Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1274 The snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman wins

However, Bill Gates will see many more things happen in his lifetime.

For example, at a banquet hosted by the President of America, the CEO of Oracle heard him utter a famous quote praising the President of America.

"AI can change everything in this era, but it cannot change the position of the President in our hearts!"

This statement completely broke even Bill Gates, who seemed to have seen it all, causing him to lose control of his facial expressions.

Compared to the scenes of later generations, the situation before him was still manageable for Bill Gates.

A product that hasn't even been developed yet, whose exact nature is unknown, has already received orders, and these orders are clearly not small amounts.

Bill Gates is truly envious of his ally's strength in the hardware field across the Pacific.

In recent years, Microsoft has been doing quite well in the hardware industry, not only with its first truly well-known hardware brand, the Stargazing Digital Video Recorder.

It's not just about developing game consoles. In recent years, Microsoft has also successively become the distributor for Dongling? Shenzhou USB flash drives, Shenzhou computers, Feiyan MP3 players, and Ruyan e-cigarettes in America. In fact, these products are being sold through Microsoft's own sales channels.

In addition, influenced by Dongling High-Tech's use of internet cafes to ship computers, Microsoft also entered the internet cafe industry and is now the largest internet cafe chain in America!
Internet cafes still exist in America today, and due to market demand and the fact that home computer penetration in America is far lower than in later years, internet cafes are currently at their peak in America.

There are nearly 4,000 internet cafes across America, charging between $5 and $10 per hour. Internet cafes in areas like New York and Los Angeles are more expensive, while those in smaller cities in America are much cheaper.

The annual revenue of the entire American internet cafe market is around one billion US dollars. This amount is nothing to Microsoft. Releasing a new software product could probably equal the annual revenue of the American internet cafe industry.

However, what Microsoft cares about is not how much money it can make in the hardware industry, but that Microsoft is very important in the hardware industry!

As long as Microsoft can gain a foothold in the hardware industry, everything will be worthwhile. The fact that Microsoft is not making much money in the hardware industry now means that Microsoft will have the opportunity to make a lot of money in the hardware industry in the future.

Microsoft is now the world's largest manufacturer of digital video recorders, the largest chain of internet cafes in America, and has also invested in emerging e-cigarettes, which are considered to be a replacement for traditional tobacco. In the gaming industry, it is also one of the game console manufacturers that is preparing to challenge Sony and Nintendo!

These are all the accolades Microsoft has earned in the hardware industry. As a result, Microsoft's stock price soared, surpassing General Electric to become the largest company by market capitalization in America and even the world.

Even with the antitrust lawsuit initiated by Netscape troubling Microsoft, it remains the most valuable company in America.

By acquiring both software and hardware, Microsoft has already made its strategy public. At least in the eyes of Wall Street, as long as Microsoft is not broken up, it will remain a behemoth of a technology company, which Wall Street investment institutions are very optimistic about.

Even with such a giant company as its head, Bill Gates couldn't help but show a hint of envy when mentioning Dongling Hi-Tech.

If Microsoft's hardware business could reach the level of Dongling High-Tech, then Microsoft would probably take off immediately, and its stock price could easily multiply several times over.

"Any news on which company has joined the internet set-top box project?" Bill Gates asked Ed Frye.

Shaking his head, Ed Frye said, "There's no news yet. I've been busy with the development of the Xbox console and console games lately, so I haven't had time to attend to other businesses."

"However, given Dongling High-Tech's current reputation in the electronics industry, this year it has launched products such as the Feiyan MP3 player, the Shenzhou 2nd generation computer, the Shenzhou A1 all-in-one machine, and the Shenzhou Global 2G mobile phone, which are all trendsetting products worldwide."

"If Dongling Hi-Tech releases information about new projects, I estimate that many companies will be willing to invest!"

Ed Fries said with a mixture of envy and helplessness, "Dongling High-Tech's success rate is too high right now, so naturally some companies are willing to take the risk."

Even if it's a product that hasn't been developed yet, as long as it's made by Dongling High-Tech and is guaranteed to be of high quality, there will definitely be adventurers willing to take a gamble.

"Now, for Microsoft, the question is whether or not to continue its commitment to invest in the set-top box project."

If the contract is fulfilled, at what valuation will the investment be made?

Ed Fries asked the most crucial question.

But these words earned him a clearly dissatisfied look from Bill Gates. How could Microsoft possibly give up its hardware business? At least during his time as Microsoft's emperor, how could he possibly overturn the goal he himself had established of pursuing both software and hardware?

Moreover, even outsiders know that by relying on Dongling Hi-Tech, Microsoft has achieved great success in the hardware industry. Why would it cripple itself if there were shortcuts available?
Microsoft's current strategy in the hardware industry is to first rely on distributors, then acquire companies, and finally develop its own products. This path is somewhat slow, but it's quite stable. The so-called self-development involves Microsoft hiring design teams to create product designs, while Dongling High-Tech is responsible for turning those designs into actual devices. While nominally Microsoft is in control, this approach minimizes the risk for them.

