Simon stayed at a company called 3D-Miracle near Stanford University for three hours and watched in person a small 3D metal printer that the company had developed to make an aluminum alloy tea cup, and then called everyone for a meeting. , to discuss the company’s next development direction.
The goal is very clear.
Develop a large-scale 3D printer that can print rocket parts.
There are two difficulties. One is to ensure the precision of the 3D printer while increasing the size. Many rocket parts may weigh several tons, but the processing accuracy is at the micron level. This is a big challenge.
Fortunately, it is not without direction.
At this stage, many industrial robots produced by high-tech companies can operate with micron-level precision. The team can try to learn from them, or directly commission the development of auxiliary robots.
On the other hand, 3D printers are needed to print various aviation materials.
The principle of 3D printing is to solidify material powder through laser sintering.
Cutting-edge aerospace alloys are not comparable to ordinary everyday aluminum alloys and other materials in terms of melting point and hardness. 3D-Miracle’s existing equipment can only complete the printing of low-melting point aluminum alloys and other materials, so it needs to be further upgraded.
At the end of the more than two-hour meeting, Simon agreed to a set of budget plans requested by Brian Deitch, the founder of 3D-Miracle, on the condition that the team must develop a large-scale 3D system that can be used to build rocket parts within one year. In addition to funding for printers, in the next year, the Westeros system will also be responsible for recruiting experts in related fields from around the world, including merging and acquiring other companies or patents in the 3D printing field if necessary.
Although he will not be stingy with necessary investments, Simon is also not willing to take advantage of others.
Unlike the booming Internet, because the application field has always been narrow, there are many teams developing 3D printing around the world, but basically few of them are having a good time.
Coupled with the use of anonymous agency teams to initiate acquisitions, it doesn't cost much to get these technologies.
Just like 3D-Miracle, Simon only spent US$13 million to acquire this company. The main reason is that although 3D-Miracle has a product, it cannot be commercially applied at all. Who would spend US$100 to buy a product that can be purchased in a shopping mall for US$5? What about the aluminum alloy cups you bought
3D-Miracle, a small company that was founded five years ago and only raised development funds due to the rise of the new technology wave in Silicon Valley, has actually burned through US$6 million in funds from several venture capital investors in five years.
The Westeros system's agency team acquired 100% of the company's shares for US$13 million. Several venture capital investors with a shareholding ratio of about 70% exited with a return rate of only 50%. In five years, the average was 10% per year. %, only slightly better than the return from investing in some high-yield bonds.
Perhaps some news will leak out in the future, causing related technologies to rise, but the entire 3D printing field is still a 'buyer's market'.
Whether it is SpaceX and other three companies or the subsidiary 3D-Miracle and other companies, Simon's operating ideas are exactly the same, which is to reduce costs as much as possible to a degree that can be said to be squeezed. Therefore, only Simon squeezes others, and other people will not perform as well as they should unless they do so. , otherwise don’t expect to get benefits from Simon.
In addition to the positive case of SpaceX in his memory, the main reason why Simon made this decision was because of another company in the original space and time, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
Many people don’t know that Blue Origin, which is also committed to space exploration, was established two years earlier than SpaceX.
And he is definitely wealthy.
Get whatever you want.
However, while SpaceX has become the new dominant player in the aerospace field and even succeeded Boeing Lockheed Martin, which has lost its moon landing capability, to implement the United States' moon landing plan in the new century, Bezos' Blue Origin has not even achieved the ability to put its rocket into orbit.
There may be various reasons for this, but one thing Simon firmly believes is that the fate of the two companies is just like the common saying in his memory.
Born in sorrow, died in happiness.
Therefore, no matter how much you value it in your heart, Simon's first rule for the SpaceX companies in his hands is that he will not give any of the teams a 'easy' working environment. If you feel that you are not good enough, get out; if you want to exceed your own value If you have high salary, get out; if you can't complete the planned tasks and there is no suitable reason, get out.
Even if some teams fail to meet Simon's expectations, he doesn't mind disbanding the entire team and starting over.
In the coming years, Simon will give many people a taste of how a tyrant is made.
Simon finished his work in San Francisco at five o'clock in the afternoon. This time, Simon did not stay overnight in the Bay Area. He took a private plane back to Los Angeles and had a cocktail party in the evening.
About 'Project Troy'.
Recently, after various recommendations and investigations and reviews, Simon selected the first batch of young high-level disciples from within the Westeros system. The number is not large, only 10 at a time.
Before officially paving the way for these people, Simon arranged a cocktail reception today in the name of a Westeros system management gathering. It was probably like the way Eric Tsang saw off a group of 'Sirs' in "Infernal Affairs" in his memory. Young people are always allowed to see off. Meet their real boss behind the scenes.
