Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 332 The Dawn of the 5G Era

When Xu Shenxue instructed Galaxy Life to launch the second phase clinical trial of the ARE78 project, he received a number of calls within a few days.

All are some of the major sponsors of Galactic Life.

Although these sponsors cannot access Galaxy Life's core R&D center in China, they still have people in Galaxy Life's R&D centers in Europe and the United States. In addition, they also have many people in the R&D and testing base in Africa.

After all, although Galaxy Life is centered around Xu Shenxue and is led by him, it is still a cooperative project. European and American consortiums have also put in a lot of effort. Many of the industry's top medical experts were found by these consortiums and then arranged to work in R&D centers in Europe or the United States.

Therefore, these sponsors have some understanding of the basic situation of Galaxy Life, especially the progress of some key projects.

However, we can only know some basic information, but not the details.

After all, the special nature of Galaxy Life means that it is destined to act very low-key, and key projects such as ARE78 are even more secret projects of the company.

Even any information of ARE78 is top secret of the company and its confidentiality is very high. After the first batch of sample drugs of ARR78 are prepared in small quantities from domestic laboratories, they are directly transported to the African base by special plane. After the special plane arrives in Africa and lands, it is escorted by armed forces all the way and then delivered to the test personnel for clinical trials.

It is unlikely that these donors would want to know the details.

However, the ARE78 project has completed its first phase of clinical trials, and such an important event will naturally let the sponsors know some sporadic news.

So, after hearing some rumors, they called directly to inquire.

The purpose of their call was simple, which was to ask whether the research on galactic life had really made progress, to what extent, and whether it could be used.
Especially some people who are old or whose parents are frail are very concerned about this project.

Xu Shenxue did not hide it, but stated directly: "Our ARE78 project has indeed passed the first phase of clinical trials. I don't know much about the technology, but I heard from my R&D team that it is a new drug developed based on genetic technology."

"From the current situation, it can be seen that there are some anti-aging effects in improving physical functions. Some clinical trial subjects in the 70-year-old age group have shown a significant improvement in their physical functions, returning to around 65 years old. Experts from the project team have reported that if the medication period is extended, the physical functions will be further improved."

"However, the first phase of clinical trials only lasts three to six months, and there are still many unclear situations. In addition, many clinical trial subjects have experienced some obvious side effects after stopping the drug. At the same time, we are not sure whether this drug will conflict with other drugs, or whether it will have a negative impact on some diseases, especially chronic diseases!"

"My R&D team is conducting more detailed and thorough tests to obtain more definitive data."

“Whether the ARE78 project is viable or not still needs to wait for the results of the second phase of clinical trials!”

Xu Shenxue naturally had his own purpose for saying this!

Research and development in life sciences costs money, and it’s extremely expensive. Previous theoretical research and early project development have required an investment of more than one billion U.S. dollars each year, and the subsequent second and even third phase clinical trials are even more expensive.

Even though it is easier and cheaper to do ad hoc trials in Africa, a lot of money still needs to be spent.

There are more than 10,000 R&D personnel in the world, a large number of whom are top experts in the industry and they all need to be paid. The top equipment used in various research institutes is very expensive.

For a relatively special company like Galaxy Life, the subsequent clinical trials are actually not that expensive, and more R&D funds are spent on real technological research.

Behind the ARE78 project are more than one hundred Phase I clinical trial drugs that have failed, and behind every Phase I clinical trial drug that has failed are countless failed projects that could not even make it to Phase I clinical trials.

In order to support research, no matter how wild or expensive the researchers' ideas are, as long as they can convince the technical committee with even a hint of feasibility, they can get research and development funds.

Behind the success of Galaxy Life's ARE78 project are billions of dollars that have already been spent.

But Galaxy Life's research will not stop. Even if the ARE78 project is a perfect success and can really improve human functions while controlling side effects, it is still far from enough.

