Compared with Hu Zhengming, whose research fields include semiconductor components, EDA circuit simulation software, high-end chemical materials upstream and downstream of the semiconductor supply chain, and analog IC circuit design, Guan Jianying's areas of expertise are more concentrated in chip design and R&D teams. manage.
In other words, Guan Jianying is better at being a manager of Xinxin Semiconductor. Under his leadership, Xinxin Semiconductor can use the dividends of the mobile Internet to become a giant in the field of chip design.
However, Guan Jianying cannot do enough to drive the development of semiconductor companies in the entire park on his own.
Hu Zhengming can do it. He has nearly thirty years of work experience in academia and is a board member of many upstream and downstream companies in the semiconductor industry chain. He has sufficient ability to judge the overall industry and enterprises.
For Hu Zhengming, just by looking at people, he can make a preliminary judgment on whether the company is viable. This is equivalent to data analysis at the subconscious level of the human brain.
The traditional Chinese physiognomy is also a kind of vague and unsystematic data analysis. When everyone interacts with other people, there will be such a process in the subconscious mind of the brain: If in your memory, there is a similar appearance If a person has brought you bad memories, then you will have subconscious resentment and disgust towards him.
Hu Zhengming is already very skilled in judging semiconductor companies, let alone going to China to do this. Semiconductor companies in China are still in their infancy, and there is a generational gap between technology and the industry's cutting-edge technology.
From this perspective, Hu Zhengming is the most suitable person to help provide technical direction guidance for semiconductor supply chain companies throughout the park.
Hu Zhengming smiled bitterly and reminded: "Newman, have you ever thought that if I go to work at New Core Technology, you will have no mentor.
Although you can successfully graduate from Berkeley if you change your mentor, you may not be as easy to talk to as me if you change your mentor.
Newman, you don’t want to suddenly change supervisors after two years of PhD study, right? "
With Zhou Xin's reputation, it was Berkeley that should be worried that Zhou Xin would not be able to graduate normally. Although Berkeley is a public research university and relies mainly on funding from the California government, no university would feel that it does not need donations from alumni.
When Zhou Xin was in China before New Year's Day of the new millennium, he donated RMB 100 million to Yanda University in the name of student scholarships. After returning to Berkeley, Hu Zhengming hinted that he should also donate some money to Berkeley.
Therefore, Zhou Xin also donated US$10 million to Berkeley. At the donation ceremony, he also invested US$100 million in the name of Xinxin Technology to build a laboratory with the Department of Electrical Engineering at Berkeley. The final laboratory results were obtained by Xinxin Technology and Berkeley shared.
US$100 million is not a small number in any era. In 2000, the NNI plan, which allocated funds to nanomaterials research projects at the national level, only allocated US$495 million for the whole year.
The $495 million is divided between Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Berkeley National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories.
Of course, it’s not a loss for Zhou Xin. He can use Berkeley’s professors and scientific research dogs to help him do some projects that he wants to do but doesn’t have the energy to promote. Anyway, the final scientific research results are half of those of Xinxin Technology.
As for whether America will recognize it in the future, we will wait until they do not recognize it. At least in China, it is not possible for America to recognize it.
After these two incidents, Berkeley's attitude towards Zhou Xin became even more enthusiastic. They wished that Zhou Xin could stay at Berkeley for a few more years and then graduate successfully.
Before Zhou Xin, the famous alumni of Berkeley were concentrated in the field of scientific research, and there were not many alumni who could prove their worth in the field of Internet entrepreneurship, which was incomparable with Stanford and MIT.
With Zhou Xin, Berkeley has significant alumni in the Internet field. Of course, this can only be the icing on the cake. The most important thing is the resources Zhou Xin has at his disposal, which determines that Berkeley will ensure that Zhou Xin successfully graduates from Berkeley no matter what.
Zhou Xin said: "Professor, even if you go to work in Zhangjiang, you can still be my supervisor during the doctoral stage.
Berkeley can leave a teaching position for you, and you can supervise my academic work remotely while working in Zhangjiang. "
According to the original historical trajectory, Hu Zhengming went to TSMC to work as chief technology officer for three years, and the professorship of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Berkeley has been reserved for him.
This is 2001, not 2021, and positions in academia are not that tight yet. And based on Hu Zhengming’s qualifications and academic achievements, Berkeley will retain an academic position for him even in 2021.
Hu Zhengming said: "I still need time to think, mainly because I am older. Going to Zhangjiang is equivalent to starting from scratch, which is a very big challenge for me.
You know, I don’t like to take risks, otherwise I wouldn’t have worked at Berkeley for the rest of my life. Even if I was working on Sly Semiconductor, it was a small-cost start-up.
