Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, leading the technology war

Chapter 250: The Genius Girl in Materials Science
Fang Xiaoya said: "Okay, let's go in quickly."

Liu Chao said: "Don't worry, Boss Hu will be here in a while anyway."

Zhu Xiaojun looked at his phone and said, "Director Wang has arrived. Don't keep him waiting."

The three of them chatted as they entered Longsheng Department Store.

The three of them spoke Mandarin and came to Hong Kong Island not for tourism but for business.

Today they are going to meet an important person here, whom they call Boss Hu.

This meeting is crucial to the newly established private aerospace company, Starry Glory, and directly affects the progress of the project. Therefore, the three of them did not feel relaxed at all when they came to Hong Kong Island, the so-called shopping paradise.

The three of them came to the coffee shop on the first floor of Longsheng Department Store, which was where they had agreed to meet in advance.

As soon as they entered the cafe, they saw someone waving at them.

It is Director Wang Yuling of the Semiconductor Association.

As the middleman of the meeting, Wang Yuling arrived this morning. She didn't rest and came here exhausted. It was tiring waiting for both parties to come.

This shows that the Semiconductor Association and even Wang Yuling attach great importance to this meeting.

Wang Yuling asked the three of them to sit down, exchanged a few pleasantries, looked at the time, and said, "There's still an hour left. Let's have a cup of coffee and chat for a while."

The three of them nodded at the same time, they were all very concerned and nervous.

Wang Yuling was about to get up to order coffee, but was stopped by Fang Xiaoya. She got up and ordered a few cups of coffee before sitting back down.

It is neither moral nor reasonable to let the middleman buy you coffee.

In particular, the Semiconductor Association’s help was almost free of charge, which made the Starry Sky Glory team very grateful.

Peng Xiaojun said: "Director Wang, the Semiconductor Association and you have really taken a lot of trouble this time.

Wang Yuling waved her hand: "It's okay, it's okay. As long as the problem can be solved, it doesn't matter if it's a little harder."

Liu Chao couldn't help but ask: "Director Wang, I'm just curious, who is this Mr. Hu? Can he really make chips?"

Wang Yuling smiled and said, "Boss Hu's technical strength is not a problem. If he says he can do it, then he can definitely do it. There is no doubt about that."

Liu Chao was stunned, with an expression of disbelief and disbelief.

In fact, the three of them didn't have much hope in their hearts when they came here, they just came here with the idea of ​​trying everything possible.

Of course, the Semiconductor Association is national in nature after all.

They are very professional and reliable in their work, at least they don't talk nonsense.

In theory, the people they are looking for should be capable and confident, which is why the management of Star Glory traveled all the way to Hong Kong Island with such a large force.

At this time, Wang Yuling's cell phone rang.

"I'm going to answer a call, you guys talk first."

Having said that, Wang Yuling stood up and left with her cell phone.

Peng Xiaojun, Fang Xiaoya and Liu Chao were chatting in low voices while drinking coffee.

Liu Chao shook his head: "Director Wang seems too confident, making people feel that the problem is not serious."

Fang Xiaoya said: "Since they arranged this meeting, they must be sure of it, otherwise why would they go through so much trouble?"

Liu Chao smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Peng, don't be blindly optimistic. This is Hong Kong Island. It's difficult to manufacture ordinary circuit boards, let alone relatively advanced chips."

Liu Chao didn't actually say it explicitly. He did feel that this trip might be a waste of time and effort, but there was really no other way, and he didn't want to pour cold water on everyone.

Who doesn’t know what Liu Chao is thinking?
Theoretically speaking, Hong Kong Island does not currently have the soil for the emergence of high-tech manufacturing companies.

Of course, Hong Kong Island was also a place with a very strong manufacturing industry about fifty years ago. Later, with the introduction of the financial and real estate industries, the manufacturing industry was naturally moved out.

Hong Kong Island is now dominated by finance and real estate.

After all, these two industries make money so quickly that it has almost become a numbers game. Who would still work hard in the manufacturing industry?

At this time, Peng Xiaojun said: "Don't think too much, just talk about it first. Besides, I heard that this Boss Hu is not a simple person."

Liu Chao was stunned: "Not simple? How is it not simple?"

Peng Xiaojun took a sip of coffee and organized his thoughts.

Since they were discussing cooperation, Peng Xiaojun naturally would not be completely ignorant of Boss Hu, and he also obtained some information from the side. Of course, it was not much, and a lot of it was just rumors without any solid evidence.

