Chapter 1378: Technology Is Still Not Good Enough
When I came to Shenzhen, I naturally had to visit another research laboratory of Dongxu Technology, the chip research laboratory. This can be said to be the heart of all mobile phone technology. If this big problem cannot be solved, everything will be in jeopardy.
In fact, although the domestic semiconductor industry started late, it developed quite well in the 1960s and 1970s, at least it was better than South Korea at that time.
It was only after entering the 1980s that the foreign semiconductor industry made rapid progress. The domestic semiconductor industry basically used the technology that was eliminated by foreign countries, without the innovation of cutting-edge technology, so the gap was instantly widened.
This has led to the current situation where semiconductors are booming abroad, and in China, they are basically technology foundries. In order to break this backward phenomenon, chip technology breakthroughs are the top priority.
At this point, the most popular Pentium series on the market has already launched 90-nanometer chip technology in 2003. This year, there is a rumor that Microsoft's chip technology has reached the level of 65 nanometers.
In China, even a chip of more than 100 nanometers cannot be independently manufactured. This can be said to be a very large gap.
However, all this is not without hope, after all, Yang Dongxu is willing to spend money. In addition to programmers, some semiconductor experts were also brought back when the IT industry collapsed, plus several large databases purchased from the former Soviet Union earlier.
At least there is a foundation for research and development, instead of starting from scratch. At present, the key technology is stuck in the lithography machine for manufacturing chips.
If, like the method adopted by Apple in the past, it is just based on the original chip architecture, it is upgraded and transformed into the mobile phone chip model and data architecture it needs. Then these requirements are handed over to those foundries for production, then the chip size can be increased to about 50 nanometers, becoming the most advanced in the world.
But if you can't produce chips yourself, you will be strangled sooner or later. Therefore, not only Professor Ni, but also Yang Dongxu has an obsession with producing chips by themselves.
Of course, obsession is not a demon, and this point must not be given up, and research and development must be continued no matter how much money is invested. But if a technological breakthrough cannot be achieved at a critical moment, the chip foundry channel must still be used. After all, without Zhang the butcher, and not wanting to eat pigs with hair, you can only go to Liu the butcher and Li the butcher.
Anyway, this can be prepared for both hands, one hand quietly continuing to develop chips. First, we should seize the smartphone market by OEM, and then invest the money earned from smartphones into chip research and development. This is the best solution to form a virtuous cycle.
"Has Lei Jun's system architecture been roughly completed? Have you put down your heart? You are a bit biased. Now you only care about smartphones and don't care about computer hardware research and development."
After coming out of the research room, Yang Dongxu came to the Dongxu Technology Building. As soon as he entered Ye Rongrong's office, he was teased by the other party.
"It's not that I don't care, but even if I don't ask, I know that you can arrange these things very well."
"I am very happy with your praise, and at the same time, you have completely thrown away your responsibility as a hands-off shopkeeper." Ye Rongrong said with a smile.
Compared with the high school student Ye Rongrong before, although she still has no amazing academic qualifications now. But she is in charge of Dongxu Technology, and she is definitely a big boss of a number one technology company both domestically and internationally.
However, compared with Zhou Ya's business queen and Bai Xi, a strong queen. Ye Rongrong always gives people the feeling of being so amiable, without any edges and corners, and very gentle.
This is also related to personal experience. After all, whether it is Zhou Ya or Bai Xi, they must be strong in many things to intimidate a group of people and competitors.
Ye Rongrong has a big boss, Yang Dongxu, above her, and she has been working at Dongxu Technology since Dongxu Technology was still working on the production line of pirated tapes.
In addition, Wu Aibing's status and deterrence in all the companies under Yang Dongxu. Ye Rongrong does not need to show too strong a side, and the people below will obey obediently.
"How is the research on the processor going?" Yang Dongxu sat down and asked about the progress of the computer research laboratory.
"Compared to Microsoft, it is definitely not as good as it is, and there is a certain gap in technology compared to AMD. But for now, if the customer does not want a top-level computer.
The processors we produce are basically usable. Although the heat dissipation performance has always been a problem, it is still stable when used in high temperatures in summer.
In addition, our motherboards and hard disks and other hardware can be produced independently, so the compatibility is better. So our computers sell well in the all-in-one market.
The motherboard and hard disk are OK for the configuration of the computer, and the others can only be low-end and medium-end, and there is no way to compete with those giants for the mid-to-high-end market. At the same time, on the processor, our architecture design is very good, but the production still requires OEM. We don't have chip production technology." Ye Rongrong said helplessly.
To be honest, in the past few years, whether it is the R&D funds invested in graphics cards or processors, it is almost more than ten times that of hard disks and motherboards.
But technology research and development is so speechless, as if one thing leads to another. Since the development of the motherboard and hard disk technology, these two technologies can be said to be advancing by leaps and bounds, and it seems that they have become world-class leaders without much effort.