To be honest, compared with entrepreneurship in circuit design, chip manufacturing, semiconductor materials, and semiconductor equipment, the startup cost of EDA software is the lowest.
Circuit design requires engineers from different modules, and then testing and tape-out are required. Finally, someone needs to pay for the production of the designed chip, which is very costly.
Not to mention chip manufacturing. Any production line is sky-high. The same is true for semiconductor materials and semiconductor equipment.
Take photolithography machines as an example. Twenty years ago, the research and development of photolithography machines required at least US$100 million. , it should have cost at least 500 million US dollars, right?
Otherwise Nikon wouldn't sell it to you at all.
US$500 million is enough for SILIE Semiconductor to operate for ten years.
So different people have different preferences for risk. I am a relatively risk-averse person.
When starting a business in Silue Semiconductor, Silue Semiconductor's main business is EDA software, and it also does some chip design OEM.
Chip design foundry also serves EDA software. If we don't use Sili's EDA software ourselves, then how do we know how to optimize it?
When we first started our business, we invested a total of five million US dollars in Silue Semiconductor, of which I didn’t pay a penny. I invested purely in technology.
Of course, I believe that if I go to Zhangjiang with you, you won’t let me pay for it, but there are too many uncertainties about going to Zhangjiang.
Judging from my experience of giving lectures at Yanda over the past many years, China is very short of talents in the field of integrated circuits.
Starting around 1995, I have been going to China every year for some academic exchanges, and then giving some academic lectures to Chinese students.
Yanda should gather the top students in China. They are very talented and smart, but they lack practice. At Berkeley, you can enjoy the resources of Silicon Valley, intern in Silicon Valley, and learn about what front-line industries are doing in Silicon Valley. What, what kind of technology will help them find a job or start a business in the future.
Chinese students only have this concept after graduation, and when they go to school, they don’t know what the most advanced technical directions and technical routes in the industry are, and then they don’t know what kind of work they like to do. They will have to wait until they graduate. After spending many years exploring, when you figure out what you want to do, you may not be in the frame of mind to start from scratch.
I have always felt that there is a problem with China's talent training mechanism.
Of course, having said that, for integrated circuit entrepreneurship in China, especially as you mentioned, expanding investment in upstream and downstream semiconductor companies around chip foundry, lithography machines, and chip design, the talent gap is even greater.
The difficulty is not the slightest bit difficult. If you really want to do this when you go back, you need to be patient. This will be a protracted battle.
Talent training must cultivate at least three to five echelons, which will take five years, and then the results will be produced in a five-year planning cycle. I estimate that it will take the second five years to gradually achieve some results. "Hu Zhengming said it very sincerely, and what he talked about was his thinking about the current situation of China.
Unlike Zhang, Hu Zhengming has feelings for the mainland and wants to support the development of the mainland. However, due to his risk preference, he cannot give up everything he has now regardless of returning to China for development.
Hu Zhengming went to Wanwan when he was a baby, while Zhang spent his teenage years in mainland China. He did not leave the mainland until 1849, when he was 18 years old, to study at Harvard.
As for his position, Zhang Zhongmou's official attitude is to always remain neutral and not support any side.
However, judging from the results of TSMC's subsequent factory construction, it ultimately stood on Amerikan's side. Originally, TSMC only built factories with advanced processes in Wanwan, and foundries with mature processes were found outside of Wanwan. Later, it was directly The advanced technology factory was moved to Amerikan.
Zhang Zhongmou’s attitude can also be inferred from the results, because although he resigned as chairman of TSMC, he divided his power into two when he left the company, handing it to Liu Deyin and Wei Zhejia respectively. It can be seen that he still remains Holds the power to make decisions on important agendas.
When TSMC was building a factory in Americen, Zhang Zhongmou publicly stated that even if the manufacturing cost of building a factory in the United States was 50% higher, TSMC would continue to transfer some production lines to the United States.
Zhou Xin didn't know that Zhang Zhongmou would publicly take sides in 2022, but this did not affect his understanding of what kind of person Zhang Zhongmou was from Hu Zhengming's mouth when he was a doctor under Hu Zhengming.
Of course, I know more about Zhang Zhongmou from Liang Mengsong, who worked at TSMC for many years after graduating from Berkeley.
Zhou Xin said: "Professor, I can completely understand your concerns. I also have the patience. My funds are sufficient. Let alone ten years, fifteen years will be enough."
Moreover, China has a vast market, and the local market is enough to cultivate some excellent semiconductor companies. There is no absolute loss in doing this.
