After eating, Zhou Jinyu put his things in the room and packed them up. Zhao Yi wanted to take a nap, but after thinking about it, he decided to forget it and finish reading the rest of the report.
Next, he saw the report sent by Qingtian Semiconductor Company. In addition, there was also an inquiry document, which wanted him to make up his mind and see if this business could be done.
Due to the brave advancement of Tianxing Semiconductor Company in recent years, the originally prosperous U.S. and Japanese hardware semiconductor industry has suffered a disaster. Many previously well-known semiconductor companies have closed down or sold out.
The most famous of them is Intel, which was forced to sell to Texas Instruments several years ago. Texas Instruments has focused its main business in the field of industrial chips and military chips.
These two fields have relatively low requirements for chip manufacturing, and with certain domestic protection capabilities, they are doing pretty well, but it is more difficult to be as prosperous as in their previous lives.
Perhaps over the years, my country's rapid economic development, especially the very rapid development of my country's information industry, coupled with the support of my country's huge domestic demand market, has led to my country's leading position in this field.
Therefore, some developed countries are naturally jealous. They finally saw the signs of new industries, but they were interrupted abruptly. They had not realized how serious this was before.
But seeing that our country's economy is developing so fast, in which high-tech industries led by information technology play a vital role, they also began to re-examine this business.
Especially Yingjiang, they have actually been preparing to fight back in these areas for a long time. They have organized several attempts, but they all ended in failure. They had to stop and prepare to once again urgently need strength to launch a challenge.
What makes Qingtian Technology difficult to make a choice this time is that Texas Instruments has designed a more advanced chip in their opinion after improving Intel's original instruction set architecture.
But just because it's designed, it doesn't mean it can be produced, because over the years, their semiconductor industry has declined, and the related industrial chains have been wiped out, and there is no longer a complete industrial chain to support it.
So they hope to let Qingtian Semiconductor Company produce for them. After all, the semiconductor foundry business is the core business of Qingtian Semiconductor Company, and it has done a lot of foreign OEM business before.
It's just that there is still a big gap between Qingtian Semiconductor's chip manufacturing capabilities and Tianxing Semiconductor's, and Tianxing Semiconductor is also looking at this more closely.
Domestic demand has skyrocketed in the past two years, resulting in a surge in demand for chips. In addition, Zhao Yi's own laboratory has some chip needs, which requires cooperation between the two companies to solve the problem.
These cooperations have allowed Qingtian Semiconductor Company to obtain many more advanced technologies from Tianxing Semiconductor Company and Zhao Yi, and have made huge progress in semiconductor foundry capabilities.
Now their latest semiconductor manufacturing technology is on par with Tianxing Semiconductor Company, but their strongest foundry technology only provides services to internal companies and domestic companies, and is not open to foreign countries.
If Texas Instruments just asked Optimus Semiconductor to use conventional foundry technology, there wouldn't be much of a problem. After all, these are all market-oriented, and they would help if they were paid.
Obviously, if it is only this level of manufacturing technology, no matter how good the chip design of Texas Instruments is, it cannot be compared with Tianxing Semiconductor Company, and it is even far behind other domestic semiconductor companies.
Therefore, not only did their order volume this time be huge, but the foundry fees they offered were also extremely high. According to Qingtian Semiconductor's internal estimates, if the price was similar to Tianxing Semiconductor's products, they would basically not make much money.
They offer such generous conditions, and naturally they have something to ask for. Not only do they hope that Qingtian Semiconductor can use the best technology to help them produce, they also hope to transfer some of their semiconductor technology patents.
Either of these two conditions goes against Qingtian Semiconductor's operating strategy, but their conditions are also very tempting, so it's hard to make a choice. I want to see what the boss wants.
Seeing this, Zhao Yi suddenly wanted to see how good the chip designed by Texas Instruments was. He was so confident that he could make a comeback with this chip, which aroused his strong curiosity.
You must know that the performance of a chip is determined by many factors, and the process is only one of them. Others, such as architecture, manufacturing methods, instruction sets, integrated design, etc., are all related to performance.
The entire set of technologies of Tianxing Semiconductor Company is produced by him, and after so many years of development, the technology has become more mature, and it is not easy to surpass it.