"I also heard that it seems that both Huaxin International and HKUST Feixun have cooperative relationships with this Boss Hu."

“…Huh? Wha, what’s going on?”

Liu Chao and Fang Xiaoya looked at each other in disbelief.

Needless to say, Huaxin International is the strongest semiconductor manufacturing company in mainland China.

As mentioned earlier, Starry Glory also talked to Huaxin International, hoping that they would help with the tape-out and manufacturing of some chips, but the other party’s price was too high and it could not afford it.

Starry Sky Glory is a newly established private aerospace company. Although it has sufficient funds, it is not sufficient to the point where it can squander it.

After all, the aerospace industry requires a lot of money. The tape-out costs of tens or even hundreds of millions of yuan are too painful, and there is no guarantee of success in one try.

Even if the tape-out is successful, manufacturing the chip requires a huge amount of money, which is simply a huge money-eating beast.

There is also Keda Feixun, which is also a leading enterprise in the field of artificial intelligence in China. It is not easy to cooperate with anyone.

Liu Chao asked: "Is this news accurate? Could it be a false rumor?"

Peng Xiaojun shook his head: "I don't know about that, but this Boss Hu is definitely not as simple as you think, otherwise the Semiconductor Association would not have arranged this meeting."

Fang Xiaoya said: "You're right. Let's not jump to conclusions. Let's talk about it after we meet."

What can Liu Chao say?
He had no choice but to nod and drink his coffee silently.

All three of them came from the national aerospace system. They are all very skilled and are the best in their respective fields.

In particular, Peng Xiaojun has also served as a leader in aerospace projects and has extremely high attainments in rocket engines. There are several rockets currently in service that Peng Xiaojun participated in developing.

Liu Chao is good at system integration, but don't underestimate this work, it is very tedious. If the person in charge is not capable, the success rate of the finished product will be very low.

Where is Fang Xiaoya?

Don’t be fooled by Fang Xiaoya’s pretty face. She is a great beauty, but she is not just a pretty face. She is definitely a talented person.

Fang Xiaoya's specialty is materials science, and she is a genius in materials research.

With three people each doing their own job, Starry Sky Glory has developed very rapidly. It has even carried out an engine test run, which was very successful.

If all goes well, a low-altitude test flight of the first-stage rocket may be carried out this year. For a private company, such rapid progress is outstanding. Now the project is stuck on the chip, which makes the entire Starry Glory team very frustrated.

It's been two or three months, and I haven't been able to break through no matter what I've tried.

Chips are not a big deal at all. As long as you can design a chip, there will always be a place to outsource it.

However, the external environment is now more complicated, and going overseas for OEM is no longer feasible, so we can only look for opportunities in the mainland.

But there are so few choices.

Peng Xiaojun said: "If it still doesn't work this time, then we will talk to Huaxin International and ask them to lower the funding requirements as much as possible so that we can get the tape-out done."

Liu Chao sighed, "This is the only way. Huaxin International's offer is a bit expensive, but at least it is reliable. It's not easy for our project to get here, and we must not let it fail."

Peng Xiaojun said: "Of course, no matter what, no matter how big the agency is, we must overcome all difficulties."

Fang Xiaoya said: "In fact, we don't have to think too much. Even if the funds are almost used up temporarily, we can still carry out the second round of financing. Our progress is so fast, there is no reason why we can't get the next round of financing opportunities."

The other two nodded.

What Fang Xiaoya said is indeed true. Several private aerospace companies in China are currently in the research and development stage, and Star Glory is one of the fastest-growing ones.

The advantage is naturally the biggest, and it is indeed easier to raise money.

Of course, in addition to financing and spending a lot of money to invest in chips, there is another way, which is to reduce the chip manufacturing process to make the chip easier to manufacture.

But none of the three wanted to do this. After all, if the precision of the chip is reduced, it will affect its functions, and it may even be necessary to castrate some functions in order to produce it.

No one can accept such a result unless there is no other way.

At this time, Wang Yuling came back.

Wang Yuling checked the time and said, "Boss Hu should be here soon. He is usually quite punctual."

Liu Chao asked, "Director Wang, what is the name of Mr. Hu's company? Can you tell me?"

Wang Yuling smiled slightly: "It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's that I don't know at all."

"...Ah? You don't know either?"

