I asked you to save a bankrupt factory and you became the richest man in the world.

Chapter 538: Chapter 381-382: The first order for the robot dog! (4000 words)
"Mr. Gao, good news. Our go1 robot dog has now been contacted by the military and is expected to receive orders from the military." A few days after the information about Hillhouse's go1 robot dog was released, Gao Huaijun received a call from Wang Xingxing, head of Hillhouse's AI Innovation BU, who happily told him the news.

It can be seen how much pressure Wang Xingxing has been under during this period.

When such a product comes out, Hillhouse Technology and Hillhouse Vehicles' offline stores and franchise stores, Hillhouse's main account and Xiaoling APP will all direct traffic to this product.

Now the publicity is in place, and sister companies such as Hillhouse Artificial Intelligence, Hillhouse Technology, Hillhouse Vehicles, and Hillhouse Battery have also been empowered.

Even some parts of the research and development were done by special project teams set up by these sister companies to help.

The ideas are yours, the products are yours, and the overall project idea is still yours.

That's it, if you still have problems and the product can't be sold, you really have nothing to say.

At Hillhouse, even the most unknown younger brother, Hillhouse Derivatives Company, can sell hundreds of millions of yuan and generate more than one billion yuan in profits by leveraging the Hillhouse brand.

What if your newly established BU has sales of only 100 or 200 million?
As a big boss, Gao Huaijun would definitely not say anything. Not to mention one or two hundred million, even if it was several billion, he wouldn't mind that little bit!
He placed the Hillhouse AI BU as a spare chess piece, not because he needed it to produce results now, but the key is that Hillhouse can achieve leading results in the embodied robot project ten years later!

What makes Hillhouse at the top of the technology industry is that it still has the strongest imagination.

This is actually a core point of managers' strategic layout.

Like a lot of giant companies in later generations, such as China Petroleum, China Petrochemical, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, etc., as super blue chips, they are broken net value (broken net value means that the stock price has fallen below its net asset value per share. Net assets per share is the balance after deducting all debts from total assets in the balance sheet, which is the lower limit of the stock price. When the stock price is lower than the net asset value per share, it is called "broken net value").

How could a company with such a monopoly on resources and such a huge size arouse such little interest among investors that it is even ignored by everyone?

The core is the lack of imagination.

If you are a company without imagination, it is impossible for you to call the shots in the market or even mobilize resources that do not belong to or match your own size.

In fact, Hillhouse Capital’s current company, Hillhouse Technology, has already shown some corresponding signs.

Smartphone products have reached their limit in terms of development. Their shapes are all similar, and some only have improved performance and some fancy gadgets.

If it weren’t for the tri-fold mobile phone launched by Hillhouse some time ago, this thing would probably have been caught up in the fierce competition.

If you have a product without imagination, you will not be able to increase the premium of your product because you have no scarcity!
Only when a thing becomes scarce and becomes a novelty that others are crazy about, can you reap a high premium in the market.

If scarcity is really that easy to create, then Pingguo Company would not have been stuck on making mobile phones with notch screens for ten years!

After comparing several generations of products, we can say that they are completely identical, if not exactly the same.

It's not that it doesn't want to do it, it's that I can't do it!

Hillhouse now has tens of thousands of R&D engineers, all of whom are paid high salaries, and those are the high salaries of the upper-middle class of Chinese white-collar workers, the kind that both 985 and 211 are vying for. It looks very beautiful and awesome, and driven by strong product power, it can easily produce some good products when the market is good.

But what if he committed suicide now?

If some products cannot be sold normally, then this R&D team that looks very beautiful and awesome will become a huge burden.

Therefore, Gao Huaijun is now thinking about diversifying products to break the drawback of excessive sales share of the two major BGs, Hillhouse Technology and Hillhouse Vehicle.

Gao Huaijun was in a daze, but when he heard what Wang Xingxing said, he couldn't help but feel happy.

He originally thought that the go1 robot dog was at most a gimmick created by Taishan Culture and Tourism, acting as a porter on Mount Tai and doing product promotion.

This machine, which costs about 20 yuan, can be sold 100 units a year, which means the mission is accomplished.

