leonardwarren Chapter 385 Money is not the problem
Chapter 385 Money is not the problem
Ling Yun didn't speak. He walked back to the table and sat down. He looked at Ni Guangnan and said, "Ten billion might not be enough. I've calculated it. For lithography machines alone, at least five billion over five years. Etching machines will also cost three billion. Thin film deposition, two billion. Ion implantation, two billion. In total, one hundred and twenty billion. That's for equipment. Materials will also require investment. Photoresist, high-purity silicon wafers, targets, special gases—investment is needed in each area. In total, five billion. Personnel, facilities, testing lines, wafer fabrication costs—add another three billion. In total, two hundred billion. This is a conservative estimate. In reality, it might cost three hundred billion, or even five hundred billion."
Ni Guangnan walked back and sat down. He looked at Ling Yun and asked, "Where will the 20 billion come from? Electronics factories earn a few hundred million a year. Systems Technology earns a few hundred million a year. Internet cafes earn a few hundred million a year. Added together, it's less than 2 billion. 20 billion will take ten years to earn. Government funding and bank loans are too uncertain. What will we invest in?"
Ling Yun looked at him and smiled mysteriously, "Don't worry, money is not a problem. We don't need government funding or bank loans. I can guarantee an investment of 0 billion US dollars every year. I can't say more. If we stick to investing for ten years, zero output shouldn't be a big problem."
Ni Guangnan froze. His fingers hovered over the table, his eyes fixed on Ling Yun, his mouth slightly open. After about ten seconds, he finally spoke, his voice a little dry: "Ten billion? US dollars? Every year? Ten years?"
Ling Yun took a document out of his bag, opened it, and pushed it over. The first page was a table listing several major categories followed by numbers. Ni Guangnan picked it up and looked closely. He read it aloud: "Lithography machine, five years, $5 billion. Etching machine, five years, $1.5 billion. Thin film deposition, five years, $1 billion. Ion implantation, five years, $1 billion. Photoresist, five years, $500 million. High-purity silicon wafers, five years, $500 million. Target material, five years, $300 million. Specialty gases, five years, $200 million. Personnel, site, test line, wafer fabrication costs, five years, $1 billion. Contingency fund, five years, $4 billion. Total, $15 billion. $5 billion remaining for contingencies."
He put down the file and looked at Ling Yun. He said, "This money is enough to last twenty years. You're going to squander it all in five?"
Ling Yun said, "Five years is the first phase. For lithography machines, we need to produce a prototype within five years. Without a prototype, we can't proceed. For photoresist, we need to achieve mass production within five years. Without mass production, the lithography machine is just for show. For high-purity silicon wafers, we need to be able to supply 30% of the market within five years. If we can't be self-sufficient, we can't reduce costs. This is the bottom line, not the goal."
Ni Guangnan turned to the second page of the document, which contained a timeline with years on the horizontal axis and projects on the vertical axis, each project followed by a progress bar. He looked at it for about a minute, then put the document down. He took off his glasses, wiped the lenses with the corner of his shirt, and put them back on.
"How did you calculate these numbers?"
Ling Yun said, "It's not about the timeline. The deadline is the bottom line. If we don't break through this deadline, we'll fall behind. Once someone sets up patent barriers in front of us, our research will have to change direction and we'll be restricted. As long as we stick to it tight enough, they won't have time to build patent barriers, and we'll have room to maneuver."
"Furthermore, we must not only continuously improve, but also create trouble for our competitors in every field. First, we must drive them out of the low-end product market, then we must eliminate the mid-range profitable products, and then we can compete in the high-end product market. Low-end and mid-range products are the source of their profits. If we uproot these two areas, high-end products will not be able to support their development. At that time, they will either have to stop and wait for us to catch up, or they will be acquired by us."
Ni Guangnan looked at him without speaking. After about half a minute, he nodded and said, "I've worked in technology my whole life, from the 1960s to now. Transistors, integrated circuits, microprocessors—it's been a long journey. Every step of the way, there's been a lack of money. The country didn't have money, the companies didn't have money, the research institutes didn't have money. What we wanted to make, we couldn't make. What we could make, we couldn't make well. What we could make well, nobody used. What we could use, we couldn't sell. What we sold, we didn't make money. What made money, we lacked the technology for. What had the technology, we didn't have the money to invest in. Going around in circles for decades, we're still stuck in the same place. Now you say you have money. You have more money than you can spend. I believe you. From the time I met you until now, everything you said has come true. I believe you about this too. But…"
"But we have the money, not the people. There are no more than twenty people nationwide who can make optical systems for lithography machines. No more than thirty who can make precision machinery. No more than fifty who can make control systems. No more than ten who can make computational lithography software. Where are these people? At the Chinese Academy of Sciences, at the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, at the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, at the Chengdu Institute of Optics and Electronics. They earn a few thousand yuan a month, working on things that won't be used for another ten years. It's a matter of passion; they're the kind of people who dedicate their lives to one thing, and if they succeed, even their deaths will be worthwhile."
Ling Yun looked at Ni Guangnan and said, "Then invite them over. Talk to them one by one, invite them one by one. If you can't invite them, then cooperate. If you can't cooperate, then commission them for research and development. If you can't commission them for research and development, then buy them. If you can't buy them, then develop them yourself. If you don't have enough time to develop them yourself, then poach talent from abroad. If the talent is unwilling to come, then build a laboratory for them locally. Sincerity can move mountains. This path isn't something you walk; it's something you forge. Invest money, invest people, invest time. Invest until it works."
Feeling that things were getting a bit too serious, Lingyun joked, "Poaching foreign talent requires a lot of hard work. We don't need to worry about that; we have headhunters to handle it. Even if we can't poach them, we'll still entice them with offers. Three times the salary is enough to make those companies uneasy."
Ni Guangnan smiled helplessly, "I know why I can't compete with Lao Liu anymore, it's because I don't have as many malicious intentions as you guys."
"I'll take that as a compliment. I'm not like Liu Chuanzhi. He used underhanded tactics, but I used open and aboveboard strategies. I'm also different from compradors. The Liu family is fundamentally sophisticated egoists with no sense of national responsibility. My grandfather was different. He was the only one who survived the war. He had four brothers, and he was the only one left. So, I was taught from a young age that if you don't study hard, you're letting down your country and your people. This isn't a joke; my grandfather and my uncle both taught me this."
"Today is April 1st, 2001!" Ling Yun said with emotion. There are some things he can't change, and some things he can only keep in his heart.
Ni Guangnan was a little puzzled, wondering why Ling Yun was feeling sentimental, but he didn't ask any further questions. He was eager to refine and implement Ling Yun's strategic plan.