In order not to attract too many people's attention, the size of the reception was not small, so some young people who came in were not conspicuous.
After this, these people will be gradually assigned to work in important institutions such as the White House or Washington in the next year.
The whole process is actually not too formal. The Westeros system is looking for alternatives. The target happens to be interested in politics, and they hit it off immediately. There is no agreement between the two parties to remain loyal to the Westeros system. Smart people naturally You will understand that after all, it is just the beginning. The Westeros system will decide whether to provide additional support based on the subsequent performance of these people. In this process, many people who cannot meet the standards will be eliminated.
Simon would not leave behind documents such as the 'Tripstone Project' that would allow Byrne and others to find clear evidence.
Just as originally planned.
Compared with uncertain loyalty, Simon values the position formed subtly. As long as some of them identify themselves as 'Westerosian', they will naturally consider the interests of the Westeros system.
The evening reception started at 7:30 and was held at the Palisade mid-level mansion that Simon purchased earlier.
Simon and his family came over after dinner, and only stayed at the reception for less than an hour. He greeted every candidate for the Trojan Project, gave some tactful encouragement, and left at nine o'clock.
Arrive in Playa Vista at 8 a.m. and leave the reception at 9 p.m., a total of 13 hours.
The day's work is finally over.
As soon as they got in the car back to Dumei Point Manor, the accompanying girl A told Simon about something. A certain red-haired French girl who accompanied Chen Qing and Chen Qing to spend the New Year in China called her to see if she could Can't get a position at FusionTimes.
Simon was still a little confused, but Girl A had already explained.
Emmanuel Brandt holds a PhD in particle physics from the Institute of Technology in Zurich. He is a professional counterpart, and he says he maintains many connections in this area.
Only then did Simon remember the personal file of Emmanuel he had seen.
Upon reflection, it is indeed true.
However, the girl is now the chairman of Scobo. She has recently assisted Chen Qing in establishing Excellence Technology Company in China, and has become one of the shareholders through equity participation. This time, she probably saw Simon's emphasis on the three companies and thought that It's a good opportunity, and the other party obviously doesn't intend to work as an ordinary employee at FusionTimes.
The planned FusionTimes company headquarters will be set up in San Francisco, mainly to rely on the talent resources of Stanford University. Scoop's headquarters is also in San Francisco, and Emmanuel can also take care of it.
only.
Simon thought about it for a moment, but still hesitated, mainly because Emmanuel was a woman.
Even though many important executives in the Westeros system are women, the three companies this time are different and require far more energy than ordinary work.
So what Simon needed was livestock.
Men can be used as cattle.
Women are mostly used as men.
So in the past two days, all the interviewees at SpaceX were men, and there was not a single woman.
Simon couldn't make up his mind for a while, and just said to Girl A: "Let's find a time to talk in person when Aiman comes back. By the way, tell me how the development of the VCD industry in China has been in the past two months. "
Girl A nodded and skillfully talked about the current development situation of China's VCD industry.
In the year 1995 that just passed, China's VCD industry showed explosive growth, with cumulative shipments reaching 1.53 million units and sales reaching RMB 6.1 billion, quickly becoming a very important new technology product in the Chinese market.
At the same time, Scobo completed the research and development of the second-generation video decoding chip as planned at the end of last year. Its absolute technological leadership and Scobo's relatively open cooperative attitude basically blocked the research and development of other electronic manufacturers. The feasibility of video decoding chips completely monopolizes the market.
At the beginning of the new year in 1996, China's domestic VCD manufacturers such as BBK officially launched VCD products with built-in second-generation decoding chips, and also made another breakthrough, directly reducing the price from the high of about 4,000 yuan in the previous two years to 2,999 yuan. It quickly swallowed up the video recorder market that originally belonged to the market with prices generally above 3,000 yuan.
Under the operation of all parties, in the first two months of the year, the total VCD shipments of major Chinese manufacturers have reached 1.78 million units, directly exceeding the whole of last year. It is estimated that the overall shipment volume of China's VCD market in 1996 is expected to reach 10 million units, and annual sales are expected to be around 30 billion yuan.
Affected by this series of good news, Scoop's share price has recently reached 2.3 billion U.S. dollars, and its market value is equivalent to more than 10 times when it was acquired by Westeros System last year. Although the attention of the capital industry at this stage is attracted by several super giants with a market value of hundreds of billions of dollars, such as Ygritte, the return rate of investing in Scoop is still considered crazy by many Wall Street investors.
Suzhou China.