On the other hand, on the graphics card and processor side, a lot of money has been thrown down, but these two technologies are like feces and urine. Until now, we can only rank among the top five in the world in this industry, and cannot even make it into the top three.
At first glance, the top five seem to be very powerful, but when you know that the top three occupy nearly 90% of the market share in these two markets, you will know how difficult it is for the top five to survive.
After all, the technology industry is basically an industry dominated by leading technology. This is also the biggest reason why Microsoft can beat AMD and IBN in processors and take the top spot. My technology is better than yours and I don’t care whether you are a senior or a big boss in the industry. Just surpass them and that’s it.
“What advantages do we have in terms of architecture design?” Yang Dongxu asked.
Graphics cards and processors actually face the same problem as mobile phone chips: poor production technology. But the design concept is very advanced.
“The design architecture of the processor has been calculated by the research laboratory before. It is barely tied with AMD, but still cannot surpass Microsoft.”
“Do you think if we join forces with AMD, can we compete with Microsoft?” Yang Dongxu asked.
"It is possible, but it is uncertain whether we can win in the end. After all, Microsoft's processor is indeed good. Whether it is heat dissipation or computing law at the same HZ, it is indeed better than other processors on the market.
And even if we work with AMD on research and development, Microsoft will not stand still. After all, the new products that Microsoft is going to launch this year not only have faster computing speeds, but also smaller sizes. AMD definitely does not have such technology, and we do not have such advanced architecture design."
"This is a standard case of 1+1 less than 2." Yang Dongxu couldn't help but shook his head with some emotion and changed the subject. "By the way, how is the cooperative research and development of some projects with Samsung going?"
"The progress is not bad, but I still have to say one thing. For some other projects that are being prepared for cooperation, Toshiba of Japan is actually a better partner. And they are more sincere." Ye Rongrong said.
If it were another manager, this sentence would definitely not be said. After all, the relationship between Yang Dongxu and Li Fuzhen is clearly there, which is obviously offending people, and Ye Rongrong obviously has no such scruples.
"Let Toshiba handle the graphics card cooperation, but we can sign a confidentiality agreement or a non-compete agreement with them. But similarly, after obtaining our advanced graphics card design architecture, they will also have to transfer some graphics card production technology to us."
"This may be a bit difficult." Ye Rongrong frowned.
"Then let's talk slowly and see how they react after the first batch of graphics cards we cooperated with Samsung are put on the market."
"What about the chip side?"
"Continue to deepen cooperation with Samsung." Yang Dongxu said after a moment of hesitation.
"In fact, TSMC is also a good choice."
"Then let's talk together?" Yang Dongxu thought about the Wall Street bosses standing behind Samsung, and felt that he could not be regarded as the only choice, even with Li Fuzhen's relationship.
"The US IT industry, or the electronics industry, has completely recovered, or has further developed rapidly. Now the Commerce Bureau over there seems to have begun to pay attention to us." Ye Rongrong spoke of a serious problem currently facing Dongxu Technology.
If the United States adopts a technology blockade similar to the previous life against Huawei to target Dongxu Technology at this time. Although Dongxu Technology is now a big player in the technology industry, it is not as strong as Huawei in the past.
Because too many technologies now rely on foreign patents, and its own technology reserves are seriously insufficient. This is an absolute gap in basic technology, which cannot be made up by his research over the years.
If the domestic technology industry grows for another ten years, and he concentrates on practicing for another ten years, he may be able to fight the United States like Huawei, but it is definitely not possible now.
"I will find a way to deal with this matter, and you can do your own thing with peace of mind. By the way, Yiting Technology is developing cloud computing, and they have a researcher named Kanei who you should know.
You can cooperate in the development of some technological products as an excuse to pay more attention to the situation at Yiting Technology. If you find that there is something wrong, you must bring Kanei and his technical team to China. Yiting Technology can do without him, but Kanei must not be lost."
"You can do this now, right?" Ye Rongrong looked at Yang Dongxu with some confusion.
"It is indeed possible to let Kanei come to China now, but research and development such as cloud computing requires a lot of advanced technologies in the United States. It is more convenient there, and the speed of research and development is also faster." Yang Dongxu spread his hands helplessly.
Some technological research and development progress must stand on the shoulders of predecessors, and currently in the IT industry. The giant of the United States is obviously taller and stronger than China.
"Okay, I'll pay attention. You should also solve the matter with the US Department of Commerce as soon as possible. The other party always finds various excuses to block the export approval procedures for our latest batch of MP4s." Ye Rongrong instructed.
"Understood!" Yang Dongxu nodded.
This time he was ready to cut some meat. There was no way to face a big boss like the US Department of Commerce. Whether it was Kennedy or Little Jack, it was not easy to get rid of them by throwing some bait. He had to cut some meat.