aircannonsinc Chapter 388 Domestic Chip Alliance
Chapter 388 Domestic Chip Alliance
Ni Guangnan paused, looked around, but no one spoke.
He continued, "There's one more thing, which is the alliance's charter. The organizations present today are all founding members of the alliance. The alliance has no chairman, no vice-chairman, no secretary-general, and no standing directors. There are no membership fees, no charter, no sign, and no office. If there's anything, just make a phone call. If you encounter a problem that can't be solved, you hold a meeting to discuss it. After the meeting, everyone goes back to their own work. If you need assistance, contact us individually or coordinate with the Xinghuo Group. There's no formalism or bureaucracy, and there's no leading unit. Whoever does the work gets paid. Whoever doesn't work is out. It's that simple."
The meeting room was silent for about ten seconds. A private business owner sitting in the second row stood up. He was in his early forties and wearing a gray jacket. He looked at Ni Guangnan, then at Ling Yun sitting in the back row, and then turned back to look at Ni Guangnan.
"Mr. Ni, let me be frank. We've been making semiconductor equipment for seven or eight years, and we've been losing money the whole time. It's not that our technology is bad, it's that there's no market. Domestic companies don't use our equipment, and foreign companies can't get in. We're barely hanging on with the meager national research funding each year; we won't starve, but we won't survive either."
"After today's meeting, I understand it better. Xinghuo Group is spending money to bring everyone together and invest in research and development to achieve technological breakthroughs in the semiconductor industry. Some things aren't about money; it's about having users for your products. Only when people use them can you get feedback, and only then can your equipment be updated and improved. If you use our equipment, we can survive. If we survive, we can improve. If we improve, we can become even better. If we become even better, we can sell it. If we sell it, we can make money. If we make money, we can continue to invest. It's a virtuous cycle. The money you're giving us is more, faster, and simpler than national projects. I'll go back and prepare the materials and submit the project application. We've been working on etching machines for three years. We have prototypes, but we lack users and the funds to continue. With your funding and application scenarios, we can continue to upgrade and improve."
After he finished speaking, he sat down. The person next to him patted him on the shoulder, but he ignored it, picked up the water glass on the table, and took a big gulp.
An engineer sitting in the fifth row raised his hand. He was in his forties, wearing black-rimmed glasses and a dark blue work uniform with "Shanghai Institute of Microsystems and Information Technology" printed on the front. He stood up and said, “President Ni, I’m from the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology. We’ve been working on thin film deposition for over a decade. We have all the technology, the equipment, and the personnel. It’s just that we haven’t had the money to upgrade. Our equipment is old, and our processes are outdated. We’ve been surviving on the small amount of funding allocated by the institute each year, just patching things up. I need to report this meeting to the institute leadership when I get back. I can’t make the decision on this matter myself. But personally, I think we’d like to take on this project. We have a foundation in thin film deposition. If you provide the funding, we can upgrade our equipment. Once upgraded, we can use it. Once it’s usable, we can sell it. Once we sell it, we can make money. And once we make money, we can continue to invest. This is a good thing. What I’m worried about is that the institute leadership might not agree. They’re afraid of taking responsibility. They’re afraid of people saying state-owned assets are being lost if they cooperate with private enterprises. They’re afraid of people saying they’re betraying their country if they take money from private enterprises. This matter needs you, President Ni, to step in. You should talk to our leaders. Your words carry more weight than ours.”
Ni Guangnan said, "Okay. I'll call him."
A man sitting in the sixth row raised his hand. He was young, in his early thirties, wearing a white shirt without a tie, and had rather long hair. He stood up and said, “President Ni, I’m from the Institute of Microelectronics at Tsinghua University. We work on computational lithography software. We’re the only ones in China doing this. We’ve been working on it for five years and produced a prototype that works, but it’s not very user-friendly. It’s not that our technology is lacking, it’s that we don’t have the money. Developing software requires money, people, and time. The funding from national projects isn’t enough. We can’t retain our staff; they all go to foreign companies. Time waits for no one. Before we’ve even finished developing our software, foreign companies have already released three generations of it. We can’t catch up. Today, at this meeting, I see hope. It’s not about the money; it’s about people using it. If you use our software, we can iterate. If we iterate, we can catch up. If we catch up, we can surpass them. If we surpass them, we won’t have to depend on others anymore. I can make the decision on this. Our director sent me here, saying that your business is his business. He said that Xinghuo Group is going to develop lithography machines, and we, the software developers, must keep up. If we don’t, we’ll be sinners in history.”
He finished speaking and sat down. The meeting room was silent for a few seconds. Then someone laughed, this time several times. A private business owner sitting in the first row turned around, looked at the young man, and said, "A historical sinner? It's not that serious, is it?" The young man didn't answer, lowered his head, and flipped through his documents.
Ni Guangnan and the others stopped laughing and then spoke again.
"Who else wants to speak?"
No one raised their hand. He looked around and said, "That's settled then. Take the materials back and review them at your leisure. Submit the project proposal, and we'll review it. Once it's approved, we'll sign the contract. After signing, we'll make the payment. It's that simple. Meeting adjourned."
He picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip. Then he turned around and looked at Ling Yun standing in the back row. Ling Yun didn't move, still standing against the wall with his hands in his pockets. Ni Guangnan looked at him for two seconds, then turned back and began tidying up the things on the table. Someone came over and spoke to him. Someone handed him a business card. Someone grabbed his hand and said, "Mr. Ni, it's been a long time." He responded to each of them in turn, his voice low and inaudible.
Ling Yun went out through the side door. The corridor was empty; the carpet was thick and made no sound underfoot. He reached the stairwell, pushed open the door, and started walking down. His footsteps echoed in the empty stairwell. Reaching the first floor, he pushed open the glass door, letting in a blast of cold air. He stood in the doorway, looking outside. The sky was still overcast, the clouds hanging low. In the distance, someone was walking a dog; the dog ran ahead, the person following behind, the leash taut. He watched for a moment, then turned back.
People began to leave the lobby. Some carried briefcases, some held documents, and some walked while making phone calls. The sounds were mixed together, making it difficult to understand what they were saying. Ni Guangnan stepped out of the elevator, still holding the stack of documents in his hand, the edges curled up. He saw Ling Yun, walked over, and stopped.
"Starting tomorrow, the phone will be busy."
Ling Yun said, "Being busy is good. If you're not busy, it means no one's coming."
Ni Guangnan nodded. He switched the stack of documents to his left hand and rubbed his face with his right. His hands were rough, and the rubbing made a soft, rustling sound. He lowered his hand and looked at Ling Yun.
"The person from the Shanghai Institute of Microsystems told me to call their director. Should I call them?"
Lingyun said, "Fight today, don't drag it out. Every day you delay, the other party will think about it more. Every day they think about it more, the deal will fall through. Fight today, finalize it today. Once finalized, sign the contract tomorrow. Sign the contract, make the payment. Make the payment, start working. Finish the work, produce the product. Produce the product, make it usable. If it's usable, you can sell it. If you can sell it, you can make money. If you make money, you can continue to invest. This is a positive cycle. Don't stay outside the positive cycle. If you can't get in, you'll always be outside."
Ni Guangnan didn't speak. He tucked the folder under his arm, took out his phone from his pocket, scrolled through his contacts, found Wang Jianguo's name, and dialed. The phone rang four times before being answered. Ni Guangnan said, "Old Wang, this is Ni Guangnan. I have something to tell you." He walked towards the door as he spoke. His voice faded into the distance until it was no longer audible.