Galaxy Life will continue to carry out research and development to develop better anti-aging technologies and even technologies to extend lifespan, which will require enormous amounts of funds.

And this requires funding people to continue to donate generously!

Of course, if the ARE78 project is successful, Galaxy Life will be able to use this drug to recover research and development costs, or even make a fortune to support research.

Even though this drug is a genetic drug, it needs to be customized according to each person's genes, and the preparation cost is extremely expensive.

But people who can take this drug now are not short of money, and can afford the drug expenses of several million or even tens of millions of dollars a year.

At the same time, this is an anti-aging drug that requires long-term medication...which means long-term and stable revenue can be obtained.

The commercial prospects are quite good.

And the ones being harvested are the rich people’s leeks…

Xu Shenxue likes this kind of business the most. It gives him a huge sense of accomplishment and makes him feel happier than making money from the poor.

What’s even more satisfying than making money from ordinary rich people is harvesting the leeks of the rich!
It’s exciting just thinking about it!
It’s just that biological research is a huge pitfall, and life sciences even more so.

If we really do it, no amount of money will be enough. Even if the ARE78 project is successful in the future, the money earned will not be enough for Galaxy Life to continue spending like this. Therefore, the more funding we can raise, the better.

Then if the ARE78 project is successful, Xu Shenxue will have an extra trump card in his hand!
This is equivalent to holding the lifeline of a group of old men from the consortium in their hands...Don't these super-rich people want to have the body of a 60-year-old when they are in their 70s or 80s?
Do you want to pay some extra benefits?

Of course, these are all in the future. The ARE78 project has just completed the first phase of clinical trials, and we have to wait for the second, third and even fourth phases of clinical trials to be successful. This cycle will still take several years and cannot be rushed.

After Xu Shenxue explained the current progress of the ARE78 project, many super-rich people said that they had some spare money on hand, and they might as well invest it in Galaxy Life Science to support human life sciences.

Xu Shenxue naturally accepted it all!

The ARE78 project has made progress, which has caused a certain impact on the top wealthy circles on the earth, but the outside world knows nothing about it.

The only information that outsiders can find about Galaxy Life is that it is a biological research company located in South Africa. It has a subsidiary in China, Galaxy Biopharmaceuticals, which sells generic drugs and holds controlling stakes in several research and development centers. It also does some charitable drug donations in Africa, sending out some expiring drugs.

There have been no papers on gene-customized anti-aging drugs, nor any media reports.

Everything is calm and peaceful!
However, Xu Shenxue knew that the current calm was only temporary. If the ARE78 project failed, then there would naturally be nothing to say.

If the project succeeds, it may trigger a major earthquake affecting the world's wealthy class...

Xu Shenxue also needs to plan ahead and make some preparations in advance.

The corresponding R&D project teams were brought together and kept highly confidential and protected. All technical information was kept confidential and only core technical personnel at a certain level could view it.

As for the confidentiality of drugs in overseas clinical trials, that is not very important... Even if they are allowed to analyze and imitate the finished drugs, it will be of no use.

This is a personalized gene-customized drug. The ingredients of each person's drug are different, and there are subtle differences between them. Even imitation is impossible...

Strictly speaking, the ARE78 project is not a drug, but a technology.

A technology that develops basic drugs based on multiple groups of gene fragments, adjusts them according to each person's different genetic conditions, and finally prepares corresponding personalized drugs.

In the process of adjusting the subtle components of the drug based on the initial drug according to individual genes, AI server arrays are also needed to run specialized data models.

When the ARE78 project team customized drugs for clinical trial personnel, they had to run the data using an AI server array specifically for each clinical trial personnel's customized drugs.

However, this AI array is not an array composed of ordinary APO graphics cards that can be purchased publicly on the market. The computing power of that thing is not enough.

It has to be run using the secret AI server array owned by the Intelligent Research Institute within Zhiyun Group.

Zhiyun Group also opened a secret computing power interface for use by Galaxy Life's R&D team.