This price is basically the break-even point.

Oh no!

This is the break-even point of manufacturing costs. Since the product output is too small, the manufacturing cost of this robot dog can be said to be high.

It costs a lot of money to make a mold.

The salaries of the hundreds of employees at Hillhouse Capital now, as well as the support costs of sister companies such as Hillhouse Technology, are impossible to calculate!
According to his estimate, as the size of the R&D staff gradually expanded, the loss would be around 2-3 million yuan a year in the first five years.

But now, I didn’t expect that the Chinese army would actually extend a helping hand!

In fact, it can't be considered as extending a helping hand.

This mechanical dog is extremely practical on the battlefield.

"After our product was first unveiled some time ago, this four-legged bionic robot with flexible limbs and rich uses has been attracting the attention of military enthusiasts at home and abroad."

“Of course, this also attracted the attention of the military.”

"I have had in-depth discussions with military personnel. This robot dog is only a soldier's partner on the battlefield. It mainly serves an auxiliary function, helping soldiers on the battlefield to complete reconnaissance and preemptive attacks in specific environments."

Wang Xingxing continued to talk about the content of their exchanges and communications.

This is a large-scale group purchase of embodied robot dogs. As a major customer, of course I will produce whatever you want.

In this era when there are not enough usage scenarios for robot dogs, it is good to have such a stable supply source.

According to Wang Xingxing, the military has several requirements for this product.

One is equipped with a 360° panoramic camera and a thermal imaging dual-spectrum gimbal, which can capture heat sources, detect human bodies, and intelligently transmit on-site images. This requires direct battlefield reconnaissance to determine the enemy's position.

The second is that it uses high-performance pure electric drive and has excellent motion performance. It can climb 40° and 16cm obstacles, such as stairs, etc. There is no need to worry about the robot dog falling, and it can adapt to the complex environment in the city. The core purpose is to fight street battles and serve as a human shield!

The third is the need for a battery component of up to 15000 mAh, which can provide a long battery life of more than 5 hours, coupled with the battery quick replacement function to ensure continuity of use in war.

The fourth is that the remote control distance is greater than 30 meters + APP control - to ensure that soldiers can operate safely in the rear without CQB-style face-to-face output.

The fifth is to ensure a maximum load capacity of 160 kilograms, so that it can easily carry weapons such as flamethrowers, machine guns, rocket launchers, etc. to attack the enemy.

Gao Huaijun nodded repeatedly. It can be seen that the military had already made it clear what specific pain points they would use this product for before communicating with Wang Xingxing.

To sum it up in one sentence, this robot dog can serve as a vanguard in street fighting, as well as a fire cover and a sniper.

Gao Huaijun even came up with some suggestions for improvements to the military's needs. For example, a thermal imaging spectral gimbal that can capture heat sources and detect the human body can be connected to a gun robot dog carrying a machine gun nearby by using Hillhouse's own closed-loop operating system to achieve automatic scanning and attacking of the enemy!
Another thing is to further strengthen the product structure, and carry out diversified vehicle design with the buttstock on the back. A mechanical dog can carry a variety of weapons such as flamethrowers, machine guns, rocket launchers, etc., which makes it more convenient for soldiers to use.

Also, it doesn’t have to be remote controlled. A fixed person can also command the robot dog through emergency voice control.

If you can do these things, this go1 robot dog will be almost the same as an ordinary soldier!

Oh no!

This robot dog is braver and cheaper to use!

Now it only costs about 20 to make a few hundred of them. If they are used by the military and are standardized on a large scale, the cost will be even lower!
Wang Xingxing's eyes lit up after hearing what Gao Huaijun said.

Right!

Why didn't he think of that!

Hillhouse's artificial intelligence is so awesome. I talked about this issue some time ago, but at that time I didn't consider military use. It would be more of a civilian product.

And now if he can make this product well, he will have more money to iterate the next generation of products.

Think about it, embodied robots, this concept that was always hyped in the past, has finally entered the historical stage, he is really excited.

"Don't get excited. How many products does the military initially plan to order?" Gao Huaijun thought of this question again and asked repeatedly.

