33: Chapter 33: The system was developed in one year, and the chip in two years.

"I know what you are all thinking." Shen Fei watched as the crowd whispered to one another in shock.

"Transsion currently lacks the strength, the talent, and the capital, right?"

No one answered, but the expressions on their faces said it all.

"That is why the Taishan Project is a long-term endeavor—five years, ten years, or even longer."

Shen Fei's tone was filled with certainty, along with a hint of confidence that others did not quite understand.

Chip Design and operating systems were money-losing ventures, especially operating systems. There were too many on the market right now, and it was too chaotic; the market was destined not to be able to support so many systems.

Why was the boss determined to pursue these?

"But we must do it. Why?"

A set of data appeared on the large screen: "This is the total chip procurement cost paid by Chinese mobile phone manufacturers to Qualcomm and MediaTek over the past three years. It totals over 30 billion USD."

"And this is just the beginning. With the popularization of the Smartphone, this figure will only increase exponentially, eventually becoming a market worth hundreds of billions or even trillions."

"Look at operating systems again. Android is open-source, but GMS is a monopoly. Without GMS in overseas markets, phones simply cannot be sold."

"If Transsion wants to grow in Africa, it will have to face this problem sooner or later."

Many people in the audience nodded thoughtfully. Why should the market they worked so hard to build serve as a stepping stone for Google?

Everyone was trying to capture the market anyway, so why couldn't Transsion?

Especially in Africa, a place most foreign manufacturers were unwilling to deal with; what Transsion conquered would become its own private territory.

After sweeping his gaze across the room, Shen Fei said in an impassioned voice: "Cooperation is fine, but we cannot hand over our lifeline to others. This is the wisdom our ancestors taught us."

"That is why we must build our own technological foundation, even if we have to start from the very basics."

"But Mr. Shen..." a newly joined head of the technical department raised his hand: "Building an operating system requires a massive ecosystem."

"Even when Apple promoted their iOS, they utilized their influence on the desktop side."

"Transsion's current sales volume is less than 10 million units, and it is still primarily Feature phone-based; it simply cannot support an ecosystem."

"That is why we chose to start from Africa." Shen Fei had long been prepared for these questions.

"The internet ecosystem in Africa is almost a blank slate. There is no mature gaming ecosystem, no monopolistic social software."

"Many people are using mobile phones for the first time. This is the best testing ground."

He produced another internet report on Africa, which stated that the internet penetration rate was 3.4%, meaning only about one in twenty people had ever been online.

Of course, there were more advanced places, but most were at this level, or even worse.

"Based on this situation, we can cooperate with local entrepreneurs and invest in them to develop internet software suitable for Africa."

"Social, payment, e-commerce, entertainment... bit by bit, we will build an ecosystem with T OS at its core. Once we succeed in the African market, we will expand to other markets, such as the domestic market and the European market."

"What about the chips?" asked the Dean of the Hardware Research Institute. "Chip Design requires even greater investment, and for the most critical manufacturing stage, we lack the relevant technology in-house and must rely on outsiders."

"That is why we must start with peripheral chips." Shen Fei rarely took the time to explain things to these technical personnel.

"If we want to capture the African market, our annual chip procurement volume will exceed 100 million units."

"With such a large volume, why not do it ourselves?"

"We need to specifically optimize RF chips for the African market, so why not design them ourselves?"

"The technical threshold for these chips is relatively low, but the usage volume is high. If we do them well, we can significantly reduce costs."

Looking at everyone thinking there, he paused slightly: "The core application processor is a long-term goal, but if we can't even make the peripheral chips, we can forget about the core AP."

"Regarding manufacturing, although the domestic industry is lagging a bit, it is not impossible to catch up. As long as we plan carefully and implement a 10-year plan, we might not fail to catch up."

The people in the conference room began to think even more seriously.

Although the boss's plan was grand and sounded a bit whimsical, it was not a castle in the air; it was indeed possible if they took it step by step.

The only problem was the funding, unless that...

"The budget for the Taishan Project this year is 2.5 billion RMB." Shen Fei dropped an astronomical figure; this was more than six times Transsion's valuation.

"Of that, 1.5 billion will be used for T OS system R&D, and 1 billion for the assembly of the Chip Design team and IP accumulation."

"The money will come from Huaxin Investment and will not occupy Transsion's operating capital."

2.5 billion! Coming from Huaxin Investment—the conference room was shaken once again, but this time it was a vibration of excitement.

This was almost explicitly telling them that Huaxin Investment was another one of his industries, and this investment bank was extremely wealthy.

At the very least, it could casually produce 2.5 billion.

The initial hint of worry shifted amidst this massive shock.

"In addition, the Taishan Project will operate independently, while coordinating deeply with Transsion."

Shen Fei said in closing: "The first version of T OS will be commercially used on Transsion's Smartphones next year."

"As for the Chip Design team, Boss Huang will help poach the relevant technical experts."

"But for the first product, I want to see mass production the year after next. I want to see tangible output."

Chen Hai was the first to stand up: "No problem, the R&D department will fully support it."

The newly established Software Research Institute, Hardware Research Institute, as well as the existing Marketing Department and Strategy Department—everyone stood up one after another.

Seeing this scene, Shen Fei took a deep breath; these were his core team members, and they were also the key personnel of the future.

The Taishan Project was also the core of the future; the two had to be integrated to exert greater strength.

Operating systems and chips were the two cornerstones of the Smartphone era. Transsion was currently weak and couldn't afford to play this game, but Huaxin Investment could.

It was now November, and the tsunami of the financial crisis continued to expand.

As of now, the United States still had not made any correct response, and many companies were beginning to sell off their assets cheaply in order to protect themselves.

Among them was the Chip Design giant, Texas Instruments.

In October, they laid off more than 600 people. After Huang Tianya's screening, most of them had already been lured to Guangzhou with high salaries...

The progress of chip R&D was not as slow as imagined, but this was still not enough; it had to be expanded further.

Relying on these funds, Transsion would definitely be an emerging giant in five years, capable of competing on the same stage as Apple and Samsung.

But today, the first step had already been taken.

After everyone discussed for a while, Shen Fei spoke again: "Meeting adjourned. Each department head is to submit a detailed plan in three days."

After they left, Shen Fei began to plan the detailed subsequent goals. He still had to secure Huawei's terminal department.

Just then, his phone rang. He thought it was Huang Tianya having achieved something.

But when he took it out to look, it was a message from his father:

"Xiao Fei, on the 5th of next month, go to the airport to pick someone up. Uncle Zhang's daughter, Zhang Mingzhu. Be on your best behavior."