The Millennium Semiconductor Survival Guide.

Chapter 281 Patent Disclosure
"Then how many users did you have in the last month, and how many daily activities?" When the investors asked for details, the founder team began to talk about him.

In fact, the initial value is too small, so I started advertising to attract traffic recently, and found that the drainage effect is good, and the number of users finally exploded, and I hope to attract investment from the outside to further advertise and attract traffic.

Of course, the financial services in Silicon Valley are too mature. Not only companies but also individuals will make venture capital. There are many programmers who were originally employees of an initial company and then went public to achieve financial freedom. They will do some venture capital.

This type of venture capital actually doesn’t have much ability to identify projects, and they don’t delve into data such as the number of users. This type of investment is more about people, whether I am familiar with the founders, and whether the product is imaginative enough.

When Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin raised $100 million in investment, let alone users, the demo of Google's search engine hadn't been written yet.

Now mobile Internet investment has initially shown the momentum of the Internet wave back then. As long as your resume is convincing enough, even if you have nothing, investors will dare to invest.

Some middle-level companies in Matrix colluded with entrepreneurs to start companies that are even more sought after, because the middle-level has some power in their hands, such as the recommendation position of the Mphone application store, and such resources are the best evidence.

This is the same as in the years when Taobao rose, any taoxiaoer could enjoy the dividends of the times, and now Matrix has made its debut, and some middle-level people have enjoyed the dividends brought by power.

After the start of the wave of mobile Internet, electronic payment has been plundered in American, and when other electronic payments are still doing web payment, NewPay, the only company with QR code technology, has killed all parties in the field of offline payment.

All traditional consumer companies who want to do electronic payment can only choose NewPay as their partner.

X.com launched an electronic payment function based on infrared pulse technology, the predecessor of NFC technology, but this function is much more complicated than QR codes for large-scale promotion.

First of all, it is necessary to purchase special equipment that supports NFC function, and secondly, mobile phones must also support NFC function. In later generations until 2016, many smartphones did not support NFC function, let alone now.

It is almost impossible to roll out this solution on a large scale. A few retail giants that were tied to X.com’s deep interests also gave up this idea after doing cost calculations, and only tried to promote it in a few supermarkets.

This also requires the cooperation of both consumers and mobile phone manufacturers. Only a few companies on the market have launched smartphones that support NFC functions. To be precise, only two smartphones support NFC functions. Secondly, the market share of these two mobile phones Poorly low.

Within the radiation range of retail stores that support X.com offline electronic payment, the number of consumers of these two mobile phones is pitifully small. At the same time, they are X.com customers and are willing to pay through X.com. not enough.

The cruel reality made Musk realize that NFC is not something that X.com can promote at all.This can only be promoted by the power of the state or the power of industry alliances.

"This is completely unrealistic, we need to convince a large number of traditional enterprises to spend high costs to transform their payment equipment, and at the same time, we cannot guarantee much profit.

The companies under Newman have formed a matching strategy. The benefits of cooperating with NewPay are visible to the naked eye. The benefits of cooperating with X.com are only in the imagination. We spend billions of dollars to subsidize offline merchants and let them do NFC transformation It is completely worth the candle.

It is better to use this money to lobby in Washington and let Washington pass an executive order to force NewPay to open their QR code patent. This is much more realistic than us rebuilding a system. "Musk is very realistic.

The supporting strategy formed by the three companies NewPay, Tencent, and Alibaba can be called a dimensionality reduction blow in this era.

Tencent's office software has only been instant messaging software at the beginning, then office software and office sharing, and now data analysis.

Adopting Tencent's complete solution can help enterprises tap the value of data from the data, and NewPay can connect with Tencent's data analysis software through the interface, and the data can be updated in real time. For enterprises, they can grasp the latest operating status in real time, and at the same time Analyze the future.

For retail companies, the biggest advantage of this combination is that it speeds up the turnover rate of goods. The inventory turnover rate may have been 180 days before, but now this time has been shortened to [-] days.

