Do you think antitrust is in our company?"
What is it called...
He pulled out the drawer and continued: "Cha Intel, why don't you just bring over an investigation document? I have the official seal of the bureau right here, just stamp it."
Su Zifeng stood up and went to look at the official seal in the drawer.
Fang Zhuo: "..."
Your surname is Su, so you should be like this, right?
He said angrily: "If Intel has a monopoly, just report the problem directly. What's the use of talking to me."
Su Zifeng nodded seriously: "Mr. Fang, I understand."
Fang Zhuo: "..."
He looked at the head of AMD to make sure that she really didn't understand that Yike only did things occasionally, and Intel was also working on baseband cooperation with Yike.
This chapter has been completed!