"Dr. Zhou, welcome to join us. You will be ZTE's representative in the Amerikan region for this commercial monopoly.
If you have any needs, you can communicate directly with Mr. Cheng. "
Zhou Xin was born in the junior class of Huaguo University of Science and Technology. After graduation, he went to California Institute of Technology, Berkeley, to study for a PhD in semiconductors, studying under Professor Hu Zhengming.
Professor Hu Zhengming is an unavoidable figure in the semiconductor industry. He was once the chief technical expert of TSMC and the inventor of the three-dimensional transistor structure.
After graduating with a Ph.D., he joined ZTE after Amerikan issued a ban on ZTE, and became ZTE's power representative in the Amerikan region. He was also the second-largest figure in the ZTE Amerikan region during this special period.
"Congratulations, ZTE is a very good company. Although we are currently experiencing some minor setbacks, it will not affect ZTE's development trend.
ZTE provides direct support to more than 100,000 high-tech jobs at Americen. We are a giant with presence in more than 150 countries and regions around the world. This is just a small incident. "
Cheng Lixin is the president of ZTE in the Amerikan region, and he maintains a semblance of respectability for airborne factions like Zhou Xin.
"Newman, I've already told you that my grandfather will meet with Lieberman later, but you don't have to be too optimistic about the outcome.
Seriously, you shouldn't get involved in this. It's almost impossible to get what you want. "
Lieberman is Zhou's new intermediary. He is a former senior senator from Amerikan and has extensive connections in Washington.
In just six months, Zhou Xin was able to find Lieberman and get him to agree to become ZTE's registered public lobbyist in the Senate. This was already a very difficult thing.
Because in this sensitive period, it is difficult to find people with enough money and energy to lobby for ZTE.
The most important reason why Zhou Xin was able to obtain this position was his personal relationship with the grandson of American Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
"Sorry, Dr. Zhou, due to the delay in progress, your personnel transfer has been approved after review by the board of directors. You will return to China to work at ZTE's research institute in Yanjing. The specific position and rank will be notified to you later."
Dr. Zhou Xin's choice to go to ZTE after graduation was also a gamble for him. The bet was that Amerikan's sanctions against ZTE were only part of maximum pressure.
In the end, as long as ZTE is willing to pay a certain amount of compensation, Amerikan will lift the sanctions against ZTE.
But the result was completely different from what he expected.
Willing to admit defeat, Zhou Xin took the initiative to leave ZTE.
As things continue to develop dynamically, one year has passed since Dr. Zhou Xin graduated. During this year, the battle between the two giants, China and Amerikan, has attracted the most attention from the world.
The core area of competition among giants is high technology, and semiconductors are the area with the most obvious gaps in high technology and the most vulnerable to sanctions.
At this time, it has become the most concerned point of the whole country.
From ZTE being sanctioned, to TSMC no longer being able to provide OEM services to HiSilicon, to SMIC being unable to purchase lithography machines with advanced processes.
Americen’s measures in China’s semiconductor field are constantly increasing.
The year Zhou Xin graduated, only a handful of Ph.D.s could earn an annual salary of one million. But a year later, it is no exaggeration to see Ph.D.s earning millions in the semiconductor field everywhere.
Not to mention that he is a Ph.D. student from Hu Zhengming at the University of California, Berkeley.
Therefore, Zhou Xin, who left ZTE, was not worried that he would have nowhere to go.
On the eve of Zhou Xin leaving Amerikan, he went to say goodbye to his mentor, and Hu Zhengming consoled him.
“China has always attached great importance to the development of the semiconductor industry, but this emphasis is at the government level.
However, there is no consensus among the government, financial industry, industry and the public.
But after the trade war in the past year, all levels of China have now reached a consensus.
China's semiconductor industry will usher in a period of rapid development in the true sense. You are very right to choose to go back at this time.
I've said hello to Liang Mengsong for you. You can go to Shenhai to talk to him first when you go back.
He can give you some advice from the front lines of the industry.
Although I have worked at TSMC for a long time, my understanding of China's semiconductor industry is still limited. "
Zhou Xin was very grateful to Hu Zhengming for taking care of him, “Professor, thank you very much for taking care of me during these years at Berkeley.
I will keep in touch with my senior brother after I return to China.
China has reached a consensus that no matter what, it cannot be choked by America in the semiconductor field.
There is even a consensus that Amerikan cannot be choked in the high-precision field.
This is an opportunity and a challenge.
