The Millennium Semiconductor Survival Guide

Don't say that Microsoft can't do the acquisition of Applied Materials, and Bush can't do it either.

Of course, for Zhou Xin, it is useless to have only an empty shell. It is an impossible task to move some production lines and Guan Jian's research and development laboratories back to China.

But it doesn't mean that Zhou Xinna Applied Materials has no choice. The financial crisis that will come five years later is the best opportunity.

This crisis seems to be massive, but it is not enough for Washington to sell Applied Materials to Zhou Xin, and it is even more impossible for Zhou Xin to move Applied Materials back to China, even if only partially.

Not to mention moving the key parts back to China, the Chinese are only executives of Applied Materials and will face lengthy investigations. Take Liu Yangsheng, the global director of Applied Materials, as an example. It took him half a year from receiving the offer to joining the job.

During the past six months, he was mainly facing investigations from various federal agencies.

The opportunity Zhou Xin thinks about is layoffs. The financial crisis means massive layoffs. Even companies like Applied Materials, which occupy a monopoly position in the semiconductor industry chain, will also start to lay off massive layoffs.

According to Zhou Xin’s impression, during the financial crisis, Applied Materials laid off more than a quarter of its employees. Because the salary of senior engineers is generally higher, the layoffs of Applied Materials are almost all from these senior engineers.

Just cultivating fresh blood makes the company vigorous again, which is an external statement.

The photovoltaic industry of Huaguo in later generations is so strong that it is inseparable from Applied Materials. At its peak, Applied Materials accounted for more than 50% of the market share in the field of thin-film solar energy production equipment.

They set up the world's largest thin-film solar energy R\u0026D center in Xi'an, with more than 3,000 R\u0026D engineers. Later, many of these engineers became the backbone of Huaguo's photovoltaic industry.

Five years later, during the financial crisis, layoffs were not limited to Applied Materials, but also TSMC. During the 2008 financial crisis, TSMC’s production capacity utilization rate was less than 40%, and more than a thousand employees were laid off.

What Zhou Xin wanted was to fuel the financial crisis and make its impact worse, so that the layoffs of these semiconductor companies would be even more exaggerated.

As for how to fuel the financial crisis, the early arrival of the mobile Internet will naturally delay the outbreak of the financial crisis. Adding the two powerful drugs of virtual currency and Internet finance will make the financial crisis come later and the outbreak will be more severe.

Zhou Xin had a hunch that it would take a long time to clear this crisis, and at the same time, there would be some consequences that he couldn't predict.

As for what he has to do is to cultivate his internal strength, and then he will be able to use the capital to expand against the trend.

Even if he can't do it, let Huaguo believe in his judgment and support Huaguo's semiconductor industry with 4 trillion yuan in real money.

Infrastructure, including real estate, is very important. It drives more upstream and downstream industrial chains than semiconductors, and can benefit far more people than semiconductors. However, this industry does not need to be supported by policies. Let it develop according to natural laws to benefit in the long run. change.

The consequences of ripening are often unacceptable.

After the merger between Matrix and Apple was officially launched, the Nasdaq exchange quickly approved the transaction, and Apple's stock entered an indefinite freeze, but Apple's share price had more than doubled before the freeze.

Few ordinary investors caught up with this rocket, and most of the profits were made by the institutions behind it.

The investment institutions holding Apple have all made a lot of money in this round of wealth games, and of course Zhou Xin is the most profitable.

Because only Zhou Xin knows what the merger of Apple and Matrix means, which means that MOS will firmly occupy at least half of the market share in the field of mobile phone operating systems.

Apple, which has both high-end and mid-range product lines, can make Samsung miserable.

"It's a pleasure to see Newman again. It's been four years since you were interviewed for the first time. How does it feel to come to this familiar studio again?" Charlie Rose was very excited to be able to interview Zhou Xin again.

You must know that Zhou Xin has almost never received interviews from the outside world. The interviews he received in Huaguo will be subtitled and moved back to American, and many audiences even watch this subtitled version of the interview.

Not to mention the live broadcast, Newman's name is a natural gimmick and a guarantee of ratings.