This is a qualitative leap for them.

In addition, Alibaba provides online shopping solutions, and the data can also be integrated into Tencent's data analysis software, providing enterprises with a large number of valuable analysis conclusions from the perspective of data.

Compared with this set of Internet supporting strategies for later generations, X.com is somewhat vulnerable.

Musk intends to put pressure on Washington that Microsoft wants to buy X.com.

"X.com is currently the second largest electronic payment software on the market, occupying more than [-]% of the market share"

Microsoft's executives in charge of the strategic acquisition department are reporting to Ballmer that Microsoft has already positioned the most important strategy to enter the smartphone field. In order to realize this strategy, acquisitions at the hardware level are far from enough.

Microsoft acquired Plam, a handheld computer company, and then reached an agreement with BlackBerry, intending to acquire BlackBerry. With Mphone in front, BlackBerry is far less famous and popular than later generations.

Of course, for Microsoft, a company of the size of BlackBerry is just right, with a certain number of loyal users, and no historical burden, and the debt is also within a completely controllable range, which will not cause any burden on Microsoft's financial situation. .

Ballmer also wants to acquire software companies, and the electronic payment field is Microsoft's target.

Microsoft has studied the ecology of Mphone internally, and learned about the built-in software of MOS. The instant messaging software has MSN, and the community Microsoft also has benchmarking software.

Only in the field of electronic payment, Microsoft is blank, so Ballmer asked the strategic acquisition department to do market research.

Ballmer interrupted: "More than [-]%? Is X.com's market share so high? Why don't I see anyone using X.com around me, and everyone is using NewPay.

Or is it that X.com is focusing on the lower market? "

The executive murmured: "The statistical caliber here is the number of users. X.com has completed the accumulation of original users with a series of incentive plans. If the caliber is replaced by the payment amount or the number of payments, X.com's market share The rates are all around 5.00%.”

Ballmer complained: "What are the federal courts doing? Haven't they seen such obvious monopoly behavior?
When Microsoft's market share was 80.00%, it had already been sued twice by Colombia. "

Seeing that the air pressure was wrong, the executive said in a low voice: "The federal court also sued NewPay, but NewPay's electronic payment is only a supplementary part of traditional payment, which has been unanimously approved by the jury.

If traditional payments are included, NewPay's market share is less than 20.00%. "

Ballmer was shocked: "Including traditional payment, does NewPay's market share exceed [-]%?"

Electronic payment is a new thing. In just over three years, electronic payment can bite off more than [-]% of the market share in traditional payment, which is a rather exaggerated figure.

The executive nodded: "Because NewPay not only occupies an absolute dominant position on the personal side, but also has an advantage in some subdivided commercial fields.

For example, foreign trade, because NewPay has electronic payment licenses in both Huaguo and American, and they occupy the largest market share in the credit guarantee business in the middle, which is not a small scale.

NewPay also occupies a place in the foreign trade between us and Maple Leaf Country, between us and Neon, and between us and Europe. It is these foreign trade transactions that make NewPay’s annual transaction amount reach a very exaggerated level.

The industry currently describes NewPay as American's fifth largest bank. "

Ballmer was not depressed after listening to it, because he realized that the potential in the field of electronic payment is far greater than he imagined.

It is beautiful to think about the potential of NewPay to achieve the size of NewPay and the growth it can bring to Microsoft.

"Has X.com been involved in the foreign trade industry?" Ballmer asked.

The executive replied: "There is also foreign trade, but because the proportion is too small, it is not included in the statistical caliber by professional institutions. Because X.com is not a listed company, we cannot see the public data.

I only know that they have business, but the specific amount and scope of radiation are not clear. Later, we can ask them for data during business negotiations with X.com, including external audits before the formal acquisition. We can also focus on this area Troubleshoot. "

Ballmer nodded: "It is impossible to acquire NewPay, we can only consider the second-ranked company.

