376: Chapter 376 The Pressure on San Sang

Product Director Wang Hui felt incredibly frustrated; after all, not only did outsiders not believe it, but even his own people thought it was like a joke.

Meanwhile, at a Samsung Electronics semiconductor factory in South Korea.

Lee Kun-hee sat on a golf cart, moving slowly along the factory corridor.

Behind him followed a dozen or so people, a dense crowd, all of whom were core executives of Samsung Electronics.

For instance, the Head of the Semiconductor Division, Quan Wuxian, and the President of the Mobile Communications Division, President Shin Jong-kyun...

But now, their expressions were somewhat grim—not because they were in a bad mood, but because Lee Kun-hee was in a bad mood.

From the moment he entered the gate, Lee Kun-hee hadn't said a word; he just sat on the cart, watching the production line in front of him.

These devices were still running, and a large number of wafers were being processed every minute.

Then he stared at Quan Wuxian.

"When can our 14nm process go into mass production?"

Quan Wuxian's throat bobbed; compared to the 28nm process currently in widespread use, 14nm was a twofold improvement.

However, their company hadn't even reached peak yield for 28nm yet... Boss, this was truly setting him a difficult problem!

Planning—after all, according to their plan, the next generation was 22nm, and as for 14, that was just to compete with TSMC's 16nm process... currently...

"Chairman, please rest assured, the plan is for the end of next year. It is currently still in the R&D stage, and we have encountered a few technical difficulties."

"Transsion has already started mass production."

Lee Kun-hee was still staring at him with a smile, but everyone felt a sense of impending doom.

"A Chinese mobile phone company, whose main business isn't even chips, has already mass-produced 14nm."

"Moreover, they can achieve the 14nm process using dry Lithography Machines through Quadruple Patterning, and the yield is not low."

"Samsung, the world's number one semiconductor company, is still in the R&D phase for 14nm. Tell me, why is that?"

Quan Wuxian lowered his head. To them, Quadruple Patterning was no longer science; it was theology. And it was theology supported by all sides!

"Chairman, we have also ordered a batch of Morning Star Lithography Machines. Once they arrive, we will definitely study their light source system to see how they achieved Quadruple Patterning..."

"Although they are base models, we are confident in retrofitting them into C-models—the technology Transsion is currently using. By then, we can not only break through to new processes but also significantly reduce costs."

Lee Kun-hee glanced at him. Although he didn't quite believe it, he still nodded silently.

Lee Kun-hee didn't say anything else and looked at President Shin Jong-kyun.

"What is our current market share for the mobile phone business in China?"

President Shin Jong-kyun's words were even more stuttered; after all, Samsung's sales in China this year were truly abysmal.

"Chairman, as of now, our market share in China is 14.53%, while Transsion and Huawei's market share is 49.8%."

"The gap has widened?" A hint of murderous intent completely appeared in Lee Kun-hee's eyes.

If he remembered correctly, sales in China were 19% last year, and 25% the year before...

"It's true. Last year we led Transsion by 10 percentage points, but this year... we only lead them by four points."

"The main reason is that the transsion s3 and guangyun series use the Taishan 910, which outperforms our Orion chips in both performance and power consumption."

"We have already put the entire Orion team on it, but..."

"But what?" Lee Kun-hee stared at them. "Are you saying our own design team can't compare to that amateur company, Transsion?"

"Boss, that's not what I mean. I mean the 14nm gap cannot be bridged by software optimization."

After speaking, he fidgeted with his hands and muttered in a low voice: Even if we really optimized, we still couldn't beat their Taishan System.

After all, they have system-on-chip integration, while we can only optimize Android. The key is that the current Android team is acting like they've eaten sh*t.

They keep adding new features, and the key is they don't do compatibility tests before adding them. When we adapt it for our phones, the system crashes slightly at every turn.

Lee Kun-hee's gaze kept shifting between them. Whoever he stopped at felt their heart rate speed up significantly—of course, this wasn't the feeling of falling in love, but rather... the feeling of drowning.

After about a minute or so, Lee Kun-hee finally withdrew his gaze from them.

"I don't care what method you use. Before June of next year, Samsung must mass-produce 14nm. Whatever Transsion can do, Samsung must do better. If you can't do it..."

The corners of Quan Wuxian's mouth twitched. Is it really a matter of life and death? Jumping from 28nm to 14nm, this isn't just one generation!

Quan Wuxian bowed deeply: "Chairman, we will definitely go all out."

Lee Kun-hee didn't say anything else. He got back onto the golf cart and waved his hand to signal to continue the tour.

The convoy moved slowly, passing through the etching area, the deposition area, and the testing area. No one spoke along the way.

After the tour ended, Lee Kun-hee didn't have a meal with the management staff as usual; instead, he got in his car and left the factory.

Clearly, Transsion had brought him immense pressure, and he needed to find new solutions.

After Lee Kun-hee left, Quan Wuxian called all the technical personnel into a conference room.

"You all heard what the Chairman said. Achieving 14nm mass production by next June is a military order. If we can't do it, we might as well go perform..."

"President Quan, not to mention that Transsion is already on its second generation of 14nm. Just speaking about catching up from 28 to 14, even if we don't scrutinize the circuit spacing, it would take at least a year and a half to achieve a breakthrough. How is it possible to catch up in 8 months now?"

Although the others didn't speak, they were nodding frantically. At this moment, they wished a headhunter would contact them so they could leave this mess.

But Quan Wuxian's expression turned serious instantly. After all, he could be submissive in front of Lee Kun-hee, but who were these people to dare make demands of him?

"A year and a half—do you know what a year and a half means? By then, we won't be the world's number one chip foundry, but the world's fourth."

"Caught in the middle by Transsion, Intel's mobile phone business will be completely crushed. Intel can figure out 14nm, so why can't we?"

Everyone lowered their heads. Intel had indeed figured out 14nm, but their yield rate was truly a bit fishy.

"So, no matter what method you use—poaching people, buying technology, working overtime, or even using unscrupulous means... you must get 14nm done. What the Chairman said about going all out is not an adjective; it is an order."

The conference room fell into silence again, and at the same time, Transsion's poaching team set off once more.