When I am reborn, I just want to be a top student

Beijing, Didi headquarters.

When news broke that Galaxy Technology was increasing the scale of its driverless vehicles and achieving a major breakthrough in driverless technology, China's largest ride-hailing company couldn't sit still and immediately convened an emergency meeting.

At the outset, the president of Didi reported on the situation, saying, "Everyone, you must have heard about the news about Tangdu City Galaxy Technology's autonomous driving technology. We haven't obtained the core data yet, but some important data has still leaked out."

"One thing is very clear: these data are not fake, but are real data from driving on the road."

“Originally, they were just running on fixed routes. Over the past year, their technology has become more and more mature, and they have made significant breakthroughs. They have excellent results in handling complex road conditions and have excellent stability in adverse weather conditions.”

“In the ride-hailing market, we have already captured the largest share and there are no challengers. However, Galaxy Technology’s autonomous driving technology may cross over and completely take away our market share. This is a fundamental challenge to our core business model. Today, we must immediately set the tone and come up with a solution!”

Following closely behind was Didi's head of autonomous driving: "We have analyzed the leaked data and videos in the shortest possible time. To be honest, Galaxy Technology's autonomous driving technology does have merit in specific ODDs, especially in its ability to navigate complex urban road conditions in China."

“Our project is not inferior to Galaxy Technology in some indicators, but there may still be a gap in cost control and generalization ability in specific scenarios. It will take time to catch up.”

“We need more road test data and more aggressive engineering optimizations. However, here I need to clarify one thing: can we raise the technology maturity to a level sufficient for large-scale commercial use within an acceptable cost and timeframe?”

Upon hearing this, Chen Wei immediately stated, "There's no need to worry about that. We have sufficient funds to support technological breakthroughs and their widespread adoption."

With Chen Wei's words, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.

They naturally know how much capital backing their company has.

SoftBank, Tencent, Uber, and the Liu family.

Which one of them isn't incredibly powerful, and which one isn't extremely wealthy?

Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to maintain such a calm mindset in the face of the technological impact from Galaxy Technology.

If it were a slightly weaker company, they would probably have to consider selling themselves.

Liu Hong spoke at this moment.

His expression carried a hint of confidence, with an air of arrogance that suggested he didn't care about anything.

"Autonomous driving technology is not so easy to break through. Even Galaxy Technology cannot do it so easily!"

Liu Hong spoke these words with extreme firmness and full confidence.

Those present couldn't help but reveal a hint of curiosity.

Noticing the change in everyone's expressions, Liu Hong's lips curled into a smile as she continued, "It's very simple. For driverless technology to truly be on the road, let's not even talk about the technical aspects."

"The division of responsibility alone is a huge problem that will inevitably lead to a change in the law."

"If a consumer buys a car and gets into an accident, it's impossible to determine who is responsible unless this is clarified!"

"Furthermore, there's the issue of road conditions in various cities. Galaxy Technology still doesn't have navigation qualifications. If consumers encounter problems using autonomous driving technology on remote roads, whose responsibility will it be?"

"Another safety issue is autonomous driving technology, which is obviously controlled by a program. How can the safety of the program be guaranteed? Is there any backend manipulation? Is there any possibility of system failure? What is the error rate?"

"Finally, the taxi and ride-hailing services across the country employ more than three million people. Add to that truck drivers and other similar jobs, and the total number of employees exceeds ten million."

"If this part of the employment is eliminated from the market due to autonomous driving technology, no one can afford the resulting shock."

"So, in my opinion, there's no need to be too nervous at all."

"Galaxy Technology's technological research and development capabilities are indeed not weak, but it is still a long way from being able to truly threaten us!"

"However, a lack of foresight will inevitably lead to immediate troubles. We must also develop self-driving technology!"

"However, what we should do is to have a fair discussion about the risks of autonomous driving technology and make consumers understand this."

"This is not only a guarantee of consumers' right to know, but also a guarantee of their safety, and more importantly, it reflects our sense of social responsibility."

Upon hearing Liu Hong's words, everyone present silently cheered in unison.

As expected of someone from the Liu family, their skill level is truly high!
It not only directly points out the problems with autonomous driving, but also provides practical and useful solutions.

We're all old foxes, why bother with ghost stories?

That's what they say, but in reality, they're just trying to discredit autonomous driving technology online in advance, diminish its advanced nature, and offset the halo of Galaxy Technology's technological breakthrough.

Chen Wei nodded, quite satisfied with Liu Hong's response.

It was worth it for him to agree to let Liu Hong in; his ability is indeed not something that ordinary people possess.

He naturally knew that Galaxy Technology and the Liu family were at odds.

However, due to the rapid development of Galaxy Technology and Wang Donglai's rising status, the Liu family did not want to become mortal enemies with Wang Donglai and die a complete death, so they did not carry out any further targeting.

However, now that a dispute has arisen, Liu Hong naturally becomes the best candidate.

If they really anger Galaxy Technology, they can use Liu Hong's name to hide behind the scenes.

In this way, whether you win or lose, you can remain calm and collected.

As I said before, Galaxy Technology's position is too extraordinary.

If it's just about having a lot of money, then it doesn't mean anything at all.

What's truly frightening is that Galaxy Technology possesses such terrifying scientific and technological capabilities.

If they can even land on the moon, then they can certainly build a photolithography factory and a basalt cell.

Chen Wei had no intention of offending Wang Donglai.

He had even planned that if Galaxy Technology really entered the ride-hailing industry, he would withdraw and cash out at a high price.

Anyway, his shares have already been diluted to single digits, so cashing out at a high price, achieving financial freedom, and enjoying life is a good choice.

Chen Wei naturally wouldn't say aloud what he was thinking.