And now a complete software ecosystem has been established around Tianxing Semiconductor's chip architecture, and this software ecosystem is basically undertaken by his companies.
It can be said that so far, no country or company has emerged that can challenge this entire system. Because the cost and price are very high, success may not be possible.
If it is really that easy to succeed, Western countries led by Eagle Sauce have already succeeded. Why wait until now and are still struggling? Most countries and companies have even given up. Only Eagle Sauce still has a certain influence. fantasy.
So he used his own technology to take over the chip design from Texas Instruments, looked at it carefully, and found that it was indeed much more advanced and mature than before.
Obviously, over the years, after Texas Instruments acquired Intel, it did not just put it on the shelf. Instead, it convened a team to study with great concentration, hoping to technically reach the chip design level of Tianxing Semiconductor Company.
It's just that although the development of Tianxing Semiconductor Company has slowed down in recent years, it has not stayed there forever. Compared with other semiconductor companies in the world, it is still relatively fast.
So this led to them finally seeing hope, but they were slapped in the face by reality, and had to start concentrating on research again. This cycle continued, causing their chips to be difficult to produce.
Obviously if they keep going, they will never see hope, so they start to design boldly, instead of following the same trend as before, so the chip design this time is also relatively advanced.
Although it is more advanced than the chips sold by Tianxing Semiconductor Company, there is still a big gap between them and the chip designs they have yet to release.
No matter what, their advanced design ideas still play a very good role. At least on the surface, they have achieved their goal and surpassed the level of chips sold by Tianxing Semiconductor Company on the market.
I don’t know if they know it clearly, but generally speaking, Tianxing Semiconductor Company will have at least two to three generations of chips ahead of those sold on the market to ensure that it always has an advantage.
Maybe they feel that Tianxing Semiconductor Company updates and iterates so frequently and must not have much inventory on hand, so they are so confident that this chip is very competitive.
Although they don't think they can make a comeback directly, they are still confident that they can occupy a certain market. As long as there is a certain market, even if they have a certain foundation, and they slowly plan, they may be able to succeed.
However, after taking a glance, he found that their so-called advanced design seemed to have no problems, but he identified seven or eight problematic designs, which were relatively hidden flaws.
In the field of chip design software, the software technology used by Tianxing Semiconductor is completely different from the technology used outside. Defects like this can be directly detected by the software they use.
Obviously, the software design system used externally cannot be so intelligent, and Optimus Semiconductor has no obligation to help them correct it, so it did not bother to check it for them.
So his reply to Qingtian Semiconductor Company was that he could help them do OEM work, but the quantity must be large. If the order is too small, it is not necessary, and the OEM fee cannot be lowered.
As for technology patents in chip manufacturing, we rejected them directly. We finally have such a huge advantage and we must not give others the possibility of catching up from behind.
The reason why he agreed to help with OEM work is that this chip is unlikely to be successful because there are still many defects. It may not be a big problem in short-term use, but problems will occur in long-term use.
On the other hand, it can let the outside world know that Tianxing Semiconductor Company cannot be challenged casually. Their advantages are not only in manufacturing, but in fact they are leading in all aspects.
If Texas Instruments spends a huge price this time and still fails to succeed, it will dampen the enthusiasm of many foreign semiconductor companies, and even some companies that cannot persist will have to switch to other industries.
The chip field is the basis of current industry. The old industry is based on power technology, while the modern industry is based on information technology, and chips are the basis of information technology.
Therefore, in this field, we cannot give in to each other, and it is also a high ground that we must occupy. So it is not that he is stingy, but that he must do this. Of course, this is what he learned from these predecessors in his previous life.
In fact, our country did an excellent job in keeping technology secrets in ancient times. Not to mention the tradition of passing things down to men rather than women, just take the silk and porcelain that we are proud of.
Silk has a history of five to six thousand years in our country. During such a long history, it is not that we have not communicated with other civilizations, but the secrets about silk have never been spread.
Porcelain has a history of one or two thousand years in our country, but it was not until modern times that other countries in the world mastered the production methods of porcelain, and our country's porcelain gradually lost its advantages.