X.com is also good. Since they can achieve the second position, it shows that they still have strength.

Let's get ready to negotiate with them. "

"Boss, the only problem is that X.com has huge disadvantages in offline payment. Their offline payment technology is not based on QR codes, but a set of very complicated technologies. The patent of QR code payment has been in NewPay is not open to the outside world.

X.com's technology has slowed their promotion in the mobile Internet field. In the words of a technology commentator: If NewPay does not open up its technology, X.com will have no hope in the offline payment field.

So the acquisition of X.com may not be so consistent with our mobile Internet strategy. "

Ballmer asked: "Is it possible to force NewPay to open up its patents?"

The executive replied: "X.com, Amazon, Ebay have been trying, but so far they have not succeeded.

However, according to our news in Washington, the tone of financial institutions has been loosened. After some banks tried to enter the field of electronic payment, they also found it difficult to move without QR codes.

If there is no QR code, the bank's mobile phone application can only be used as a record-type application and cannot be used for offline payment, which will be extremely tasteless.

Therefore, according to our judgment, even though there are many financial institutions behind NewPay, they will still be unable to bear this pressure sooner or later, and will disclose the QR code technology to other companies for use, at least in the form of patent authorization.

So I think the acquisition of X.com is not a big problem, and we can take the opportunity to lower the price of X.com. "

Ballmer nodded: "Talk to them."

As stated in Microsoft's internal conversations, NewPay is facing tremendous pressure. Washington has repeatedly talked to NewPay executives through regulatory caliber to inquire about their views on open patents.

At the same time, banks that have no shareholding in NewPay are trying to form public opinion and let NewPay open the QR code patent.

Zhou Xin and Peter Thiel reached an agreement:
"In November, let's first talk about the internal discussion on the opening of the QR code patent, and then discuss about a month later, the opening of the QR code patent to the outside world.

As for some preventive technologies on security, there will be charges.

Whether it is a bank or an electronic payment institution, when talking to us, we must make it clear that you need to solicit more internal opinions on the payment method. "

Zhou Xin knows that this general trend cannot be stopped. With the help of QR code technology, he has gained enough first-mover advantage. When the wave of mobile Internet comes, everyone realizes that there is no way without QR code. Technology disclosure.

This is like the future generations of Neon holding a bunch of hydrogen energy-related technologies in their hands, and the technologies are not open, so no one is playing with his system. It is impossible for the technology to be developed by itself, and we can only watch ourselves invest resources. The developed technology lies moldy in the patent library.

The logic of the QR code is different, but the core is the same. Sometimes technology sharing is to better achieve strategic goals.

Tesla’s publication of patents is a similar logic. The more electric vehicles there are, the more valuable Tesla is. Being number one in the mass market is far more valuable than being the number one in the niche field.

Even the top ten in the mass market is more valuable than the number one in the niche.

Of course, Zhou Xin will not sit still. After deciding to open the QR code technology, he approached Pony: "WeChat payment can be launched."

Pony is a little excited, because he knows what payment means to Tencent's ecology, which means more perfection.

After doing data analysis, Pony deeply realized that data is value. When WeChat and payment are combined, WeChat can have more and more valuable data.

At the same time, WeChat can also launch some unique paid functions to generate revenue.

For example, payment for official account articles, this revenue point, has long been thought of by WeChat, but Zhou Xin had already asked Pony to do WeChat payment at that time, so they never opened this function.

It can be opened without WeChat payment, it is nothing more than a payment switch, switch to NewPay to complete the payment, but WeChat will have its own WeChat payment in the future, so WeChat would rather not have this function, and do not want to transfer to NewPay to complete the payment.

Pony nodded: "Okay, I will make preparations here, whether it is security, stability, or stress testing under high concurrency, we have done very well internally.

At present, WeChat has close to hundreds of millions of users, and we can guarantee that there will be no problems. "

(End of this chapter)