Wang Yuling said: "Boss Hu's company information is protected, and only a few people know about it. I am not at a high enough level."

The other three people looked at each other in surprise. They didn't expect there to be such a thing. It was like a state secret department. It was too mysterious!

Just then, someone entered the cafe.

When Wang Yuling turned her head and saw it, she quickly stood up and waved at the man.

The man came over.

The three of them had already stood up, knowing that this was the legendary Boss Hu.

The three of them were very surprised when they saw each other's appearance clearly.

I didn’t expect that the so-called Boss Hu is so young and looks so handsome. He is definitely a handsome guy.

Wang Yuling introduced: "This is Boss Hu, Hu Jiangshan."

Peng Xiaojun, Fang Xiaoya and Liu Chao finally reacted and greeted Hu Jiangshan one by one.

Hu Jiangshan also responded one by one. His behavior was very decent. The first impression he gave people was that he was very mature and steady, seemingly beyond his age.

But Hu Jiangshan is indeed too young, and it is hard to imagine him as the owner of a company that can manufacture advanced chips.

After sitting down, Hu Jiangshan also looked at the three people from Starry Sky Glory one by one.

When Hu Jiangshan saw Fang Xiaoya, he was obviously moved. Others thought that he thought Fang Xiaoya was very beautiful and was stunned by her beauty, but the truth was more complicated.

Hu Jiangshan didn't expect to meet Fang Xiaoya here.

Hu Jiangshan doesn't know Fang Xiaoya in this life, but he knew her in his previous life.
Not only do they know each other, but they are very familiar with each other.

The two had collaborated on a large project and several small projects in their previous life, and over time they fell in love and had an ambiguous relationship.

It seemed like the relationship was about to break, but due to various reasons, the two of them were never able to develop to that step and could only live their own lives.

It has to be said that Fang Xiaoya is now younger and more beautiful than Hu Jiangshan remembered her to be, and that intellectual beauty is still very obvious.

Hu Jiangshan and Fang Xiaoya are both experts in materials, and this is also where the two had intersection in their previous life.

Of course, Fang Xiaoya is a genius girl in materials science, and Hu Jiangshan's level is even higher than her.

So when the two of them first started working together, Fang Lanya was quite unconvinced, but later she was gradually conquered by Mr. Hu.

Fang Xiaoya now works at Starry Glory, which is beyond Hu Jiangshan's expectations, because in her previous life, Fang Xiaoya worked in the state-owned aviation system and was the goddess of the department.

Hu Jiangshan took a sip of coffee and thought, forget it, it’s all in the past.

This life is too far away from the previous one, it is not the same world at all. It is better to eliminate distracting thoughts and do well in the present thing.

Wang Yuling said: "Okay, everyone is here, let's get started."

Peng Xiaojun said to Hu Jiangshan, "Boss Hu, this is the case. Our company's project has reached a critical stage. We have designed a chip independently, but we are struggling to find a suitable foundry. The project is stuck. I wonder if you can help us with the foundry. Of course, we still need to tape out the chip first, and then consider the issue of formal foundry."

Hu Jiangshan nodded: "Okay, Mr. Peng, can you let me take a look at the IC design of the chip first?"

Peng Xiaojun nodded: "Okay, we have brought it here."

As he spoke, Peng Xiaojun took out a portable laptop from his backpack, turned it on, and turned the screen to Hu Jiangshan's side.

Hu Jiangshan stared at the screen carefully with great concentration.

The three members of Starlight Glory looked at each other in surprise.

I didn’t expect that Hu Jiangshan understood chip design. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to understand the chip IC design drawings at all.

But it is also very remarkable that Hu Jiangshan, at such a young age, has some understanding of chip design.

As we all know, in Hong Kong Island, any family with good conditions will arrange for their children to study abroad in developed countries. Most of the university majors are finance and business management. It is indeed rare for them to study majors related to semiconductor design.

Moreover, Hu Jiangshan spoke Mandarin very well, and one could not even tell that he spoke with a Hong Kong accent. This made the three people realize that this Boss Hu was indeed no ordinary person.

After a while, Hu Jiangshan finally finished reading it and said, "This chip is more complicated than the 14-nanometer process, perhaps reaching the 10-nanometer level."

When the other people heard this, they felt disappointed.

What do you mean? Can't it be done?
Peng Xiaojun asked: "Boss Hu, can this chip be made?"

Hu Jiangshan smiled slightly: "Okay."

(End of this chapter)