These two special commodities of ours became the featured products of my country's foreign trade in ancient times and were also the most profitable products, bringing a large amount of gold and silver wealth to ancient Chinese society.
Although many people now say that science knows no borders, just listen to this and don't take it seriously. Although it is impossible to completely hide it with the current convenience of communication, you still have to have this awareness. It has been passed down by our ancestors. The experience still makes sense.
Moreover, Western countries have previously used various agreements to restrict the export of their high-tech products to my country. Although they have been gradually canceled as my country's industrial and technological strength has improved, it does not mean that they do not hold grudges.
In fact, he does not like the concept of outer sage and inner king at all. Instead, he admires outer king and inner sage. Especially with the awakening of the people and the improvement of their knowledge level, outer king and inner sage are more conducive to national development and national governance.
However, although his mentality is like this, he also knows that nothing is too much and that a strong outer king and inner saint will cause extreme complacency and arrogance internally, which is not beneficial to the development of the nation and civilization.
Therefore, the ancients also had a set of golden mean, which is to realize that problems will arise at any extreme. Only by maintaining the golden mean can we be impartial and ensure that things run on the normal track.
However, he feels that these chips from Texas Instruments may not be used in the consumer field, because it is too difficult to open a gap in this field.
It is very likely that it will be purchased by the government or used by the military, because the chip manufacturing capabilities are not good enough, so the chips in these fields have to use our designs, or use lower-level chips.
If it is purchased by these specific departments, then it is understandable that Texas Instruments offers such a high price. After all, there are dedicated customers paying the bill, and even if the cost is high, they still make a profit.
Although the manufacturing is done by us, the design of the chip is independently controllable and the security is much higher than before. The government and military may bear higher prices due to this consideration. .
Putting this matter aside, Zhao started to check the operating reports of Xuantian Technology Company, which he directly managed. This company was also completely run by high-end robots, and he participated in very little actual work.
In order to ensure the smooth development of this enterprise, intermediate artificial intelligence and several junior artificial intelligence are also involved to provide them with various services.
So even if he is not very involved, the development of this company is still quite good, not to mention the business that Zhao Yi has planned for them, such as global satellite communication system, smart glasses, holographic projection and other businesses.
Let’s just say that the innovation workshop, which was almost completely left to their own operation, brought Zhao Yi a lot of surprises, which he had never thought of before.
It can be said that the innovation workshop has just begun last year. As the main producer of the innovation workshop, Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Company has not made sufficient preparations, and its development has been subject to many restrictions.
With the lessons learned last year, Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Company is undoubtedly more prepared this year. In addition to the regular business still going according to plan, almost all the remaining energy is focused on meeting the manufacturing needs of the innovation workshop.
Previous innovation workshops focused on redesign and creativity, basically focusing on improving and innovating items in people's daily lives, so that products have high added value and can meet people's special needs and satisfaction.
Products such as the self-balancing bikes and new bicycles mentioned earlier are all targeted at transportation. They are all creative products and belong to extended creative design and improved design.
Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Co., Ltd. can handle this aspect of manufacturing business. They can also organize the production of most electronic products. There is no big problem in leaving this aspect entirely to them.
Just last year's trial run, there were tens of thousands of them, but they were produced selectively due to insufficient manufacturing capacity and market size constraints.
And when Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Company was relatively well prepared, it was even more "unscrupulous" and cheated so hard that it even provided 100,000 products to Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Company in one fell swoop.
Moreover, these products all have independent intellectual property rights and involve all aspects of daily life. Although most of the product categories have several to dozens of different innovations, they are still very scary.
If so many products are produced, it will have a great impact and challenge on the existing manufacturing system. Obviously, even if Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Company is prepared, it will not be able to complete the manufacturing of so many products.
Although it is not completely satisfied, it is still much stronger than last year. It actually successfully manufactured and sold 10,000 of the 100,000 creative products.
Even though 10,000 items is not a lot, opening the e-commerce platform and seeing millions and tens of millions of different products doesn’t seem to be anything special.
But the difference between the two is that these 10,000 products have been carefully selected. On the one hand, they have good market prospects, and on the other hand, they will help Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Company improve the types of products it manufactures.
