chsdbacks Chapter 169 Off-the-Spot Tactics, K3V1 Chip Fabrication
Chapter 169 Off-the-Spot Tactics, K3V1 Chip Fabrication
Not long after, COO Tim Cook arrived at the office.
"Tim, do you know about Motorola?"
Cook nodded hesitantly: "I know, they sell very well in the American market, even better than we do in China."
We need to think of another way.
Cook bluntly stated the truth: Motorola is now a puppet of Transsion.
Upon receiving this confirmed news, Jobs pondered for a few seconds and then came up with a groundbreaking solution.
"Can we find a way to get them out of the game?"
Let them voluntarily withdraw from the American market.
Cook gave a wry smile; he had indeed considered this plan.
However, it may be a bit difficult to operate.
After all, Transsion is not just a Chinese company; it also has connections with American capital, which creates a very complicated situation.
"Steve, Motorola is an American company. They have legitimate channels, a legitimate brand, and legitimate products. We can't take them out."
Although he spoke in a high-sounding manner, Cook was also trying to find a solution.
However, it is a bit difficult to operate.
It's rumored that Motorola's S2 will be listed in the US, and Huaxin Investment has promised some investment banks that it won't be listed on NASDAQ within three years. However, these investment banks also need to guarantee that Motorola phones won't be banned during these three years, and that Huaxin's existing assets won't be inexplicably lost.
Jobs looked at the sales figures: "Then let's find a way to make their products illegal."
"For example..." Cook said subconsciously while still trying to think of a solution.
"Investigate. See if their chips have backdoors, and see if their systems have copied our patents or included backdoors."
There will always be problems...
Steve Jobs thought for a moment and then said seriously.
"In short, I will not allow a Chinese company's OEM products to steal our business every day."
"If the investigation results are good, then report this matter."
Chinese companies cannot challenge our market…
"But if we really can't find them, we must drive them out, even if we have to use unofficial means."
The American market cannot afford such an uncontrollable competitor.
…………
January 8, 2010.
Guangzhou, Huaxin Semiconductor Production Base.
He Tingbo stood in the waiting area, his palms sweaty. This was HiSilicon's first mobile phone chip.
Since the project was initiated, it has been developed for two years with an investment of more than 10 billion yuan. The first few solutions all failed or did not meet the requirements.
Under Li Jiahui's guidance, he finally succeeded.
The fifth version of the plan is progressing very smoothly...
Although Professor Li said that she had a good understanding and learned very well.
He encouraged her, saying that she would definitely succeed this time, but the difficulty of successfully fabricating a mobile phone chip on the first try is astounding.
She could only pray that... a miracle would happen this time.
About an hour later, within the scheduled time, the engineer came out with a wafer and some packaged chips in his hand.
"Mr. He, it's done."
He Tingbo took the wafer, his eyes filled with joy.
A thin sheet of silicon, yet inside lies a complex technological city.
This contains hundreds of millions of transistor households.
It worked on the first try, a miracle really happened, and her hands began to tremble.
What is the yield rate?
"75%." The engineer, fearing she might be discouraged, quickly reassured her, "This yield rate is only temporary; it can be improved later. For an initial chip, it's quite high."
"Raising it to over 90% in the future shouldn't be a problem."
"Yes, that's quite high."
He Tingbo showed a satisfied expression; she only hoped that the chip would be successful. As for the yield rate, as long as it wasn't 20%, it would be acceptable.
This result has brought her a huge surprise.
When the project was launched, Ren Zhengfei asked him how much it would cost to make chips.
He gave an estimate: at least 10 billion.
From the initial small amount of funds to the later guaranteed supply, this is not only a supplement of funds, but also a responsibility.
Fortunately, it finally succeeded.
……
This chip is called K3V1.
It features a single-core Cortex-A8 architecture with a maximum clock speed of 1.2GHz, supports audio protocols such as mp3, AAC, and WMA, and supports 480p video decoding.
The most advanced 720p resolution currently available? Not supported.
This is a mid-to-low-end entry-level chip, but it is HiSilicon's first mobile phone chip.
He Tingbo immediately took some pre-packaged chips and rushed back to Shenzhen.
Ren Zhengfei was listening to Yu Dazui's report when he looked up and saw the small chip in her hand. A smile immediately appeared on his face.
Then, with a hopeful tone, he asked.
"Did it work?"
On the contrary, Yu Dazui, who was standing to the side, said in surprise, "It really worked!"
He Tingbo nodded and placed the chip in front of them.
Ren Zhengfei and Yu Dazui each took a few. The chip's performance wasn't strong, but it was developed by them and belonged to the first batch of domestically produced chips.
Aside from communication patents, this is the real moat.
Ren Zhengfei looked at it for a long time and was deeply moved: "Professor He, do you know? When I was young, I repaired radar in the army."
Back then, all radar chips were imported; if they broke, there were no replacements available, only waiting.
He held the small chip in his hand. "Back then, I thought, when will we be able to make our own chips?"
He patted He Tingbo on the shoulder again and nodded with emotion.
What he didn't say was that it was because he was young and impetuous.
After being discharged from the military, I realized that chip manufacturing is a very complex system engineering project, and in the end, I could only keep the plan to myself.
But now he has succeeded; his company has developed the first mobile phone chips.
…………
After giving a brief report, Yu Dazui followed her to the HiSilicon semiconductor department.
Watching them take the test, Yu Dazui excitedly stomped his feet.
"Mr. He, has the verification been completed?"
"Mr. He, are there any problems? Our engineering prototypes are all ready."
After testing some data, He Tingbo walked over to his side.
"What's the rush? Chip verification is a very complex process that cannot be taken lightly, otherwise it will have serious consequences."
You don't want users to experience serious problems after the phone is released and rush to return it, do you?
"Mr. He, this isn't the first time we've seen our own chips, so we're a little anxious. Please continue..."
Yu Dazui also made a zipper gesture with his hand to indicate that he would no longer speak.
A burst of laughter came from the laboratory.
About two hours later, the chip did indeed encounter some problems during the verification process, but there were no particularly complex logical issues that could be resolved through modifications.
He Tingbo excitedly announced: "The project has been a preliminary success!"
"It's a success!"
"HiSilicon Semiconductor has successfully developed its first chip!"
Yu Dazui also rushed over immediately. He held the chip in his hand, too excited to speak.
"Mr. He, do you mean that this chip can now be used in mobile phones?"
He Tingbo nodded: "Yes. However, the GPU and decoding of this chip are a bit weak, only supporting 480p decoding. It's sufficient for a mid-to-low-end device."
Yu Dazui's eyes lit up: "Great! We can abandon MediaTek for our mid-to-low-end product line now."
He looked at He Tingbo: "Mr. He, do you know how long I've been waiting for this day?"