When Girl A reported to Simon the current situation of China's VCD industry, Emmanuel Brandt and Lin Su came from Shanghai and Hangzhou respectively and were invited to Chen Qing's home for a short visit. The group was leaving to fly to Beijing in the afternoon.
It’s noon on March 5th here in China.
The sixteenth day of the first lunar month.
Yesterday's Lantern Festival just passed.
The Chen family originally lived in a small county near Suzhou. After making money, Chen Qing bought an antique house for her family in Gusu District, northern Suzhou. In fact, she initially hoped that her family could move to Shanghai, but Chen's father was used to living in a small county. Chen Qing's mother walked around Shanghai and was very unaccustomed to it. In the end, she chose Suzhou, which is closer to her hometown. Even the antique house was the choice of Chen Qing's parents because they were not used to living in high-rise apartment buildings.
Emmanuelle, who was relatively close from Shanghai, arrived first, accompanied by four maids including Chen Qinglin and Su. These people came to China years ago and have been staying until now. They will also arrive together in the afternoon. Beijing.
Counting Chen Qing, there are six people in the Chen family, Chen's father, Chen's mother, Chen Qing's brother and sister-in-law, and a nephew who is over four years old.
Even though Chen Qing had brought her maid back home before, five foreign girls came to the door at one time, which still made the rest of the Chen family a little at a loss. Even the neighbors came over to watch the fun. Seeing this, Chen Qing He simply sent away the four female maids and guards, leaving only Emmanuel as a guest at home. For this, her mother complained softly, feeling that even her daughter's subordinates should not chase people away like this.
Chen Qing pretended not to hear her mother's nagging, because Lin Su hadn't arrived yet and lunch couldn't start, so she took Emmanuel to her room in the west wing of the house.
This is a suite.
After entering the house, Emmanuel also relaxed a lot. He sat on the sofa without noticing anything, and said with a lingering fear on his face: "I really don't understand, why do people here look at me as if I'm in a zoo?"
Chen Qing had no intention of bringing tea and water to Emmanuel. She also sat on the sofa next to her, picked up a folder that Emmanuel and his party were looking through before their arrival, and said casually: "You are more precious than the lions and tigers in the zoo. too much."
"Oh, this is definitely not a compliment," Emmanuel rolled his eyes at Chen Qing, noticed something with his eyes, tilted his slender body, grabbed Chen Qing's right hand and looked at it, pointing to an obvious red and swollen mark on the back of his hand and asked :"What's going on here?"
Chen Qing shook off Emmanuel's little hand touching her and said, "My father beat me."
Emmanuel immediately widened his eyes and glanced at the scars on the back of Chen Qing's hand in disbelief: "Just now, Mr. Chen is a very good person, how could... This is too violent."
Chen Qing glanced at her: "The culture is different. Here, it is natural for parents to beat their children. At least that is the case in our family."
"Are you a girl?"
Chen Qing said with a smile: "My dad beat my brother even harder and would hang him up."
As he spoke, he pointed figuratively at the top of his head.
Emmanuel obviously couldn't imagine what it would be like to hang someone up and beat him, but he quickly thought of the key to the matter and asked, "Why did your father beat you?"
Chen Qing did not explain this time, and said perfunctorily: "Family matters."
This obviously did not dispel Emmanuel's curiosity: "What family matter?"
Chen Qing couldn't say that because she persuaded her brother to divorce the sister-in-law whom she didn't like very much, she was slapped with a feather duster by her father. The scars on the back of her hands were from being hit when she raised her hands to cover them, but she just brushed them off. He curled his lips and saw Emmanuel looking like a curious baby. He thought for a moment and said, "Because I haven't found a boyfriend even at this age, so I got beaten. You know, in China, parents are very strict about their children's marriage." Very concerned."
Emmanuel blinked and said quickly: "Chen, you lied to me, I know something about this matter, and you are still very young, aren't you?"
Chen Qing shrugged slightly: "Well, actually, I told my parents that I found a woman."
Simon Westeros
woman
Before Emmanuel could ask further questions, there was a knock on the door, and a childish voice came from outside the door: "Aunt, aunt, the guests are here."
Hearing this, Chen Qing stood up from the sofa and said, "Lin should be here. Let's go out. My mother prepared the lunch that I'm waiting for all day yesterday. Please remember to praise me more."
The two of them walked out of Chen Qing's room as they talked. Lin Su, who had come from Hangzhou, was welcomed in by Chen's father, Chen's mother, Chen's brother and Chen's sister-in-law. Seeing Chen Qing appear, Lin Su nodded to her quickly, thinking. To get away.
Do not know why.
The way the Chen family looked at her was really weird.