The problems faced by Yike and Bingxin were multifaceted. Even though Fang Zhuo had made a lot of preparations, he still felt stressed when encountering such fast and precise restrictions from BIS.
These unconventional competitions are not static and may cause chain reactions, so no one is careful.
Ice core is trapped in the supply of photoresist, and there is an unfavorable operating time limit. The problem of Yike will be transmitted slower, but the US market is already exiting step by step, and outside of them, Yike is in the domestic market The competitive situation of e-commerce seems to have suddenly become clearer.
A live broadcast by the head of Yike with a huge traffic has further made Douyin famous. Along with it, there is also a vibrant live broadcast e-commerce, which has attracted many third-party merchants and bloggers who have accumulated fans in the past year. They were all very excited.
Among them, the one who acted fastest was Li Guoqing.
He has been thinking about the realization of commercial value since he joined the short video platform. He has experience in e-commerce and is relatively free of funds and resources. He suddenly saw the performance of Douyin's traffic conversion, and after just a little observation, he carried out vigorously and full of expectations. Another entrepreneurial start-up.
I have worked in e-commerce, engaged in group buying, and invested. I am very senior. I once drank with major Internet leaders and was Mr. Fang’s opponent. Now I have learned to laugh at myself and know how to stay on the Internet...
If you don’t start a business while the hot weather is hot, wouldn’t it be a gift from God and you will be blamed for it?
No, Li Guoqing is more cautious.
He has been tortured many times. This time before he really made up his mind, he seriously sent a long and easy letter to Mr. Fang, introducing his situation, expressing his views on e-commerce live streaming, and showing how to develop well on the Douyin platform. Hope, and finally expressed his desire to hear Mr. Fang’s opinion.
Perhaps Mr. Fang was too busy recently, so it took a day for this Yi Xin to be replied to, which also made Li Guoqing's sinking mood suddenly become hot again.
"Qingzi, you are too polite. The prospects of live streaming e-commerce are good. An experienced person like you can definitely do it. You just need to pay attention to ensuring the quality of the product so that it can last longer."
Li Guoqing even directly posted this reply from Mr. Fang in his latest video, and also widely solicited from netizens the name of the new company.
——Mr. Fang really just calls you "Qingzi"??
——Just call it "Qingzi Selection", like it if you agree, so Qingzi can always see it.
Due to the huge difference in the popularity of the answers to this solicitation of opinions, Li Guoqing simply implemented his "internet sense" to the end and organized the "Qingzi Selection" in a way that was updated every day.
The blossoming of an old tree by such an Internet business veteran is just a microcosm of the development of Douyin live e-commerce. Yike Department’s Double Eleven event has proven the feasibility of new traffic platforms in e-commerce, and Yigou can even provide Partial warehousing and excellent logistics services, coupled with the focus on Tmall in the past two years, is there any reason not to try more?
Tmall is the first to launch live e-commerce, but the overall e-commerce traffic is still a problem. It is naturally stronger than Tesco. However, the traffic of social media platforms is not of the same order. When this kind of traffic can be used for e-commerce With the transformation of quotient, the trend of strength and weakness has been reversed.
Ah’s expansion momentum this year has been strong. However, when Double Eleven passed, people in the industry discovered a new situation. Ah seemed to be slowing down competition in other markets, and the overall increase in stock price since its listing suddenly stopped.
The reason is not mysterious. Yike Group has gathered the resources of Yixin, E-commerce, Douyin, Mi Tuan and other companies to counterattack the core business of Ah, making people unable to see the future of Ah.
I originally 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 suffer along with it...
"A traffic theory" and "a new era of live streaming e-commerce" are remarks that appeared before Double Eleven and have once again gained new popularity.
Fang Zhuo's working time is almost all allocated to Bing Xin and Yike, but during off hours, he can still hear Teacher Xiao Su's informal report.
This naturally makes him happy to see the results, but because the thorny problem at hand cannot be solved, the joy is like a small ripple on the surface of the lake.
On December 9, just as Fang Zhuo was finishing the meeting in a hurry and was about to take a flight to Beijing, he suddenly received a call from Professor Hu Zhengming and learned that the other party had arrived in Shanghai and wanted to talk about the ice core situation.
Fang Zhuo was a little surprised, so he changed his itinerary and waited for Professor Hu to come.
Hu Zhengming is currently semi-retired at Ice Core. On the one hand, he is still studying the optimization of FinFET processes, and on the other hand, he is investing in education and scientific research.
At ten o'clock in the morning, Fang Zhuo met Hu Zhengming and felt that this man was in good spirits.