Likewise, my experience working in Washington over the past year tells me this.
Amerikan also reached a consensus that China's high-tech development must be curbed.
Therefore, for a long time in the future, China's semiconductor industry will face suppression from America and even the entire Western world.
China is starting from scratch in many semiconductor segments.
This is no small challenge. "
"It is a challenge for the entire country of China, and an opportunity for you.
It’s not like you’re facing suppression from the entire Western world.
Have you decided which company you want to join? "Hu Zhengming asked.
"I plan to start my own business. In the past two years, there has been a lot of hot money pouring into the semiconductor field in China.
When I was still working at ZTE, people kept finding me through various channels, hoping to start a joint venture with me.
During this process, I also screened out several suitable investors and planned to start a business when I returned to China.
You know, I still have a few valuable patents that would help in certain niche areas where getting around the Amerikan blockade would be helpful. "
Hu Zhengming nodded and said: "I have worked in academia and in the industry, but I have no entrepreneurial experience.
However, there are many people around me starting businesses, including former colleagues, friends in academia, students, and subordinates from my time at TSMC.
Entrepreneurship tests comprehensive abilities. If you are academically talented, technical skills alone may not be enough.
A series of factors such as technology, capital, market, management, etc. will all affect the ultimate success of entrepreneurship.
Of course, the most important thing here is the right time. Now that China's semiconductor industry has the right time and the environment has been set up, I believe you can achieve good results when you go back.
As for what kind of results can achieve your inner expectations of success, then I don't know. "
Among the IPOs in China's capital market in 2019, semiconductors are undoubtedly the hottest keywords.
A large number of semiconductor companies entered the capital market in 2019. This year, a total of 20 semiconductor company IPOs were approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
The semiconductor industry raised twice as much money in the secondary market in 2019 as in 2018, let alone the primary market.
After returning to China, Zhou Xin's entrepreneurial journey was quite smooth.
The overall environment, coupled with his own abilities, and the connections Hu Zhengming provided him, were enough to allow him to go smoothly in the early stages of starting his business.
In one year, Xinxin Technology, founded by Zhou Xin, has raised more than RMB 100 million in Series A financing, led by Yunqi Capital and Yida Capital.
In these two rounds of investment, Xinxin Technology's own technical strength and operating conditions are critical, and the personal relationships Liang Mengsong helped Zhou Xin build are equally important.
Liang Mengsong is the CEO of SMIC and a Ph.D. taught by Hu Zhengming. He has worked in AMD, TSMC, and Samsung.
After completing the A-round financing, when Liang Mengsong and Zhou Xin were having dinner alone in private,
“Samsung Electronics’ annual free technology transfer will begin again.
According to my inside information, they are expected to transfer about 300 semiconductor technologies to small and medium-sized enterprises for free this year.
How prepared are our semiconductor companies in Korea for this event?
It is difficult to become a long-term strategic partner of Samsung Electronics.
Although we pretended to be a Korean company through layers of proxy holdings, the establishment time was too short and it was difficult to gain the trust of Samsung.
But as long as the core technology marked in this transfer of technology is obtained, the valuation of Xinxin Technology in the next round will be multiplied by ten. "
Since 2013, under the leadership of Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, giants in Korea’s consumer electronics field have transferred their unused technologies to small and medium-sized enterprises free of charge every year.
In the nine years from 2013 to 2021, Samsung transferred a total of 2,402 technologies.
For Samsung, the technology has no use, but it is different for China's semiconductor industry, which is facing a blockade.
This is because SMIC is far inferior to TSMC from a technical level, but SMIC can enjoy a higher valuation than TSMC (from the perspective of price-to-earnings ratio).
The reason why Liang Mengsong spared no effort to help Zhou Xin was not only because of their personal relationship.
Zhou Xin has his own abilities and is able to do things that he cannot do in some areas.
As the CEO of SMIC, if Liang Mengsong pretends to be a Korean company to obtain the technology transferred by Samsung Electronics for free, then SMIC is waiting to be sanctioned.
Unlike Zhou Xin, even if it is discovered, the scope of influence can be controlled to a very small range.
The actual controller behind this is Zhou Xin’s Morning Star Semiconductor, which disguised itself as a Korean company and applied to Samsung for free technology transfer to small and medium-sized enterprises.
"Hope everything goes well." was the last sentence sent by Zhou Xin and Liang Mengsong after they briefly chatted on WeChat.
On the way back, Zhou Xin looked at his cell phone and ignored the truck coming from the side.