Zhou Xin's rare public appearances can be regarded as a kind of hunger marketing, which whetted the appetite of the audience.

Charlie Rose's face was flushed, and after a warm hug with Zhou Xin, he looked directly at each other, as if waiting for Zhou Xin's answer.

Zhou Xin was wearing white short-sleeved sleeves with Matrix's high-tech logo printed on the front, and replied with a smile on his face: "When I come back here, it feels like I have returned to my own home.

Very cordial feeling, even the camera and lighting effects are so cordial. "

Charlie Rose laughed: "It seems that Newman also likes this place very much, whether Newman wants to be the host, I consider giving you the host position of Charlie Rose Show.

From now on, this show will be called Newman Show, and I will be behind the scenes as a producer. "

Zhou Xin waved his hand: "A billionaire is more suitable for me than a reality show host."

Not only was Charlie Rose amused by Zhou Xin's humor, but the audience also burst into hearty laughter and applause.

Charlie Rose raised his forehead: "I forgot that we can exchange roles, which means that I still don't have the mindset of a rich man. I invited you to be the host, but I actually wanted to be the producer behind the scenes instead of playing you." The role of millionaire.

Well, let’s get back to the topic. We all know that Newman sold Quora to Time Warner for a sky-high price not long after his last acceptance on The Charlie Rose Show. This deal has been talked about by Wall Street and Silicon Valley to this day.

Later, some entrepreneurs believed that it was the Charlie Rose Show that brought Newman good luck, which also made it easier for the Charlie Rose Show to invite guests.

This is Newman's legacy to The Charlie Rose Show.

So from then to now, you have undergone such a big change. At that time, you were just an entrepreneurial star in Silicon Valley with outstanding achievements. Now you don’t need what you have done to prove yourself. You only need the six letters of Newman. It says it all.

How do you see your growth over the past few years? "

This is the rhythm of Charlie Rose. The interview program is officially on the right track after this paragraph, and it was a warm-up before.

Almost all the audience in the audience came from the Bay Area, and everyone got the opportunity to get in touch with Zhou Xin at close range by grabbing tickets through the official account. The audience was silent, waiting for Zhou Xin's answer.

Zhou Xin said: "It may be a little false to say these things, but this is my true heart. When I came here for an interview last time, I didn't have to worry about money.

So from the last time to now, my biggest feeling is that it has provided emotional value to more people, and it has taken a small step forward on the road to changing the world.

This is my biggest achievement in the past few years. "

Why do bosses always say they are unhappy in interviews, because it is really difficult to provide happiness after accumulating wealth to a certain level, and the upper limit of emotional value that money can provide has been touched.

Zhou Xin was thinking that besides starting an Internet business, he had done a lot of work in the semiconductor field, and that Huaguo's chip industry was far healthier than that of Time and Space.

Hua Hong, which could only do some foundry business, and whose chip production line utilization rate is less than 50% all the year round, has been revived in his hands.

The integrated chip that originally led MediaTek to take the lead in mobile chips was developed by Xinxin, and the curved semiconductor industry is far less developed than later generations.

Cutting Hulian Tek and poaching TSMC, these two tricks made TSMC struggle to catch up in the advanced manufacturing process, and did not form an absolute advantage at all.

Xinxin’s advanced manufacturing process in Lion City has already started construction. According to Zhou Xin’s plan, Lion City can eat at least one-third of TSMC’s advanced manufacturing process. If the relationship with Intel is good, swallowing two-thirds is not a bad idea. no way.

The only problem is that Huaguo has too many lessons to make up in the semiconductor industry, and it is still catching up. Except for mobile chip design, there is no other field of research and development that can be said to be in a leading position in the world.

Charlie Rose asked: "This is not a simple small step. More and more friends around me are starting to use smartphones. Smartphones are no less great inventions than personal computers.

Before, I needed to turn on the computer five days a week, but now I only need to turn on the computer for one day a week. At other times, I only need to look at my mobile phone to bring me services that my computer can provide.

This was unimaginable two years ago. "

Zhou Xin saw that many of the audience in the audience raised their Mphones to face him, as if they were recording: "It seems that everyone in the audience is a loyal fan of Mphones.