Without the cooperation of this AI supercomputer, it would take hundreds of years to run a traditional supercomputer to produce a set of data.

The amount of data is too large to be processed by ordinary supercomputers... As for ordinary computers, don't even think about it.

This is also the reason why the cost of ARE78 drug is extremely high and it cannot be mass-produced industrially.

The technological breakthrough of Galaxy Life's ARE78 project is the result of the dual combination of genetic engineering and AI technology.

And the above is just a simple description. As for the more detailed Xu Shenxue, he couldn’t even understand the nouns... To be honest, it’s a bit difficult for Xu Shenxue, a liberal arts student who has never been exposed to life sciences, to get in touch with these.

Anyway, it's enough for him to know that such a thing exists, and he doesn't need to know too detailed technology.

Just like in semiconductor equipment and consumables, and even in the fields of semiconductor manufacturing and design, Xu Shenxue actually doesn't know much. He has only read some information in the past few years and knows some terms.

As for the underlying technology, he didn't understand any of it.

Not to mention a pure liberal arts student like Xu Shenxue, even if someone from the same science and engineering field were to switch fields, there is a high probability that they would be like reading a book without words, with a confused look on their face.

The development of human science and technology has now reached many branches, and each branch has developed to an extremely high level.

Especially the top technologies in the industry are more complex.

For example, the various top technologies researched in giant laboratories like Zhiyun Group are almost at the forefront of the industry... Some top project teams, such as the artificial intelligence project team, recruit newly graduated doctoral students from schools, who often cannot even understand the secret technical information within the project team after joining the team.

This cannot be blamed on them being stupid, but because what they learned in school is itself backward...The top technologies in the field of artificial intelligence are all in Zhiyun Group's artificial intelligence laboratory. They are all highly confidential and the outside world cannot even access them, so how can they understand and become familiar with them?

They also have to study for a period of time and catch up with the latest progress before they can continue the research.

It's so difficult for professionals to deal with it, let alone laymen.

Xu Shenxue has never been a technician, and he is well aware of this.

The outside world also knows that Xu Shenxue actually doesn’t understand any technology... This can be seen from his employment experience and the job he did after graduation.

But he has a good vision and is great at leading a team!

So people are willing to trust him!

Not only ordinary people believe in him, even many technicians are willing to believe in him!
Even the more skilled the technical expert is, the more core R&D backbones are willing to trust him!

Many technical personnel often did not have deep feelings before joining Zhiyun Group or other companies under Xu Shenxue. However, after joining Zhiyun Group and other companies under Xu Shenxue, they found that the rumors outside that doing research and development under Xu Shenxue would be addictive and the more you work, the more motivated you become are true.

Many people have found a second spring in scientific research after joining Zhiyun Group.

The relaxed and respectful R&D environment with super high welfare benefits makes them feel particularly happy in everything they do.

The R&D efficiency is super fast. Technical problems that were previously puzzling can now be solved by discussing them with colleagues and then thinking about them.

It seems magical, but we are all a rational group of people with high IQs, so we will naturally look at the problem from a more rational perspective.

It is believed that this result is caused by the relaxed environment, generous welfare benefits and friendly scientific research environment.

Where does this environment come from?
Of course it was brought by Xu Shenxue!
Xu Shenxue is recognized in the industry as the boss who is the most generous to scientific researchers...This generosity is not only reflected in generous salaries, but also in generous R&D funds, and in many cases, he does not even restrict the direction of R&D.

For ordinary small project applications, as long as there is a reasonable reason, it will be approved in seconds.

If you spend more money and prepare the corresponding technical information and have a clear reason, even if the project itself has no commercial prospects, it can basically be approved.

When it comes to small and medium-sized projects, Xu Shenxue’s attitude is: Do whatever you want, I don’t care, it won’t make much money anyway.

Of course, it’s different for big projects, you have to come up with practical plans and prospects, and then convince the technical committee to invest money...but this big project generally refers to those with R&D funds of over 100 million yuan.

