97: Chapter 97 Codename Ice Phoenix

"Damn it!" Fund Chairman Zhang Xin finally made the decision. "They've already provided the technical samples. If we don't agree, wouldn't we be acting like cowards? The money will come from above. We must get a prototype out in three years."

After boosting morale, he looked at Academician Wu: "Old Wu, you will lead this project. If you need money, we give money; if you need people, we give people. There is only one requirement..."

"Go ahead."

"The confidentiality level is set to the highest." Zhang Xin said very solemnly, "This is the final battle for the nation's destiny; there cannot be any mishaps."

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Academician Wu nodded. There weren't many opportunities left for the development of the domestic semiconductor industry.

This truly was the last time!

...

One week later, Transsion headquarters in Guangzhou.

Shen Fei, Mr. Ren, and Academician Wu sat at the tea table in Shen Fei's office.

There were no documents on the table, just three cups of tea. The three of them seemed to be just drinking tea and chatting, not discussing anything important.

"Mr. Shen, Mr. Ren, the project has been approved." Academician Wu sipped his tea and told them the good news directly.

"The National Integrated Circuit Fund is contributing 6 billion, holding a 55% stake; Transsion is contributing 1 billion, holding a 35% stake; Huawei is contributing 1 billion, holding a 10% stake. We expect to build a 65-nanometer dry Lithography Machine in three years."

Mr. Ren nodded, agreeing with the share allocation, but then looked at Shen Fei: "Mr. Shen, 1 billion is not a small amount for Huawei. Are you sure... the technology is reliable?"

Shen Fei took an encrypted hard drive out of the safe.

"This is the complete technical data, 1.2 TB," he placed it on the table, "Every component of the Lithography Machine: light source system, optical lenses, worktable, alignment system... it's all here, and some of the technology is even more advanced. I can guarantee that this project will absolutely not lose money."

Academician Wu's hand trembled slightly as he took the hard drive.

1.2 TB... If this were real, it would be worth far more than 8 billion; it would be worth 80 billion.

Mr. Ren stared at Shen Fei, wanting to say something, but ultimately chose to give up.

Some of the technical data inside could indeed be obtained through investment or acquisition, but the most critical light source and optical lenses would certainly not be that easy.

Transsion must still have a dedicated team responsible for handling these shady matters. They had also established a powerful security team in Africa; that must be them.

He just needed to know these things...

Without Shen Fei knowing, both Mr. Ren and Academician Wu had already imagined a very powerful team behind Shen Fei in their minds.

But whether it was Academician Wu or the higher-ups, they all tacitly accepted this existence.

Academician Wu looked at these materials, his eyes full of fighting spirit: "Mr. Shen, Mr. Zhang said, no matter where this technology came from, it now belongs to China. I thank you on behalf of the project team."

"No need to thank me." Shen Fei shook his head, "Academician Wu, Mr. Ren, why do you think I would bring out these technologies?"

Mr. Ren: "For Chip Design independence."

Academician Wu: "For the country's scientific and technological progress."

Shen Fei was slightly stunned; this was a bit different from what he had in mind.

However, looking at the two very serious men, he suppressed his thoughts. After all, he couldn't say, "I'm looking for a sucker to take over the burden!"

So he coughed slightly.

"Yes, but not entirely." Shen Fei turned to look out the window, afraid he couldn't help himself.

At this moment, he was a bit nervous, telling himself constantly: "Stupid brain, you're usually good at talking, hurry up and think of something!"

Cough cough! Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck.

"During last year's financial crisis, many United States companies collapsed. But tech giants like Qualcomm, Intel, and Apple not only didn't collapse, but became even stronger. Why? Because they are national companies of the United States, possessing core technologies and ecological barriers."

After adjusting his emotions, Shen Fei turned his head, looking at the two with burning eyes: "China also needs its own national companies. Not like state-owned enterprises, but companies that truly have core technologies and can compete globally. Transsion wants to do it, Huawei wants to do it, but just having our two companies isn't enough. We need the entire industrial chain, from Lithography Machine to Chip Design, from materials to manufacturing, to help us solve our worries."

"So you want to build a chip factory." Academician Wu asked with admiration.

"Yes." Shen Fei nodded.

"Mr. Shen, do you know how high the risks are? If it's an advanced process, the capital required is astronomical, and it's very easy to be crushed by competitors using price wars."

"I know!" Shen Fei switched his tone again, becoming tragic, "But if we don't do it, the risk is even greater. By the time the United States reacts and starts choking our throat, it will be too late."

He remembered the past, when Huawei was sanctioned, the kirin chip became a swan song. Huawei's mobile phone business plummeted; that wasn't the failure of one company, it was the failure of the entire Chinese chip industry.

Such a problem could not be repeated.

"Huawei is in," Mr. Ren said, "After the project is established, all of Huawei's chips will be outsourced to Transsion."

He originally wanted to ask if Huawei could buy a stake, but thinking of Huaxin Investment, he took the initiative to shut his mouth. Don't use your own reserve funds to probe someone else's pocket money.

The main investment target for the first phase of the national semiconductor investment fund was officially determined.

Code name 001, the project is also known as the Domestic Ice Phoenix.

...

Just as Transsion was making breakthrough progress, Pony Ma's mood fell to freezing point.

On his computer, there was a report on the Internet in Africa.

He didn't expect that in the African market, which everyone looked down upon, there were actually three social giants, and they had already started a battle royale stage.

The originally most backward AfriLink currently had over 18 million registered users, becoming the largest social platform in Africa, far exceeding the second-place Afro Chat's 3 million registered users.

Especially since this data had already reached the regional limit.

11 months, from zero to regional number one.

This speed, even Tencent hadn't achieved it back in the day.

"Pony, Mr. Luo is here." The secretary pushed the door and entered.

Pony Ma didn't turn around; he was still thinking about the discussion from yesterday.

Currently, Tencent's market value had ushered in new growth, which brought huge confidence to the internal team and gave them more ambition. At the same time, Pony Ma also had plans to enter the overseas market.

But an investigation revealed some things that didn't seem quite right...

So, at last night's meeting, some advocated launching the international version of QQ immediately and using capital to break through the African market; others suggested acquiring the bankrupting Konnect and entering directly by rebranding.

But some people insisted on giving up on entering the African market, believing that there was no need to enter the African market for that little user volume. After all, those black people couldn't afford Smartphones, and managing the domestic market well was the most important thing.

But he saw another layer of risk!

AfriLink didn't just do chatting.

Two months ago, it launched payment channels. Besides topping up phone bills, it also integrated Transsion's game center, where users could directly purchase paid props for fruit ninja and plants vs. zombies.

At the same time, a month ago, they followed Tencent's lead and developed multi-person voice chat, while also adding a local life channel.

Offline ground promotion also started to coordinate with offline stores to connect to the system...

This matter was not that simple...