Chapter 270: Round, big and delicious cake!
At the same time, in Shenzhen, in the high-level conference room of Daming Laser’s headquarters building, three senior executives including the company’s chairman were also studying almost the same documents.

“Photolithography equipment suitable for quantum analog integrated circuits? No, isn’t this quantum chip being developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences? I remember it requires a low-temperature environment or something? Can this thing also be related to photolithography equipment?”

When Zhang Wendong, the founder, chairman and general manager of Daming Laser, saw the document, he was completely confused.

Therefore, the senior executives of the company’s management decision-making committee and the technical personnel responsible for the research and development of lithography machine technology were invited to hold this meeting.

My family knows their own affairs.

Speaking of lithography machines in China, they and Linhai Microelectronics Equipment are the only ones, but how should I put it? The two companies are not making the same kind of things.

The lithography machine business of Daming Laser Manufacturing is actually mainly focused on PCB boards and the pan-semiconductor field, and there is a technological generation gap between the two.

Daming Laser currently does not have the ability to research integrated circuit lithography machines, so they have not yet entered the field of true chip-level lithography machines.

The two companies are in completely different fields and their customer groups are not in direct competition with each other.

There is no way, Daming Laser can be said to be a private enterprise that started from a small workshop. Whether it is technical reserves or financial strength, it cannot be compared with Linhai Microelectronics Equipment, which has a state-owned background.

It would be almost a fantasy to ask them to start research from the light source, make breakthroughs in basic technical fields such as optical systems, nano-level precision control, and make IC-level lithography machines.

Of course, it does not mean that the research of Daming Laser is meaningless. Although the photolithography technology in the PCB field is already a mature market and the technical level is not high, the photolithography machines produced by Daming Laser have at least achieved domestic substitution.

That’s why Zhang Wendong completely didn’t understand the meaning of this document from Beijing.

Quantum simulation computer, the name sounds very high-sounding, but what does it have to do with Daming Laser, an industry?
Even if the Chinese Academy of Sciences is not in charge of the research, it should be directly arranged for Linhai Microelectronics to do it.

Whether in terms of talent reserves or technological accumulation, Linhai Microelectronics Equipment is the undisputed No. 1 in China in the field of high-precision lithography.

Zhang Wendong was afraid of choking to death on such a big piece of cake.

“It should be a brand new computer device. I have heard some rumors about this before, and it seems that many companies have received the same bidding invitation.

These include private companies such as Youwei Group, Xiaolibaba, Will Holdings, Zili Group, Jingwei GPU, etc., and state-owned enterprises such as China Electronics Technology Group, China Electronics Software, Huaxin International, Huaxia Communications, etc.

The companies that received the notice covered almost all areas of computer hardware, operating systems, and software. We were one of the last to receive the notice.

So I guess the country is really serious this time. It wants to upgrade the PC industry, overtake the competition, bypass all Western patents, and make the next generation of computer products.”

The speaker is Zhao Zekai, one of the company’s vice presidents and one of the deputy directors of the company’s management and decision-making committee, who is mainly responsible for the company’s public relations work.

“Yes, I’ve heard from my friends. The scientific community has been discussing this news recently. The main topic is Qiao Yu, who proposed the concept of quantum simulation some time ago.

Then there was the global live broadcast. I guess the last live broadcast was a test to prove the superiority of quantum simulation computing and convince the higher-ups to start related technology research and development.

To be honest, if this computer based on quantum simulation theory can be successfully developed as stated in the document, it means that we have opened up a whole new track.

This would be an unprecedented feast. As long as we build enough patent barriers, we might even become the next ASML! And this time, the most powerful companies in the country are working together to collaborate on the ecosystem, so I think the chances of success are very high.”

As soon as Zhao Zekai finished speaking, Haitao, the engineer in charge of photolithography technology, immediately responded with an excited tone. It was obvious that he was very optimistic about this project.

Of course, this is also a common problem in technology.

If the company does bid and successfully joins the project, it means that a large amount of money will be invested in the research and development of a new generation of lithography equipment.

That also means that the company will establish new laboratories for this research, invest in more high-tech equipment, and recruit more relevant engineers.