As for small and medium-sized projects with ordinary R&D funds of several million or tens of millions, there are basically no obstacles and they are all approved in seconds... Of course, things like perpetual motion machines are not counted, and some anti-human things are not allowed.

Even if a project fails, as long as the R&D personnel have reasonable grounds, the superiors will not blame them and will continue to support them when a new project is proposed.

As for R&D, it is normal that ninety-nine out of a hundred projects fail.

However, as long as one project is successful and has commercial prospects, it is possible to recover the R&D costs of 100 R&D projects at once. This is also the reason why the products of Xu Shenxue's companies are extremely expensive... Because it seems that one project is successful, but behind it are dozens or even hundreds of failed projects.

When calculating the cost of new products, the costs of failed projects must also be included!
Otherwise, how can we make money and maintain a virtuous cycle?

Therefore, people often criticize Xu Shenxue for being black-hearted and selling everything at extremely high prices. Even a mobile phone can be sold for tens of thousands of yuan. He is like a lunatic!
But for R&D personnel, it is very comfortable.

It is recognized in the industry that it is very comfortable to do research and development under Xu Shenxue.

This also makes it easier for the companies under Xu Shenxue to recruit scientific researchers. Many talents are willing to come and do research and development. Not only are people in China willing to work for Xu Shenxue, but many foreign technical R&D personnel are also happy to work for Xu Shenxue.

There are quite a large number of foreign R&D personnel in Zhiyun Group, and there are also a large number of foreign R&D personnel in its R&D centers overseas, including many famous experts and scholars from various countries.

------

In December, Xu Shenxue once again went to Beijing for a meeting to discuss the 5G issue.

Zhiyun Group should be one of the earliest companies in the world to invest heavily in 5G research and development. Of course, the 5G technology developed by Zhiyun Group is mainly concentrated in the field of 5G communication baseband, in order to ensure that its own communication baseband will not be restricted in the future when entering the 5G era, thereby further enhancing its competitive advantage.

It must be pointed out here that 5G is a "wireless communication protocol". Compared with 4G, it has lower latency and faster speed, but the signal attenuation is also greater, so the communication distance is shorter... Of course, this is not important.

The important thing is to know that this is a wireless communication protocol...emphasis on wireless!
Only after understanding this can we better discuss 5G.

5G technology is an important technology for Zhiyun. In the future, Zhiyun will be able to sell more 5G mobile phones and more chips in the 5G Internet of Things field to make more money.

As for the various science fiction-level applications of 5G that are now being promoted by the public, such as industrial control, telemedicine, autonomous driving, smart cities, smart homes, environmental monitoring... they are somewhat nonsense.

Well, these projects are all good, but they have little to do with 5G...or to be more strict, they have nothing to do with the wireless communication protocol itself.

Industrial control is all about automation... This is actually about smart manufacturing, which involves big data models, industrial robots, and has nothing to do with wireless communication protocols.

Even if we need to connect to the Internet, we will not use wireless communication networks like mobile phones. The internal equipment in the factory is generally connected to the Internet using network cables. If that doesn't work, we can use Bluetooth, WFI, etc.

Who would use the operator's 3/4/5G wireless network to connect directly to the public network?
In order to connect to the public network, these factories usually directly use fiber optic dedicated lines, or learn from Zhiyun and use satellite dedicated networks.

The sensors of many devices in Zhiyun's supply chain are still connected by old-fashioned network cables. After collecting data, the data is transmitted to Zhiyun headquarters through Zhiyun Satellite's exclusive satellite communication network for data collection and organization... In the whole system, there is not even 5G, let alone 3G... Because it has nothing to do with the operator and does not need to connect to the public Internet.

As for autonomous driving, the AI ​​system on Hailan cars can complete autonomous driving even when the Internet is disconnected as long as there is an offline map.