The logo on the back of so many mobile phones is M. Why is the logo of your mobile phone Sony Ericsson sitting on the side? "Zhou Xin asked.

The factory manager ran to the man in time and handed the microphone to him: "Because the Mphone2 is so easy to use, my girlfriend changed the phone with me after the experience, and now I use the Sony Ericsson she bought earlier.

Newman, you have to trust me, I'm a big fan of yours. "

Zhou Xin asked, "Then why didn't she come today?"

Charlie Rose helped to answer: "It should be that I didn't get a ticket. It's very difficult to win tickets for the talk show you participated in. The probability of winning seems to be only three in a thousand."

The man nodded quickly: "That's right, I wanted to bring her along, but unfortunately I only got one ticket."

Zhou Xin asked: "Then why didn't your girlfriend come, but you?"

The man smiled lewdly: "Because she didn't know that I won the lottery, what I told her was that I went to work overtime."

Zhou Xin thought it was good, he was still a thinking licking dog, not hopeless.

Charlie Rose said: "Sir, we will put this piece on live TV on Friday without cutting a single point. I believe your girlfriend will surprise you when she sees it."

Before the man could finish chanting No, the factory management had already taken the microphone away, and the laughter of other audience members quickly drowned out the man's wailing.

Zhou Xin continued: "It seems that the sales of Mphones are really good, most of the audience are using Mphones.

I have said many times about the difference between Mphone and other mobile phones on various occasions, and various media have also told you back and forth, including your own personal experience, which can also prove that Mphone is so different.

Its experience is so good compared to other mobile phones that the sales price of more than 700 US dollars can exceed 15 million. "

Yes, in four months, the sales volume of Mphone2 has exceeded 15 million.

With Mphone's rapid development in the sales market, the market value of traditional mobile phone manufacturers has fallen all the way, and both Nokia and Motorola have fallen by one-third from their high points.

Zhou Xin said: "When I was working on Quora, I had a similar idea, why no matter whether I was asking or answering questions, or just looking at the questions, I had to sit at the desk and turn on the computer.

Is there any way that I can enjoy Internet service without so much trouble? For handheld computers, both the battery life and the operating experience are too poor.

And the function of the mobile phone is too single, which gave me the idea of ​​combining the handheld computer and the mobile phone.

The advancement of technology has made my idea come true, and I am rich enough to start this project. It is the superposition of so many factors that allows me to bring you an epoch-making product like Mphone2.

Have an idea first, then consider the feasibility, and finally start to act. "

Charlie Rose applauded: "Beautiful Newman methodology, let's discuss another question, why can't Nokia and Motorola?

Even if they know what kind of form the smart phone should be made to be welcomed by consumers, Mphone has given them inspiration, why they still can't do it.

I believe that Mphone2 they can't do it because of the limitation of touch screen technology, but why their smartphones can't even catch up with the Mphone1 experience? asked Charlie Rose.

Zhou Xin smiled awkwardly, and his inner answer was that the two companies had obvious big business problems and were extremely slow in making decisions.

But he didn't want to be so blunt.

“I think it’s because they’ve had so much success in the past that they’re tempted to replicate it on their smartphones.

But in fact, the key points pursued by traditional mobile phones are completely different from those of smart phones.

It would be too complicated to disassemble the problem. I believe that after the program is broadcast, the media will analyze what I said. "

It’s not a big deal for the media to watch the excitement. It’s okay for Charlie Rose to say so, and Zhou Xin’s answer is to make it clear that he doesn’t think Nokia and Motorola can pose a threat to him in the field of smartphones.

The media will exaggerate this, because Zhou Xin's Tencent had a very unhappy fight with these two companies because of the software license.

Zhou Xin continued: "Mphone is the pioneer, and we can give full play to our own ideas. Compared with us, Nokia and Motorola are facing too many shackles."

Charlie Rose asked after listening: "Newman, I'm curious about the difference between Mphone3 and Mphone2?

In our opinion, Mphone2 is so perfect, it is hard to imagine that Mphone3 can continue to optimize and improve on the above places.

Will smartphones fall into the same dilemma as computers, that is, chips are getting more and more powerful, but the functions have not been substantially improved? "