Chapter five hundred and eighty fifth wholly-owned acquisition
“The Android of IoT!”
Zhang Yida chewed on this sentence repeatedly and felt that this expression was very vivid.
"In 2019, the group will invest 10 billion yuan in IoT to help the industry take off."
Zhang Yida glanced at everyone lightly, taking in everyone's reactions.
Except for Wang Jie, no one present was too surprised.
Several scientists in the Internet of Things Laboratory may be a little more excited, because a large part of these funds will go to the laboratories they manage.
For scientists, nothing makes them happier than abundant funding for scientific research.
Taking out 10 billion in cash is not too difficult for Ruixiang, it can even be said to be easy.
In the past few years, Ruixiang Group's investment in technology has been several times this amount.
Wang Jie really felt the courage of the technology giants. Taking out 10 billion is just like ordinary people taking out 100 yuan.
It would be great if I invested so much money in developing my own VR equipment.
However, she only dared to think about it in her mind. After all, the VR market has not yet fully exploded, and there are certain risks in investing.
What's more, they are just an inconspicuous holding subsidiary of Ruixiang, and she is not qualified to influence Zhang Yida's decision.
Zhang Yida continued, "Part of this 10 billion will be used to upgrade Xiaorui speakers and launch smarter and more perfect second-generation products as soon as possible.
In addition, the research and development of IoT underlying architecture technology needs to continue to be strengthened. If there is insufficient manpower, the team of scientists will continue to be expanded.
Another part should be used to cultivate the industrial ecosystem and organize an Internet of Things developer conference.
The group's strategic investment department will also cooperate with Huayi Capital, Blackshirt Capital, Zhenke Fund and other investment institutions to incubate and invest in projects with potential entrepreneurial teams.
In addition, the group will also collaborate with the Ministry of Education on industry-education integration projects to fund IoT-related projects in colleges and universities.”
A young scientist in his forties commented with a smile, "I very much support Mr. Zhang's decision. To become a top IoT company, this is indeed what we need to do.
We must invest in the construction of the IoT developer ecosystem for a long time and at the same time promote the positive development of the entire IoT industry."
Zhang Yida smiled and said, "It's not that great. After all, the cake is bigger, so each player can get more of it. Ahri is also doing the same things we are doing."
Each of the other scientists also expressed their own opinions, and Zhang Yida listened to them one by one.
After the meeting, Zhang Yida asked Wang Jie to stay alone.
"Mr. Wang, I have long admired your name."
Zhang Yida looked at this well-known female player in the VR industry and said politely.
"Mr. Zhang, don't call me that, just call me Wang Jie."
Wang Jie waved her hands repeatedly, she did not dare to accept Zhang Yida's title.
When people call me this, they think highly of themselves. It's so stupid that they don't know how to respond.
She has been in the VR industry for fourteen years and has rich workplace experience.
Zhang Yida smiled and did not bother with this small issue of title.
"I heard that the development of sses X1 is about to be completed?" Zhang Yida asked lightly.
"Yes, this is the first consumer-grade ultra-thin VR glasses we will launch."
As soon as he talked about the product, Wang Jie immediately introduced it nonstop.
After hearing this, Zhang Yida nodded and asked: "What are your thoughts on the subdivision of VR hardware?"
Wang Jie didn't know whether Zhang Yida's words were meant to test her, or if he had other meanings.
She smiled slightly and said conservatively: "The current idea is to polish the product and rely on product quality and reputation to increase market share."
Zhang Yida nodded, "Yes, good products can win reputation among users."
Then he changed his tone and said, "However, VR is not like mobile phones, and its development is already very mature.
When users purchase a VR device, in addition to quality and experience, they also value service and content.
Now the major VR manufacturers are working on their own, and although they have authorized each other's app stores, there are still too few compatible apps."
Wang Jie is a practitioner in this industry and knows the ins and outs of it very well. He said with a smile: "I have to rely on Mr. Zhang from now on. I heard that Ruixiang has been working hard on VR games, videos and other content, and is still building
VR App Development Tools and Store.”
Zhang Yida nodded, "Yes, VR has great synergy with our content industry, so we have been sparing no effort to expand our VR layout."
Wang Jie said with a smile: “I have always felt that Mr. Zhang is very forward-looking, and when I met him today, he certainly lived up to his reputation.
The VR industry currently has a small market, but as 5G and other technologies mature, it will surely usher in a golden stage of development."
Zhang Yida said with a smile, "Ruixiang wants to fully acquire Sess, what do you think?"
Wang Jie didn't expect that there would be such a problem, so she asked: "Mr. Zhang, aren't we already indirectly controlled by Ruixiang? Is it necessary to acquire a full share of the company?"
Zhang Yida sighed, "You are currently limited by funds and size, and your development is too slow.
If Ruixiang continues to inject capital, your shareholding ratio will definitely decrease. It is better to join Ruixiang directly, so that the communication between the two parties will be smoother and it will be more beneficial to the development of sses."
Wang Jie started to think about it, and just now Zhang Yida unknowingly talked about the dependence of hardware on content.
It can be said that without the content support of Ruixiang, even if sses develops, the room for improvement will be very limited.
By fully acquiring sses, Ruixiang's resources will not be wasted, and all the meat will rot in the pot.
And compared to the behemoth like Ruixiang, sses is indeed too small, incomparable in size, and very uncoordinated.
When Ruixiang enters VR hardware, it is natural that it will target Facebook, Sony, and HTC.
I really don't pay much attention to this small company of my own, so the full acquisition of sses must be the basis for a bigger plan.
After thinking about it, it seems that I really have no reason to object.
However, Wang Jie still wanted to stay in the VR industry, so she asked tentatively: "If Sess is acquired by Ruixiang, how will the employees be arranged?"
Zhang Yida recognized her little Jiujiu at a glance, and everyone understood it tacitly, but he didn't point it out.
"Sess has been acquired, and the employees will naturally be Ruixiang employees. You will continue to serve as CEO.
At the same time, Ruixiang will also invest a large amount of funds in team expansion, product research and development, sales, etc.
In addition, the original sses management team, including you, will enjoy Ruixiang’s equity incentives.”
Zhang Yida felt that his conditions were enough and looked at Wang Jie, waiting for her reply.
Wang Jie quickly made a decision and said with a smile: "I am personally very willing to join Ruixiang. I just need to discuss it with the shareholders and the management team.
Mr. Zhang, please give me a week, and I promise to give you a definite answer."
Zhang Yida met and talked about this, and the target was not big, several hundred million.
So I didn’t talk about the price. I just called Lan Lan over and she was responsible for the subsequent pricing and detailed negotiations.
sses has a good foundation. According to IDC statistics, sales in Q3 last year accounted for 1.8% of the global market, second only to Pico, another domestic all-in-one VR machine manufacturer. Sony and Facebook both have 20 to 30% market share.
In addition, sses has more than 300 patents, making it the VR manufacturer with the most patents in China.
Compared with the 600 million yuan valuation when Digital Domain bought shares last year, Lanlan increased its valuation by 200 million yuan to 800 million yuan.
Wang Jie didn't hesitate. After all, Sess was not a big company. He readily agreed to the price and flew back to Pengcheng to inform the shareholders and management team.