Some parts can be profitable, such as chip foundry. The processor of the Matrix mobile phone is designed by Xinxin Semiconductor. At the same time, we also designed a decoding chip for Apple. These are all income.
With these two items alone, feeding Xinxin Semiconductor will not be a problem.
The same is true for other areas of integrated circuits. Being behind means that the company is small, and being small means that the requirements for profit to achieve breakeven are not too high.
Therefore, what Zhangjiang needs to do is actually to establish an ecology. After the ecology is established, a positive cycle is formed. I believe that with the wisdom of the Chinese people, this matter can be done well. "
Later, a large part of the reason why China's semiconductor development was slow was that the upstream and downstream of the chip industry, whether they were branches of foreign companies in China or local companies in China, were unwilling to use the products of local companies in China.
They are not willing to give any chance to local Chinese companies.
This is because there was no chain owner enterprise with a core position to play a leading role in the beginning.
Zhou Xin continued: "I have also communicated with the Chinese side about the issue of insufficient talents.
Starting this year, Zhangjiang High-tech Park will sign cooperation agreements with several major universities in Shenhai to provide students with internship opportunities. The internship will extend from their freshman year to their senior year. We have also discussed internally that for students with good performance, I came here to work directly after graduation.
This plan is not only for Shenhai students, but will be open to the entire 985 universities in China in the future.
The current problem is that there are not enough companies, and the internship places that can be provided are only enough to satisfy Shenhai University.
Professor, you have stayed in universities for so many years. I asked you to go to Zhangjiang because you have a lot of experience in the field of industry, academia and research, and can play a big role in this aspect.
The internship plan we have is very superficial. How to achieve results during the specific implementation process? I think you can definitely achieve better results if you plan it. "
Zhou Xin wanted to recruit Hu Zhengming to Zhangjiang, and then Liang Mengsong was also stable.
When SMIC became chaotic, he forcefully entered SMIC, then took Liang Mengsong in to take over SMIC, and kicked out all those who wanted to cause trouble.
In later generations, SMIC had quite a lot of infighting due to its dispersed shareholdings, which gave many people the impression that SMIC was good at infighting.
Of course, SMIC is really good at internal fighting, and the excitement of internal fighting is comparable to that of palace fighting dramas.
Hu Zhengming said: "You still need to give me time, I need time to think."
"Uncle Lin, it is because of your new core lithography machine that we can get on the right track so quickly.
The first prototype came out much faster than I expected. "Zhou Xin personally went to San Francisco International Airport to pick up Lin Benjian.
This time Lin Benjian went back to America. One of them came back to visit relatives. His wife followed him to Zhangjiang, but neither of his daughters followed.
After shaking hands with Zhou Xin, Lin Benjian said: "The engineers in China are very diligent, and their diligence is no less than that of me who just went to work at IBM.
Although they lack experience, they work very hard and learn very quickly.
Thanks to their hard work, Xinxin Lithography Machine can produce prototypes so quickly. Without their cooperation, I would not be able to do this by myself, no matter how powerful I am.
Newman, I haven't seen him for a long time, probably a year.
I came back from Christmas vacation last year and stayed at home for only two weeks. We didn't have a meal together at that time. "
Zhou Xin nodded: "Yes, I came to see you this time because we haven't seen each other for so long, and there is another important reason.
Before I tell you the reason, I want to give you a gift to congratulate you on your achievement in Zhangjiang. "
After Zhou Xin finished speaking, he handed a box with the Matrix Logo printed on it to Lin Benjian: "Mphone, if you have been paying attention to Silicon Valley news recently, you should know about this product designed by me."
After taking it over, Lin Benjian said: "Of course, I often see news about Mphone on Chinese online forums and portals.
As time goes by, more and more people begin to admit that Mphone is an epoch-making product.
But I heard that because the servers for Mphone’s built-in applications are all set up in America, the experience of using Mphone in China is particularly bad, and only one-third of its essence can be experienced in China.
Because the network delay is too high.
It doesn’t have the silky smooth feeling that it does in Amerikan. "
Zhou Xin said: “Yes, we are still talking with China’s Ministry of Information Industry recently about the entry of Mphone into China.
I estimate that it will be soon, and it will enter China by the end of this year. The server environment for these applications has already been deployed in China. "
Zhou Xin turned the topic back to the surprise he just mentioned: "I have almost finished talking with Cymer, and they are willing to accept the acquisition of Xinxin Technology."
A smile finally appeared on Lin Benjian's calm old face: "What do you need me to do when I come back this time?"
Zhou Xin said: "Dr. Richard wants to talk to you, he still has many doubts about the future.