Wang Xingxing was so happy that he forgot to say the most important thing. He quickly said, "They are currently placing an initial order for 1000 Go1 robot dogs. If they work well, they will order another 5000 next year!"

“If the match is high, they will order 10000 units the year after next!”

"What about the price?" Gao Huaijun asked.

"The current statement is that the first 1000 units can be sold at the original price, which can be regarded as support for the domestic robot industry."

"The price of the next 5000 and 10000 units will be re-priced based on their needs. I think they will need to be discounted by about %."

Wang Xingxing said this cautiously.

It is normal to give big discounts for such large-scale purchases.

However, since Hillhouse Capital is the only one in China that can do this, it is considered a targeted invitation to bid, so the discounts they offer are not too severe.

Gao Huaijun breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

But he also knew that the military would not ask for too high a price.

The military equipment and supplies of Xi’an University are awarded to the supplier with the lowest bid.

For example, I have a budget of 100 million yuan to buy 10 pairs of underpants. Three companies give me quotes. Company A offers 96 yuan for pure cotton + modal.

B quoted a price of 80 for a blended product; C quoted a price of 50 for an acrylic product that would crackle and spark when touched.

All three quotations meet the official data requirements. Guess which one will win the bid in the end?
According to the bidding process of Xi’an University’s military equipment and supplies, bidder C must be the winner.

From now on, every time a soldier from the Western University takes off his pants, he will have to receive an electric shock treatment, which will make his hair stand on end.

The logistics supplies of Dongda University and individual clothing supplies all adopt the cost-effectiveness method, that is, after fixing the bidding price, the bidder with the best performance and no higher bidding price will be the successful bidder.

For example, if one wants to buy 100 pairs of underpants for 10 million yuan, and the performance of the underpants meets the requirements, the bidding process of Dongda Military can ensure that Party A wins the bid, and the final winning bid price will be close to 100 million yuan, and the product will definitely be the one with the largest positive deviation.

This is because the East China University of Technology’s military has a most basic safeguard: budget execution rate.

There are mandatory requirements for the annual budget execution rate. The total budget execution rate must not be less than at least 60%. The special fund execution rate is often required to be 100%, and the special procurement execution rate must be 100%.

Things like training funds, food expenses, wages, allowances and insurance benefits all have rigid regulations on execution rates. If the rate is too low, forget about being evaluated for excellence or awards, and in serious cases, you may be stripped of your job.

Correspondingly, the East China Military has to deal with endless inspections and audits in actual implementation, and every procurement project is a focus of audit.

Therefore, let’s return to Hillhouse’s large-scale targeted purchases.

This is a company that is famous for its strict requirements on product quality, but relatively loose requirements on product prices.

As long as you do a good job, there will be a steady stream of orders!
If you keep trying to win bids with low prices but the quality is terrible, I’m sorry, you will probably be blacklisted next time!

Compared with other industries, the work of the military is more direct and practical.

So this time it was not the B2C transaction that Hillhouse was familiar with, but B2B, so Gao Huaijun asked Wang Xingxing to coordinate with Hillhouse Vehicle and let Hillhouse Vehicle build a production line in Xicheng to produce these 1000 products according to the military's requirements.

Gao Huaijun doesn't care even if these 1000 products don't make money.

It’s just an order worth more than 200 million!
To be honest, in the past, such small matters would not be reported to Gao Huaijun, but would be responded to directly by Ning Yuan.

Now that Wang Xingxing knew that this was the first valid order for Hillhouse Capital BU, he excitedly reported it to Gao Huaijun.

After all, even though he is a straight man, he knows that managing upwards and letting his superiors know what he is doing and what good results he has achieved is a very important thing.

After listening to what Gao Huaijun said, Wang Xingxing patted his chest and nodded. He promised to complete the task successfully this time and not embarrass Gao Ling!
"We'll serve the army well. They're a big money sponsor. Also, ask them if they have any other needs. We can also provide customized solutions to meet their needs." Gao Huaijun said happily afterwards.

In his opinion, robots are highly customized.

This is just like the robotic arms in Hillhouse’s major factories. The robotic arms used in each process are different!

(End of this chapter)