Dongling Hi-Tech's strength in the hardware field is much more reliable than Microsoft's, and Dongling Hi-Tech also offers a "one-stop" service.

From chips to panels, and then to motherboards, batteries, casings, sensors, screws and other components of all sizes, Dongling Hi-Tech's component supply chain can almost completely supply all components.

This saves Microsoft a lot of trouble. The key is that using Dongling Hi-Tech's components is cheaper and more reliable than Microsoft developing its own or purchasing from other companies.

Although Li the Great Philanthropist also takes advantage of others, he still has a sense of proportion. When he does take advantage, he doesn't go to such extremes. The parts he sells to Microsoft are only priced at a 50% markup or about double the original price, and the quality is guaranteed.

In its previous life, Microsoft almost got burned by developing the Xbox. Not only were the parts expensive, but there were also quality issues, causing the cost of each Xbox to soar to $425. However, when it was sold, it could only be sold for $299, resulting in a loss of more than $100 per unit sold. The more they sold, the more they lost.

Moreover, after the sale, the "Red Ring of Death" incident occurred, causing Microsoft Xbox's reputation to plummet. To remedy this incident, Microsoft spent $1.1 billion...

It's fair to say that almost all the hardware suppliers are treating Microsoft like a sucker, ripping them off without even guaranteeing quality. They're really ripping Microsoft off to the bone, not even afraid of bankrupting them.

Compared to those companies that prey on investors, Dongling Hi-Tech is definitely more reliable. They prioritize getting paid and delivering on their promises. If they take Microsoft's money, they will definitely provide Microsoft with the best machines. They are honest about that, since Dongling Hi-Tech doesn't do one-off deals.

Only by taking a steady, long-term approach can you continuously profit from the market. Take digital video recorders, for example. Even though they were sold to Microsoft, the manufacturing was still handled by Dongling Hi-Tech, which also provides after-sales service!

"Microsoft certainly wants to retain the same cooperation model as with digital video recorders and take 50% of the equity in the set-top box."

We'll invest based on a valuation of... two hundred million US dollars!

Bill Gates hesitated for a moment before saying that when Microsoft invested in digital video recorders, it invested five million dollars in the project and acquired a 40% stake in the digital video recorder.

At that time, Microsoft did not expect that it would later spend $2.1 billion to acquire the remaining 60% stake in Digital Video Recorder.

If Microsoft had known that digital video recorders would become successful, they would have insisted on taking a larger stake in the digital video recorder business.

Now it's the turn of internet set-top boxes. No matter what happens to this project in the future, Bill Gates is prepared to take a larger share of the equity.

To invest $100 million in a project that doesn't even exist yet, just to acquire 50% equity, is absolutely insane. If word gets out, it will likely cause a sensation throughout the entire tech industry.

Ed Frys was astonished by the Emperor's extravagant spending; it was truly extravagant, throwing over a hundred million dollars right off the bat!
But Ed Fries still hesitated and said, "Given Dongling Hi-Tech's style, I'm afraid they might not be willing to give up controlling stake in the internet set-top box!"

Upon hearing this, Bill Gates said with a touch of domineering confidence, "Then add more money, until Dongling High-Tech agrees!"

It's just about giving money. Microsoft lacks everything except money. They can easily raise tens or hundreds of billions of dollars by issuing some bonds. The stock market is Microsoft's ATM!

……

Is there anyone in this world who can say "no" to Microsoft's dollars? Of course there is. Takeo Nakamura, who had just returned to Japan and was ambitiously trying to transform Japan Telephone and Telegraph into an internet service provider and aim for Nasdaq, was the first to express his dissatisfaction with the deep-pocketed Microsoft.

So what if you have a little money? Why are you acting like someone's short of cash?

Nasdaq is Microsoft's cash cow, so does that mean the Tokyo Stock Exchange isn't also a source of revenue for Nippon Telegraph and Telephone?

Faced with the Stargazing Internet set-top box project, Microsoft and Japan Telegraph were locked in a fierce battle, with Microsoft constantly increasing its investment in the project. At this point, Microsoft finally realized who had joined the project.

……

Since the launch of Shenzhou Global Communication, Feng Miaoyu, the editor-in-chief of Yanjing Business Daily, has been staying in Pingyang, collecting various materials in order to provide a comprehensive report on Dongling High-Tech.

At this time, Feng Miaoyu heard some rumors about Dongling High-Tech's new project, but it was hard to say whether these rumors were true or false.

Just as Feng Miaoyu was preparing to conduct another exclusive interview with Li Dashanren and the senior executives of Dongling Hi-Tech, Dongling Hi-Tech released a new announcement.

Moreover, this time it was three Fortune 500 companies that issued a joint statement at the same time!
　I discharged my family member from the hospital today, so they don't have to run back and forth anymore. My updates have been a bit irregular lately, thank you all for your support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)