“Very good, I’ll leave this matter to President Liu. I believe that with President Liu’s abilities, he can handle it well.”

"I'm just waiting for good news from President Liu!"

Chen Wei decisively delegated the task to Liu Hong.

Liu Hong glanced at Chen Wei and understood his thoughts to some extent, but she didn't care.

She joined Didi by force, thanks to her connections with the investors. Chen Wei's ideas and opinions were important, but not crucial.

As long as she still bears the surname Liu and can bring more benefits to the company, then there is no problem at all.

She always knew that this was the foundation of her being.

...On the other side.

Asml in the Netherlands has been having a really tough time lately.

Their revenue and profits were perfectly fine, and orders had not decreased.

However, everyone knows that if the impact of the lithography plant cannot be resolved soon, this year will be the most profitable year yet.

Even if they break through the 7nm and 5nm process technology for chips, it will be of no use.

A new direction in technology research and development has a huge impact on the scientific research field and an industry.

No one knows how high the ceiling of new technologies will be.

At the same time, no one dared to gamble, much less bear the consequences of losing.

ASML headquarters.

After Dino and Peter returned from China, they were plunged into despair and madness.

The disappointment lies in watching new technologies emerge while you yourself have no chance to benefit from them.

The madness lies in the fact that the technical principles of a photolithography factory are simply incomprehensible.

No matter how you look at it, a lithography factory is simply impossible and should never be realized.

This is not much different from a layman who doesn't understand technology talking in his sleep.

However, such an outrageous technology was actually implemented in China, which is simply outrageous!
In the conference room.

"We must admit that China's scientific research capabilities have exceeded our expectations."

"We still don't know the technical principles behind lithography factories. It's as if aliens landed and transferred the technology to them."

"Without the slightest warning, and without any prior knowledge!"

"For us, this will be a huge crisis concerning our life and death."

“Even when we went to China to sell advanced equipment, we were rejected. This further demonstrates China’s pursuit of technological self-reliance and control, its vigilance towards us, and its confidence in the technology roadmap of the lithography factory.”

"The determination shown by China is the worst news for us!"

"We have at most three to five years left."

"Given China's pace, it should first meet domestic needs and then seize the international market."

“The construction of a lithography factory also has a cycle, with three to five years being the most, or even shorter.”

"Once the lithography technology matures and is officially launched to the market, our orders will quickly decline."

"We must consider how to deal with this in advance!"

"There are no outsiders here," Peter said to Dino.

Dino knew all this, but there was nothing he could do about it.

However, after thinking about it, he came up with a few solutions that weren't really solutions.

“Peter, we may still have a chance.”

"Now we must increase our investment in technological research and development, taking it to the next level beyond the original plan, and accelerating the mass production, delivery, and performance optimization of High-NA EUV lithography machines, as well as the pre-research of Beyond High-NA technology."

"To establish a new technological gap that China will find difficult to catch up with in the short term."

"Increase investment in other potentially disruptive lithography technologies (such as electron beam and nanoimprint) to diversify risk."

"We will consolidate our market share and customer relationships in non-China countries, and provide more favorable financing, service packages and technical support to ensure that these users continue to rely on us."

"By focusing on the 'non-advanced node' market, and for mature lithography machines such as DUV, we may adopt more flexible pricing and service strategies in non-Chinese regions to squeeze the space of potential competitors and push profit margins to the minimum."

"Strengthen our extensive network of equipment maintenance, upgrades, consumables supply and process optimization services to increase customer switching costs and build a deeper 'moat' of protection."

"The most important point is lobbying and pressure, emphasizing the threat that China's technological breakthroughs pose to our scientific leadership and our own survival, demanding more R&D funding, policy support and protection for us, and strengthening technology export controls to China."

"Since they are business competitors, we must do everything we can to defeat them!"

"On this point, we must rely on the Bald Eagle Federation, because only they have the capability to do this."

“I think the boss can inform the Bald Eagle Federation of the latest assessment of China’s technological breakthroughs. On the one hand, he should emphasize the threat posed by China’s technological self-reliance and support the Bald Eagle Federation’s overall goal of containing China’s technology. On the other hand, he should express his concern that excessive regulation will damage ASML’s global competitiveness and long-term R&D capabilities. The core purpose is to secure the best space for our survival and development in the complex geopolitics.”

"Finally, that's our home turf. Through industry analysis reports and media interviews, we will emphasize to the world the extreme complexity of EUV technology, ASML's continued leadership, and the industrialization challenges facing China's technology roadmap. We will use our authority to influence market confidence and investor judgment."

Dino said a lot in one breath.

Although he is the Chief Technology Officer, it does not mean that he is someone who only understands technology and does not understand management.

This is actually a huge prejudice.

Having both technical and management skills is not contradictory.

At least Dino can handle both, and these words were an idea that Dino had considered for a long time.

Upon hearing Dino's words, Peter also fell into deep thought.

This statement is well-organized, logically sound, and highly practical and applicable.

Since Peter could say these things to Dino, he must believe Dino.

So I thought about it immediately and made a decision quickly.

"Dino, you're absolutely right!"

"At this point, we have no other choice."

"We need to reduce our profits to normal levels in order to regain market share."

"On the other hand, gaining greater support by distrusting Chinese technology and resisting China is also a good approach."

"We need more support to survive in this competition of technological routes."

"Your approach is too mild. We should work harder to worsen the relationship between the two sides. Only in this way can our technology become unique and our position more secure."

"We should also change some of our practices. We need more allies to form an alliance and achieve a comprehensive blockade of the semiconductor industry chain. Only by first forming a community of shared interests can we become a technology alliance and maintain our position!"

Dino nodded, inwardly agreeing. (End of Chapter)