72: Chapter 72 Semiconductor Fund Research and Development of Lithography Machines

Sure enough, as soon as Shen Fei sat down and opened his mouth, Academician Wu regretted drinking the cup of tea he had just handed him.

"Academician Wu, you must be here regarding the National Semiconductor Fund, right? We actually have an idea here..."

Pfft!

Before Shen Fei could finish his sentence, Professor Wu stared at him in astonishment. Finally, seeing Shen Fei's serious expression—which didn't look like he was joking—he finally managed to squeeze out a few words: "Mr. Shen, this cup of tea is a bit expensive, isn't it?"

After all, what Shen Fei was talking about was building a Lithography Machine production line? Mass-producing domestic Lithography Machines.

The goal he set was quite ambitious, starting directly from the 68-nanometer process.

Although it was a bit behind internationally, for China, it was definitely high-end stuff.

Shen Fei looked at the teacup in his hand with a serious expression, then nodded and leaned closer to him: "Professor Wu, you might think I'm joking, but I'm serious.

We are currently 10 years behind the outside world in Lithography Machines, but if we don't develop them, the gap will continue to widen. 10 years, 20 years, even 30 years—if we drag it out any longer, we will never have the possibility of catching up. Since I have an idea right now, we can absolutely..."

"Mr. Shen, do you know how much money this will cost?" Academician Wu said with a bitter smile.

There were some things he couldn't say too much about.

Academician Li, who had come along, was already counting on his fingers, calculating for Shen Fei.

"Initial R&D for a Lithography Machine requires an investment of at least several billion USD. And money alone isn't enough; you also need to handle a series of subsystems, R&D talent, and coordination in various aspects. The hardest part is those subsystems; we simply lack the accumulation in that area. Honestly, it's not that we haven't considered it, but it's a massive project. The risks are too high, so we ultimately had to give up."

"I know," Shen Fei nodded. "That's why I want to ask you to lead the project, in collaboration with Huawei and the National Semiconductor Fund. We can provide the technology, while other parties provide the capital and other resources. As for the equipment, Transsion will have priority procurement."

"Technology?" Professor Wu was a bit curious; he seemed to have heard the word 'technology' just now.

"Transsion has Lithography Machine technology."

Shen Fei didn't say a word; he opened his laptop and pulled up an encrypted file.

[Immersion Lithography Machine Design Blueprint]

When the file title appeared, Academician Wu and Academician Li immediately jumped up, almost hitting their chairs.

"Th-this is?" He rushed to the computer and quickly scrolled through the pages, still unable to believe it, but the content told him it was real.

"Objective lens system, dual-stage... This design blueprint is too detailed; I doubt even TSMC's documents are this detailed."

"It must be from ASML."

He turned around, grabbed Shen Fei's hand, and said excitedly: "Mr. Shen, where did you get this information?"

"Mr. Huang acquired it from overseas. You know there's an economic crisis right now, and many companies are having fire sales. This was compiled after acquiring some companies..."

Shen Fei told a little white lie.

"The technology inside might not be completely intact, but the basic framework is all there."

Academician Wu stared at him for a long time, and finally, he slowly let go of his hand.

"Regardless of where it came from..." There was still a hint of excitement in his voice. "If this data is real, then China's Lithography Machine industry will avoid at least 10 years of detours."

After saying this, the two of them sat back in their chairs and remained silent, giving the impression that they were just staring blankly. After a long while, they finally raised their heads and said:

"Mr. Shen, Old Li and I are willing to lead this project. But this matter is too big; I need to return to Beijing to report it. Please wait for my news. If it succeeds, we might need you to invest some money, but I can guarantee your company priority procurement rights."

"Good."

After seeing off Academician Li, Shen Fei returned to his office.

Huang Tianya followed him, closed the door, and asked in a low voice: "Mr. Shen, are those technical documents... safe? What if the source is investigated..."

"It won't be investigated."

Shen Fei had complete trust in his system. These data had been processed, and the relevant information had all been corrected to perfectly align with reality.

"Even if they investigate, they will only think that some companies couldn't survive and sold off some of their assets."

Shen Fei walked to the window again; two brand-new R&D buildings were being built on the east side of the Transsion campus.

"Brother Huang, do you know why I'm in such a hurry to make chips?"

"Because... to avoid being choked."

"Not just that." Shen Fei shook his head.

"Look at the current mobile phone market. Although Apple uses Samsung chips, they are also preparing to develop their own. Not to mention Samsung, whose goal is the entire industrial chain. Huawei has also already established HiSilicon... Every ambitious manufacturer will eventually have to make chips because chips determine the upper limit."

He turned around and looked at Huang Tianya, who was still deep in thought: "The transsion s1 can be priced at 349 USD using MTK chips. But if we use our own chips, the cost can be reduced by another 30 USD. At that time, we can choose to raise the price, or we can further lower it, because by choosing self-development, we will still have profits, but our competitors will all be finished. Especially in the Africa market."

For Shen Fei, the Africa market was his private territory; no one else could touch it, or at least, no one could usurp his dominant position.

Huang Tianya nodded seriously. Based on the layout of these giants, self-developed chips were indeed very important.

Although it costs a lot, the United States is currently a huge source of problems.

"Mr. Shen, rest assured. Our investment team can absolutely sustain all projects... we definitely won't let you down."

"And chips aren't just for mobile phones." After Huang Tianya finished speaking, Shen Fei continued.

"IoT, automobiles, servers... all future smart devices will need chips. If we master these core technologies, we can enter these trillion-dollar markets."

After saying this, Shen Fei pulled up the system page once again.

[Industrial Innovation Points: 0. Current Mission: Africa Market Share 20% (Progress 17.3%)]

There's still 2.7% left. At the current growth rate, it can be completed in a few months at most, and then another 1000 points will be credited.

Then, I can exchange for more advanced technology, such as 14nm process, 4G, 5G patent packages, or artificial intelligence algorithms.

"Mr. Shen, those small companies might be a bit restless. I might need to go to Africa next week."

"Hmm, okay. Remember, those who are not of my kind will have different hearts—don't be soft-hearted. By the way, tell Mr. Adebayo when you get there that I want to see 20% market share in Africa by the end of the year, at any cost."

"Understood."

Not long after Huang Tianya left, the phone vibrated again; it was a message from Zhang Mingzhu.

"A-Fei, my paper was published in the core journal of Peking University. My teacher said that with this, I could definitely go to Harvard for a PhD. But I refused. I feel that going there to study is not as good as taking a good tour within the country."

Shen Fei smiled and replied: "Then do you want to join the Innovation Strategy Research Institute? As for the position, let's make it Chief Sociologist. You name your own annual salary, and then you can take a professional team to do the research."

"So generous, then I'll have to think about it carefully."