Of course, it would be better to have an internet connection to update the maps in real time, but a 4G or even 3G is actually enough... It's just an online map, it doesn't take much data, and as for the delay... Do you still expect the map software to update the map every moment, and the user must always be connected to the Internet to download data, to maintain the latest update with the lowest delay?

Where do the maps get so many updates?

HaiLan Auto actually also provides data networking... Part of it is used by HaiLan Auto itself to collect driving data feedback. On the other hand, it is used to judge vehicle accident situations and act as a car black box, but more importantly, it is used to train the next generation of autonomous driving AI.

This is built directly into the vehicle itself. Phone cards and other equipment are installed by Hailan Auto, and the data traffic is also purchased by Hailan Auto itself.

At the same time, there will be a network connection function for users, but users have to insert a local phone card to connect to the local operator network...

Autonomous driving and all the automatic unmanned transportation vehicles derived from it are all about off-grid and independent operation.

It also needs to use a wireless communication network to connect to the public Internet to drive autonomously. That is not called autonomous driving, that is called a remote control car...

Smart city, this scope is too large and too general... But if you think about it, you will know that it has little to do with communication protocols such as 5G or 6G.

Zhiyun Group is also involved in the smart home sector, and the core is still AI technology. The AI ​​host equipped with the smart host is used to control various electrical appliances, and the wireless communication module used for the networking of the smart host and smart appliances is short-range wireless communication protocols such as Bluetooth and WIFI. If you want to access the public network, you also need to access the home network, which has nothing to do with 5G.

Telemedicine... that is high-definition audio and video transmission, or with a bigger imagination, doctors can operate surgical instruments through simulated equipment thousands of miles away to perform surgery or various diagnoses, treatments, etc.

This requires a dedicated fiber optic line, so fast!
Even if you use 5G, only the devices and base stations will use the 5G network, and the operators will still have to continue to use the fiber optic network to transmit data to you.

So just use optical fiber directly, which is faster and has a larger data capacity.

Laying a dedicated fiber optic line is better than any G!

Many of the above applications that sound sci-fi and promising actually have nothing to do with wireless communication protocols such as 4G/5G/6G. Most of the core technologies are in the field of AI.

So is 5G useful?
That must be useful. At least mobile phones and other smart terminals will have faster Internet access speeds, making it more convenient for users to watch videos, and the mobile Internet will develop more rapidly... Zhiyun's mobile phones will sell better!
Of course, the prerequisite is that operators provide users with sufficient bandwidth and reduce traffic charges.

If you want faster Internet access, laying more optical fibers and increasing the data throughput of the backbone network is the best way...

This is similar to water supply. 4G or 5G is just a faucet switch, and the fiber optic backbone network is the water supply network.

Compared with 5G switches, the opening of 4G switches is much larger, but whether there can be more water depends on whether the water supply network of the water plant is strong enough.

Mobile phones are more user-friendly, the mobile Internet era is smoother, and Zhiyun Group’s mobile phones are selling better!

Therefore, Zhiyun Group is still quite supportive of the construction of 5G!

After all, it sells mobile phones and communication basebands, so it must strongly support the construction of 5G networks!
------

Zhiyun Group also has a deep layout in the 5G field and has made relevant preparations early on.

In 14, we participated in the construction of the 5G test network hosted by Japanese operators.

At the same time, Zhiyun Group also participated in various tests of the domestic 5G test network.

In these 5G network test networks, Zhiyun Group provides 5G communication baseband chips. Last year, Zhiyun Group developed the first generation of 5G communication baseband specifically for experiments.

However, it is just an experimental product and has no commercial value. It is only used to conduct many tests in the 5G test network.

The test results are quite good. Zhiyun Group's technology in the field of communication baseband is quite impressive, and 5G is no exception.

In addition to communication baseband, the field of 5G technology also includes the field of communication base stations, and this aspect is the expertise area of ​​Huawei and Zhongxing, the leading companies in the field of communication base stations in China.

