"When exactly did you start working on this? And how did you do it? How much capital must this have required? Did you really not encounter any obstacles along the way?" Chu Hai asked a barrage of questions in one breath. After all, it was genuinely difficult to digest all this information so quickly.
He also suddenly realized that the energy and operational tactics of Miss Liu, who was sitting right in front of them, might far exceed their previous imaginations.
She wasn't just daring enough to think big; she actually dared to execute and could deliver results!
Liu Yutong picked up her teacup and took a sip to moisten her throat. "The specific details are highly classified commercial secrets, so it's inconvenient to disclose them for now."
"Now let's return to the topic we started with: why am I making chips? As I said before, I am a businesswoman, and I believe it can make me money. I already have my first stepping stone—a factory located somewhere in the West, filled with a group of engineers currently working for me."
"Of course, for certain reasons, I don't plan to import the equipment from that company. Although their technology is good, there are some issues regarding mass production. My idea is to first hunt down a batch of phased-out secondhand equipment internationally and set up the domestic factory. We can start with mature categories that have relatively low chip manufacturing requirements but massive market demand, such as television chips, set-top box chips, and so on."
"You two are well aware that the country is vigorously promoting the policy of bringing home appliances to rural areas, and televisions are the top priority. However, the core chips of current mainstream domestic TV brands, whether CRT TVs or the emerging LCD TVs, almost entirely rely on imports. This is a massive market worth tens of billions annually, and with the upgrading of televisions, the demand will only grow. We can absolutely use this as our entry point into the market."
Hearing this, Ji Zhe and Chu Hai began to rapidly calculate in their minds, and they soon came to a conclusion.
"The manufacturing process requirements for these types of chips are indeed not as stringent as those for mobile phone processors or computer CPUs. Many are still using the 130-nanometer or even 90-nanometer process. There is a considerable inventory of phased-out secondhand equipment for such production lines internationally, so it really is relatively easy to get our hands on them."
"Exactly!"
Liu Yutong took over the conversation and continued, "We aren't chasing the most advanced production lines; we couldn't get them even if we tried. We only seek production lines that are usable, sufficient, and capable of quickly forming production capacity. Although the importation and calibration of secondhand equipment come with technical thresholds, we can completely resolve these issues through the Western equipment company I control."
"My plan consists of three steps. Step one: leverage the technical team of the overseas company as consultants and support to establish the first 8-inch wafer production line in the country, primarily using secondhand equipment, targeting the 90-nanometer to 130-nanometer process nodes. This technical level is enough to cover the needs of most televisions, set-top boxes, and basic home appliance control chips."
"Step two: simultaneously assemble a chip design team. Poach talent! And I already have a target candidate for the CEO position!"
"Step three: link manufacturing and design together. President Ji, President Chu, I assume you know about how I recently acquired a significant stake through the secondary market to become the major shareholder of Qiming Electronics?"
As soon as Liu Yutong said this, a flash of lightning crossed Ji Zhe and Chu Hai's minds. Many previously seemingly scattered moves were instantly connected by this thread, forming a complete strategic map.
Qiming Electronics!
Right! How could they have forgotten about this?
In the recent highly publicized battle for control of Qiming Electronics, wasn't the biggest winner and disruptor behind the scenes the very Miss Liu sitting right in front of them?
Acquiring shares on the secondary market, forcefully entering the board of directors...
Could all of this just be a coincidence?
If at first they thought Liu Yutong entering the chip industry was suicidal, they no longer felt that way. Instead, they felt it held immense promise.
The situation had completely reversed!
Now, Ji Zhe and Chu Hai had basically figured out the threads Liu Yutong had laid down.
The furthest upstream, and also the most crucial link, was her controlling stake in a Western equipment company. This company might not be able to provide lithography machines, but it possessed a comprehensive technical team that could entirely solve the technical and partial core component issues of the subsequent domestic wafer factory. There was even a chance to steal... borrow the most advanced technology to facilitate future process improvements.
Midstream, which was what they were discussing now, involved raising funds to build a domestic wafer factory responsible for manufacturing.
Downstream was Qiming Electronics, which she controlled. It was important to note that Qiming Electronics was currently a domestic giant in appliance production and sales, with an extremely high demand for chips, making it a massive potential client.
Most crucially, this company knew exactly what kind of televisions and set-top boxes the market needed, where the cost constraints lay, and what the user pain points were. Based on these factors, they could propose chip specification requirements that were closest to the market, pass them to the chip design team for realization, then have the newly built wafer factory produce the wafers. Finally, the chips would return to Qiming Electronics, be installed in their TVs and set-top boxes, and be pushed into the massive national market for rural home appliances.
From the core technological fulcrum to the manufacturing backbone, and finally to the brand and end-user market—the upstream, midstream, and downstream chains were fully integrated, forming a closed industrial loop!
"Damn, she... she shortened the supply chain just like that?"
"Is she even human?"
The more Ji Zhe and Chu Hai thought about it, the more shocked they became, and the more terrifying they found this woman.
What kind of forward-thinking strategy was this?
First, she controlled the end brand through the capital market, then drove upstream chip design and manufacturing in reverse, while simultaneously using overseas acquisitions to secure a technological fulcrum... Every step was interlocked, pointing toward the same strategic goal.
How did this grand scale of long-term planning and industrial integration look like the work of a nineteen-year-old woman?
This vision, this boldness, this execution—she was practically a monster in the business world! A female monster!
They yielded!
They were utterly convinced!
Right now, they really wanted to kneel down and sing: "Conquered by you just like this..."
They really had no choice but to submit!
If she had taken things this far and still didn't succeed, then there really was no justice in the world.
They no longer felt that this ten billion was a massive pit; it was clearly Liu Yutong handing them a giant gold brick.
As long as this wafer factory could be built and reach the scale of Zhongxin, this investment would yield a massive profit!
Liu Yutong said, "So, do you still think throwing ten billion into this is just tossing money into the water to hear a splash?"
Ji Zhe took a deep breath, trying hard to calm himself down. "Director Liu, please accept my deepest admiration! Your strategic layout is the most forward-looking, god-tier maneuvering we've seen in our ten-plus years in the industry! I take back all my previous doubts."
Chu Hai added, "Me too, Director Liu. I am entirely in awe of your business vision and strategic boldness! We will follow you with this funding!"
"Director Liu, have you decided what to name our chips?"
Liu Yutong paused for a moment. "They will be called Dragon Chips!"