To give a very simple example, balancing scooters are a product category, but around this category, more than a dozen products can be derived, and Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Company will choose a representative product with greater market potential to produce. .
Therefore, there are many types of these 10,000 products. As long as they complete the production and construction of this type of product, they can easily produce the same type of product.
Such an arrangement will enable Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Company to have the ability to produce more types of products, and will thus become increasingly capable of completing the production tasks assigned to them by the innovation workshop.
If we follow this idea, perhaps by next year, Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Company will easily be able to complete the manufacturing of 100,000 creative products. This is a huge leap for Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Company.
You can get an idea by looking at their number of employees. So far, the number of employees surrounding their manufacturing operations is as high as 3 million, which still uses very highly automated machinery and equipment.
If conventional manufacturing equipment is used, the number of employees required may increase several times. It can be seen from this that although the number of products put into actual production does not seem to be many, the changes brought about are earth-shaking.
If Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Company is given about five years, the large-scale manufacturing industry chain he envisioned may be completely formed, and it will be a manufacturing development model adapted to the new era.
The benefits of this model have been mentioned before, which is to reduce costs for enterprise development, allowing more enterprises to get rid of heavy assets, and can easily be responsible for the design and creative parts, and outsource the production part and even subsequent sales and promotion.
In addition to the above visible benefits, another benefit is for himself. For example, what intermediate artificial intelligence is doing now can easily transform creative results into physical objects.
Without such a developed and sound large-scale manufacturing industry chain system, even if intermediate artificial intelligence has all kinds of abilities, it will be of no use because it has no hands and feet to transform it into real products.
In addition to this, this step also serves the future manual labor replacement plan, when all production links will be completed by robots and automated equipment.
But if these are not integrated, the efficiency of the unmanned manufacturing system will be very low. In order to improve efficiency, all elements and links must be linked to form a manufacturing system without obstacles.
When all manufacturing is done using robots and automated equipment, central artificial intelligence will be able to control all controllable manufacturing links, so that everything can flow smoothly without any obstacles at any point, resulting in low operational efficiency.
The current manufacturing system is divided into individual enterprises, and most of these enterprises are only responsible for one or a limited number of links in the manufacturing industry.
If we wait until artificial intelligence takes over, there are likely to be many links that cannot be solved in the short term, leading to problems in operation. This is to prepare for the future era of comprehensive intelligence.
Obviously, intermediate artificial intelligence is not satisfied with just doing these things. Its capabilities far exceed this category. The only limitation on it is whether the computing power is sufficient.
Therefore, its tentacles began to develop into other fields, such as chemistry, materials, high-end machinery, basic electronics and other fields, and these are not what Huaxin Precision Manufacturing Company can complete.
Not to mention that they can accomplish it, but their ability to organize production is lacking, so it is basically impossible to hand over the research and development results in these fields to them.
Therefore, Xuantian Technology Company has also carried out many cooperative projects with other companies under its umbrella, mainly commissioned production, and of course some of them are cooperative research and development.
For example, the Mars rover of Future Space Technology Company is the result of joint research and development by Xuantian Technology Company, Tiangong Precision Instrument Company and Future Space Technology Company.
Xuantian Technology Company is actually a shell company. Apart from employees running existing businesses, there are not many employees with truly high-level R&D capabilities, and they don't even have their own laboratories.
Therefore, their research and development is actually done by intermediate artificial intelligence, and then the design and related materials responsible for the research and development are integrated with the parts responsible for other companies, and then handed over to companies with the ability to produce to be responsible for production.
Moreover, cooperation with other companies not only broadens the business scope of Xuantian Technology Company's innovation workshops, but also makes plans for the future.
After all, the modern industrial system is very complex. A product may involve thousands of parts and components, and there are many types of industries involved. It is rare that a single industry can handle them all.
Take bicycles as an example, they involve smelting, chemical industry, rubber, mechanical processing, assembly, etc. In the future, high-tech products will only involve more types of industries.
Therefore, cooperating with other companies in advance will help mid-level artificial intelligence prepare in advance. When the time comes, they will be ready to use unmanned manufacturing and directly replace related equipment. Even the equipment does not need to be replaced, just let the robot replace the real person. (End of chapter)