The only thing he needs to worry about is that he may have to give up his position as the chief engineer of lithography technology. After all, he doesn’t know much about high-precision lithography technology.

But Fu Haitao didn’t care.

If the company can really participate in this project and recruit talented people to develop it, he would be willing to do it even if it means just helping the big guys.

After all, for an ordinary scientific researcher like him, as long as he can participate in this kind of project, it will be enough to brag about it for the rest of his life.

Moreover, Fu Haitao is only 35 years old this year. He has been working for six years after graduating with a doctorate and has a great interest in this new technology.

After Fu Haitao finished speaking, there was a brief silence in the conference room.

Zhang Wendong touched his chin. To be honest, as the chairman, he was also very tempted.

Just as Fu Haitao said, if this project can really succeed, it will be the biggest opportunity for Daming Laser.

And looking at the explanation in the document, this time it is led by the Science and Technology Commission, and the project leader is the genius Qiao Yu who has recently become famous.

How should I put it? The only thing that worries me is probably Qiao Yu’s age.

Seventeen years old, not yet an adult.

However, considering the young man’s past performance, it is not too exaggerated.

Zhang Wendong also watched the live broadcast mentioned by Fu Haitao. He was in his office at the time and felt his blood boiling.

But as the chairman and general manager of the company, he still has to calm himself down.

If it succeeds, everything will be fine. But if the project fails, a huge amount of money will be invested, and in the end something weird will come out with no market prospects, which will be a huge blow to the company.

After all, private enterprises don’t have the capital that state-owned enterprises have. No one is backing them up.

However, after thinking about it carefully, Zhang Wendong felt a little worried.

This document is just a letter of inquiry. Even if they want to participate in this project, there are other similar companies such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Linhai Microelectronics Equipment ahead of them.

Even if we bid, let alone the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it is a question whether we can compete with Linhai Microelectronics Equipment.

After a moment’s silence, Zhang Wendong looked at the company’s vice president in charge of finance and accounting and asked, “Vice President Qu, how much capital do you have at present?

In other words, if we participate in the bidding, without affecting the normal business operations of the company, if we formulate a five-year R&D plan, how much money can be invested in the R&D of related lithography machines each year?”

Soon Zhang Wendong got the accurate data. “Mr. Zhang, the current balance of the company’s account is 28.36 billion. After deducting the fixed expenditure of about 12 billion for the next 14.2 months and the reserved emergency working capital of 6 million, the available R&D funds are 8.16 million.

If the risk tolerance is raised to 80%, RMB 14 billion will be used, with a maximum investment of RMB 14 billion in the first year. If the existing business maintains a 5% growth, cash flow can support an average annual growth of 3% in R&D investment in the next three years. However, considering possible business fluctuations, a gap of RMB 8 million may appear in the third year.

However, considering that this is a general project, if the bid is successful, we should be able to apply for special subsidies from the Ministry of Science and Technology. According to past experience, it is estimated that it can cover the research costs of about 1.5 million yuan.

At the same time, according to the current R&D tax preferential regulations, about 0.9 million yuan in tax can be saved and invested in R&D. However, this is very risky. Even if all the company’s credit lines are used.

So if you really want to participate in the bidding, considering business fluctuations and risk hedging, I suggest that the company launch a private placement to raise at least 4 billion yuan, diluting the equity by about %, in order to cope with the short-term capital risk after heavy asset R&D investment. “

“Can the private placement be approved?” Zhang Wendong asked immediately.

“If we successfully bid for the relevant R&D tasks, we will fully meet the requirement that the R&D investment ratio is greater than or equal to 15%, and there will be no problem with the private placement.”

After listening to the report from the Vice President of Finance, Zhang Wendong took a deep breath.

Although the money he could put out was still a little less than that of such a large project, and he certainly couldn’t compete with the wealthy Linhai Microelectronics Equipment, Zhang Wendong still decided to give it a try.

As the Vice President of Technology just said, if they successfully participate in this project and the project is eventually successfully implemented, perhaps in a few years, they will be the next ASML!

For an entrepreneur, this temptation is really irresistible. It’s nothing more than a gamble.

After watching the live broadcast, Zhang Wendong felt that he still had a chance of winning, and a great one.