He was just about 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 with great solemnity.
"It's not hard, it's mainly because everyone worked hard." Fang Zhuo felt that the old professor was quite formal today.
Hu Zhengming sighed with emotion: "You have been reduced to performing live broadcasts, and you are not working hard."
"Well...if the number of people watching my performance increases to several million, it won't be called performing arts." Fang Zhuo said with a smile, "This is called a new attempt by public media."
"Mr. Fang, you are the one." Hu Zhengming gave a thumbs up and turned to the topic, "Once the photoresist is limited, the ice core will be more difficult 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, others also know it, and 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 for 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 transmission.
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 make 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, and 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 is too advanced 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 it achieved some results, it was still unsatisfactory. In the end, it 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 ideas about ice cores.
"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, it will be difficult to overcome, so I will go over." Hu Zhengming said slowly, "Let's make the technology more mobile."
"BIS has concerns about 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 solve the problem and then solve other optimization problems. 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 is for election reasons or interest disputes, then we have to seize this little 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. Ice Core has gradually gained experience in adjusting equipment processes. Xinyang Luzhou's R&D will definitely be able to achieve a competitive yield rate."
The results show that 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 smiled: "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 continue 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 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, things would be worse than they are 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 reluctance. 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 laugh and said: "Professor Hu, SMIC and Ice Core have made some progress in 16nm technology exchanges. Now it is very difficult and risky to ask people to abandon 16nm and switch to 10nm.
"
"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, but I stepped in and stopped its step-by-step research and development. This..."
"President 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 Ah, 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, Bingxin 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 control of SMIC before, and now it's not for you to do so.
Doing something that is harmful to nature is just taking some risks, what’s wrong with that?”
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, then no one will gossip about it, right?"
Fang Zhuo sighed: "I never meant any harm..."
His words were interrupted by the ringing of the cell phone on the table.
Fang Zhuo took a look and saw that it was from Google.
"Regardless of bad intentions or good intentions, who can say anything to you at this time?" Hu Zhengming said one more thing before Mr. Fang answered the phone.
Fang Zhuo indicated that we would talk later.
But as soon as he pressed the phone, an angry voice suddenly came to his ears.
"Fang Zhuo!!"
Fang Zhuo couldn't help but put the phone slightly away from his ear.
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.
"La, 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!!" La was furious.
Fang Zhuo was really confused: "What's wrong with me?"
"Whose people are doing the German map company that Yike wants to acquire!?" La 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 were behind that company!" La said word by word.
Fang Zhuo pondered deeply and thought about what kind of answer the other party wanted.
La had already read the answer from the silence. He sneered: "Fang Zhuo, Mr. Fang, you really never take 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 me?"
La La 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 your fault that Google can't do it in China! What's wrong with 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, I'm struggling. What kind of map should I make if I don't want to please you? Why should I?"
"Is it your investment or your people?" La insisted on this point.
"You have a lot to do, okay, okay, I drove and mapped the German maps road by road, so what?" Fang Zhuo also raised his voice, "As long as Google doesn't abide by the contract, then Yike can only To 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..." La couldn't bring it up in one breath, so he only said Fang Zhuo's name. Google had already spoken for Yi Ke at the Washington meeting, and he had personally communicated with the White House and had already taken on the pressure. I never wanted to receive news from Europe, but I noticed that a Chinese executive of the new C.M Map Company in Germany is from the AutoNavi company in China.
AutoNavi has now been acquired by Yike and has become an important member of Yike YMS.
For this piece of news, Ladu 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.
La La calmed down: "This C.M 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. What Google has achieved today is rare in the world." Fang Zhuoxian commented, and then said, "I just don't trust Google CEO Schmidt, he is very unpredictable."
"Can I be more unpredictable than you?" Lala 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 is close to the military. Am I the only one who worries about relationships? Where does he stand? "
Pull silence.
Fang Zhuo reiterated: "If people don't harm me, I won't harm others. La, 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?" ?”
La's anger subsided a little. He no longer wanted to question or continue the conversation. He also did not answer Mr. Fang's questions. He only said in the end: "Mr. Fang, Yike better always be 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.
"Friends?" 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 talked about you wanting 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: "I hope Yike will continue to be strong. Ha, they'd better kill Yike directly. Otherwise, they have to 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 come and 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 to engage in technical cooperation. It is a game of chess for the industry and strives to capture the market share of GLOBALFOUNDRIES and UMC! Stop living, don't live anymore!"
"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 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 Mr. Fang, who was red-eyed. Hearing this, he 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."