Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 1295 Moore’s Law

In the life that Zhou Zhi traveled through, the well-known VCD machine was actually developed by these two people.

However, Zhou Zhi didn't know about these two people. He just asked AXA Fund to pay attention to digital audio and video technology when searching for electronic product patents, so these two people naturally came into AXA's sight.

The brand name of China's first VCD player is Wanyan, which is actually composed of one word from the names of Jiang Wanmeng and Sun Yansheng.

In other words, history has actually embarked on a path that is different from the previous life but also somewhat similar to the previous life under the influence of Zhou Zhi, but Zhou Zhi himself is not aware of it.

Of course, these are things for later. Zhou Zhi is just here to supervise the work this time.

After watching the demonstrations of the two models, Zhou Zhi understood that Lao Hu and the others were actually more anxious to get angry than himself.

After Liao Hongxing left with his things, Zhang Wen made tea for several people, and Zhou Zhi, Hu Changfeng, and Xiao Qianwei entered the chatting stage. Zhou Zhi said: "I didn't expect that Hua Hong's style is the same as fighting. He is so vigorous and resolute."

"Moore's Law is so frustrating..." Hu Changfeng sat on the sofa next to the coffee table and poured tea for Zhou Zhi. This was also the tea ceremony he learned in the south: "The former committed evil, and the magistrate attached a profile. Who allowed us to catch up with this trip? Woolen cloth?"

The so-called Moore's Law in the semiconductor industry means that when the price remains constant, the number of components that can be accommodated on an integrated circuit will double every eighteen to twenty-four months.

In other words, according to Moore's Law, the performance of electronic products with the same price will double in 18 to 24 months.

On a chip the size of a fingernail, there are millions of transistors.

Moore's Law marks the speed of progress in information technology and technology.

Of course, this law is not like this from the beginning, or it has positive significance. For example, one becomes two, and two becomes four. Is it important? Not important at all.

But what happens when technology accumulates from 50 million to 100 million, or from 100 million to 200 million in the same period of time?

That is a qualitative leap.

In 1990, the world's first integrated circuit chip with a process smaller than one micron was born, announcing the "third industrial revolution" marked by semiconductor development and entering the "ultra-micron era."

The power of Moore's Law has been fully demonstrated. This law was deemed reliable for at least the next thirty-four years.

At this time, China decided to start catching up with the world, which was destined to be difficult.

"Fortunately, it's not too late." Xiao Qianwei, as the general manager of Huahong, is very clear about the country's industrial layout intentions: "It's just that the difficulty is a bit high, far more difficult than the hydrogen bomb and the atomic bomb."

"That is inevitable." Zhou Zhi said: "Although two bombs are difficult, they can only be regarded as products at best. Semiconductors are difficult because they are industries."

"This is why the crisis of Project 908 came about." Hu Changfeng said: "Although a six-inch large-scale integrated circuit production line was introduced, it suffered losses year after year due to poor management..."

The original plan of Project 908 was to invest 1.2 billion yuan, with the goal of setting up a 6-inch chip production line with a monthly output of 1 pieces, using a -micron process.

This parameter has seriously lagged behind the world's leading level in 1994, but even so, this production line is still in a state of "waiting for rice to be ready" and has no output value.

Now that the investment has dropped by one-fifth, Huajing Electronics Group, which runs this production line, is on the verge of bankruptcy. The state requires Hu Changfeng to do everything possible to save this huge loss.

Hu Changfeng stood on the beach in Zhangjiang and finished smoking two boxes of Daqianmen. The only possible way he could think of was a joint venture. Only by introducing strategic cooperation capital, lowering one's stature and becoming a foundry for capitalists.

At the critical moment, AXA Fund extended a helping hand to Hu Changfeng, and the terms offered were 10,000 times better than those offered by the Japanese company NEC.

AXA invested US$50 million to acquire the production line of Huajing Electronics Group, originally located in Wuxi, and moved it to Zhangjiang as capital to participate in Huahong Group.

At the same time, the Intellectual Property Department under AXA has opened to Huahong Group the intellectual property rights of key technologies such as the four-leaf clover MiniCOS underlying instruction set, three types of radio frequency IC cards, streaming media file encoding and decoding protocols, and VC infrastructure EDC engineering software development tools. , commissioned Huahong Group to develop IC cards and streaming media decoding chips.

In addition, AXA also commissioned Huahong Group to establish a downstream product research and development department to develop multi-format audio digital players.

The hardware is not enough and the software is not enough. The stacking of these things can allow Huahong to open up the entire industry chain. At least it can rely on the production of IC cards to ensure that it does not lose. At the same time, it also has two world-leading digital audio chips and a world-leading digital audio chip. product.

As the main undertaker of Project 908 launched by the country after the basic failure of Project 909, Huahong's task was originally to undertake the construction of ultra-large-scale integrated circuit chip production line projects and the construction of wafer fabs. But if we still follow the original path, the future of 909 will not escape the fate of 908.

Now that the opportunity for change has finally been grasped, at least Hu Changfeng has seen the hope of "having a long tassel in hand".

Be down-to-earth, work steadily, use demand to drive research and development, and make products according to the market. First build small villas in rural areas, accumulate funds and power, and then build high-rise buildings in big cities after the foundation is laid.

This was the solution Zhou Zhi proposed to Hu Changfeng.

Of course, AXA is not giving it for free. Behind this plan, AXA will obtain 40% of the shares of Huahong Group.

The total investment planned by Huahong Group is US$2.2 billion, and it has just invested US$200 million. AXA's investment is only US$50 million, but it has to take 4% of the current total investment of one-fifth. The reason for the 10 shares is the two agreements for intellectual property licensing and underwriting of 50 million sets of chips.

Without AXA, there would be nothing like this. The value of intellectual property rights is generally difficult to reflect in China today, but now there is an exception.

This exception, after Hu Changfeng examined his current conditions, he thought it was worthwhile.

There is also a consensus among senior management that the conditions offered by Huahong are actually the best among the major potential partners and are also the most suitable for Huahong's own development. They do not put Huahong in the position of a foundry. We regard Huahong as a true partner.

Although the income cannot yet be expected, the underwriting agreement of 50 million sets of chips has given Hu Changfeng sufficient confidence.

Fifty million sets, 100 million pieces, 20 yuan a piece, which is an output value of 4 billion. If it loses, AXA will bear it. If it makes a profit, Huahong will still get a commission from the profits. This is already a win-win situation. .

Of course, he still hopes that AXA can win this bet. Even if he wins or loses, he does not want this to become a one-time deal: "I heard that you went to the capital to take the exam this time? How did you do in the exam? ah?"

"It's not bad." Zhou Zhi smiled and said, "I originally said that I would go back after coming here to visit Uncle Hu. Since Worker Xu claimed that he was confident of completing the prototype trial production of the Walkman, I really won't leave."

"That's good." Hu Changfeng said: "Then Mr. Xiao and I can take you around in the past few days. We can visit several research institutes, radio factories, wafer factories, and chip factories in Shanghai. Beiling, You can go to Shanghua to see it.”

(End of this chapter)