I actually don’t know much about light source technology. You already know Richard. We need to tell Richard why New Core Semiconductor acquired Cymer and what we will and will not do after acquiring Cymer.
I've talked very clearly with Dr. Robert before, and Dr. Richard might want to hear you say it again. "
Cymer is a light source company. The light source here is the light source used in lithography machines. Cymer is in a leading position in technology and has a market share of more than 70%.
The light source is one of the most critical technologies upstream of the lithography machine.
The light source and lens together form the source of light for the lithography machine. Compared with Zeiss, the giant in the lens field, Cymer is still affordable.
Zeiss really can't afford it.
Cymer has a market value of only 3 billion, so it is completely affordable.
Cymer is actually very important. It has always been a leader in technology, and the market in the field of light sources is very small. In 2000, it occupied 80% of the market, and its revenue only reached 500 million US dollars, making it the leader in the segment.
ASML was originally going to acquire Cymer in 2009, but in 2000, when Lin Benjian and Zhou Xin were communicating on the phone, Lin Benjian saw the news about Zhou Xin's acquisition of Nvidia and ARM in the news, and suggested that if there was an opportunity, he could consider acquiring Cymer. .
In Lin Benjian's view, Cymer's technical strength is very strong, and the acquisition of Cymer is conducive to their technological development. This is a strategic acquisition.
After Zhou Xin learned about it, he verified Cymer's information and memory, and immediately made up his mind to acquire the company.
It turned out to be very difficult to talk about, because the founding team of Cymer, Richard and Robert, both had Ph.D.s in the laser field, and later started a business together focusing on making light sources.
Their entrepreneurial process has been smooth, and they have also been successfully listed on Nasdaq. The bursting of the bubble will not have a great impact on this monopoly.
It just dropped from 5 billion to 3 billion.
In the second half of last year, Zhou Xin chatted with Robert almost every week, talking about future development and how they wanted to reshape the existing lithography machine landscape.
Robert was deceived. There was another founder, Richard. Compared with Robert, Zhou Xin's aura had no effect on Richard.
Richard just wanted to talk to Lin Benjian.
As a person engaged in light source research at IBM, Lin Benjian knew Richard and Robert, and was even more familiar with Richard. They often chatted all day long at international optical conferences.
Lin Benjian said: "Richard doesn't like change very much, and he would be more repulsive to being acquired.
Even if you offer a higher premium and promise that the other party will not interfere with Cymer's operations, Richard is not willing to accept it.
Since Richard is willing to chat with me, it means that he has been convinced by Robert and just needs me to analyze it for him as an objective third party.
You can safely leave this to me.
For us, the acquisition of Cymer and the integration of Cymer into the system of Xinxin Technology are of great significance. I think I have found a solution to overtake in the field of lithography machines, but this solution is not enough in my opinion. hidden.
The lack of concealment here means that this plan is easily leaked. After it is leaked, others can follow our plan and catch up in the manufacturing process.
If we have Cymer, we can use Cymer to interfere with their judgment.
We mislead Nikon, Canon and ASML into thinking that we are using Cymer's most advanced technology, and let them focus on the light source. "
After hearing this, Zhou Xin immediately guessed that Lin Benjian must have thought of the immersion method, which uses water as a layer of medium between the lens and the light source to reduce the wavelength.
The refractive ratio of water is 1.44. After refraction, the original wavelength of light of 193nm is reduced to 134nm, and the corresponding manufacturing process is greatly reduced.
Relying on the immersion method, the chip manufacturing process has evolved from 45nm to 7nm in just ten years.
But it is true that once the immersion method is leaked, others can quickly catch up.
In addition, American will naturally support ASML, which is backed by Wall Street capital, rather than the new core lithography machine whose research and development and production are all located in China.
If there is no technical advantage, or the advantage is not obvious enough, the chip foundry will not switch from the previous lithography machine to the new core lithography machine.
Even the purchases are in small quantities.
Lin Benjian continued: "However, using Cymer as a blindfold will not last long. At most, within a month or two, Nikon and the others will be able to discover this secret sooner or later.
But this is not important. The acquisition of Cymer will allow us to use Cymer's most advanced technology in the subsequent research and development process, which will help us catch up with Nikon in the field of lithography machines. "
Zhou Xin said: "Let's compete fairly. I'm not so anxious to make the photolithography machine reach a certain level. As long as it can be used, I can slowly catch up with advanced processes."
However, if there are companies like Cymer, you can tell me that they are within my affordability. Tell me as soon as possible. The capital market has not picked up yet and it is cheap to buy.
If it were the end of 1999, buying Cymer would have caused me heartache. "
(End of chapter)