Qiao Yu is already able to directly attack the financial security field of the whole world. I still have confidence to take a gamble with such a person.

His only worry now was that the company would not be selected as a bidder. After all, they didn’t have much money to offer.

Even if they tightened their belts, they could only squeeze out 1.4 billion yuan in initial investment. This may sound like a lot of money, but anyone who has worked on lithography machine development knows that this amount of money is just a drop in the bucket for such a high-precision technology system.

But if you can really join this project, in addition to financial support, you will definitely get various technical support.

At least some basic scientific research definitely does not require additional investment.

So three seconds later, Zhang Wendong made up his mind.

“Okay, I think this can be done. Mr. Qu, based on the company’s current financial situation, work with other colleagues to develop a bid. Let’s grit our teeth and increase the start-up R&D funding to more than 1.6 billion!”
In addition, we need to start preparing for the additional issuance. Now that the news has spread, there will definitely be institutional investors interested in this project, so we need to do a good job of pre-communication. Submit the cash flow forecast and financing feasibility report to me this week.”

……

The same scene is happening at the headquarters of large companies in economically developed regions across the country.

Just as the chief technical engineer of Daming Laser reported, all the leading companies in the entire semiconductor consumption field received the letter for comments and started internal discussions.

In just a few days, the entire semiconductor technology industry was thinking about the proposition of quantum simulation computers.

In fact, the conclusions drawn are similar.

If we succeed, we will be deeply involved in a new trend. Perhaps in the next ten years, China will grow a group of high-tech companies that can compete with giants such as Microsoft, Intel, Nvidia, IBM, Google, etc.

And with the development of quantum simulation technology, it began to erode the market of classical electronic computers, until it eventually replaced the opposite technology center position.

As for the failure of the project, or failure to meet expectations, it means that hundreds of billions of investments have been wasted. This is a big gamble.

For many companies, it may mean putting all their assets on the line to take this chance.

But if we look at it from a higher level, we can even say that this is a national project in the field of science and technology.

If it really works, it almost means that China has achieved world-class results in all fields of science and technology. In the future, if we want to find industrial pearls that China does not have, we will probably have to use a microscope to find them.

And those that are finally found are most likely businesses whose markets are too small and that China Manufacturing is unwilling to do.

It was like the legendary ballpoint pen beads that China could not produce. They were produced in one go and several furnaces were burned, which directly led to the world not being able to use them up in ten years, and a lot of small businesses went bankrupt.

This was probably something that the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science and Technology had not thought of before they sent the letter.

Their original intention was just to do a survey first and understand the ideas of the majority of practitioners.

But a man’s reputation is like a tree’s shadow. After seeing that Qiao Yu was the project leader, everyone seemed to think that the project was about to be launched, and even began to speculate that the higher-ups were no longer going to tolerate all kinds of blackmail from the other side.

Who knows, this project will be the starting point for a comprehensive counterattack in the field of science and technology. Maybe they will also target the financial field that the other side cares about the most.

After all, that’s what Qiao Yu did in his live broadcast before.

Ordinary people might really believe that Qiao Yu was invited by the three major cryptocurrency exchanges to test their security systems.

But for these powerful and well-informed senior managers of large companies, obviously no one would be so naive.

Various different interpretations of this document have sparked controversy throughout the industry.

When a storm begins to stir in the outside world, it will definitely feed back into the center of the storm.

So for those professors who have just joined Qiao Yu’s project team, this period of time is also very fulfilling.

Since the integration of industry, academia and research began, those technology companies have had close ties with many universities and research institutes in China.

Even if you don’t know them in person, you can always get in touch with them through a few people.

There are definitely too many things that cannot be said, but there is definitely no need to hide things that are not related to technical secrets, such as whether Qiao Yu is really going to work on the quantum simulation computer project and to what extent the internal discussions will go.

Not to mention that Qiao Yu had already explained that if anyone asked about the project, they could talk about anything as long as it did not involve specific technical details.

Then there is nothing to hide.

The professors, who were already in a state of excitement and excitement, did not hesitate to spread the big rosy picture that Qiao Yu had painted for them.

(End of this chapter)