In the 5G field, base stations are base stations and communication basebands are communication basebands. These are two different things and cannot be confused.

Companies such as Huawei, Zhongxing, and Ericsson are professional in building base stations.

Companies like Zhiyun Group and Qualcomm specialize in communication basebands, and Huawei is also good at communication basebands, but it lacks some key patents, and many of them cannot be used. For example, it does not have the corresponding communication baseband patents for CDMA2000 and the newly launched 5G, so it cannot do it for the time being.

When it comes to communication baseband, Zhiyun and Qualcomm are the professionals.

The two companies have basically divided up all the core patents in the 5G communication baseband field.

However, these two companies are unable to break away from each other and develop 5G communication baseband on their own... Both companies have made arrangements in advance, with Qualcomm making arrangements even earlier, while Zhiyun is a latecomer with more advanced technology. Both sides have obtained a large number of exclusive patents for 5G communication baseband, and it is a case of you blocking me and I blocking you.

In the end, the two companies had no choice but to cross-license their patents, otherwise no one would be able to develop it.

This means that in the 5G era, there will only be two 5G communication baseband manufacturers, Qualcomm and Zhiyun... at least in the early stages.

It is extremely difficult for latecomers to break through their patent blockade...

Even if patent restrictions are lifted, the design of 5G communication baseband is actually extremely difficult. If patent restrictions are not taken into account, there are only a few manufacturers in the world that can develop 5G communication baseband, and only Zhiyun, Qualcomm and Huawei can do it well.

Even Intel's current 4G communication baseband is having a hard time.

And although there is no clear evidence to prove it, referring to the 4G era and CDMA2000 patents, it is very likely that Zhiyun and Qualcomm have already reached an agreement in private: to reach a tacit understanding on price and reap the benefits together at a high price.

When it comes to communication baseband, both companies are very shady, making countless smart terminal manufacturers hate them.

Even giant companies like Fruit and Four Star have to hold their noses and be cut by these two companies!

As the cooperation agreement between Apple and Qualcomm in the field of communication baseband expired, Apple has begun looking for alternatives and is preparing to use basebands from other manufacturers next year... But looking around the world, it only found Intel, but Intel's communication baseband technology is very poor.

Even so, the fruit didn’t look for Zhiyun!

In fact, Zhiyun is also willing to sell basebands to them, but Zhiyun's single-mount baseband is generally recognized as a bad product, and its price is basically the same as Qualcomm's... In order to sell SOCs, these two companies mainly offer a communication baseband for free when you buy an SOC. If you only want a communication baseband, I'm sorry, this communication baseband is very expensive.

Moreover, Zhiyun is also Apple's core competitor. If Apple wants to adopt Zhiyun's baseband, it will be actively giving money to Zhiyun. In this case, Apple might as well continue to be harvested by Qualcomm.

For fruits, Qualcomm only wants money and not life, while Zhiyun wants both money and life!

So finally they found Intel for cooperation, and it is expected that some models will adopt Intel's 4G communication baseband next year... The reason why it is some models is that Intel does not have the patent for CDMA2000 and cannot do this, so some models will continue to use Qualcomm's high-priced communication baseband.

Xu Shenxue could predict that next year Apple's mobile phones would attract negative news about poor signal quality.

But it doesn’t have a big impact on fruits... They don’t rely on the strength of signals to survive.

The same is true for Zhiyun. Because the S series of Zhiyun mobile phones use a metal body, the signal has not been very good for a few years and can only be used barely.

The Zhiyun S series of mobile phones truly solved the signal problem with the launch of the S14 mobile phone with a glass back cover last year. On the one hand, the 4G communication baseband technology is more mature and the signal is better, and on the other hand, the glass cover does not block the signal.

The combination of the two completely solves the S14 mobile phone signal problem.

However, although the signal was not very good before, it did not affect Zhiyun’s mobile phones from being popular all over the world!
Apple is no exception... After all, all mobile phones with metal bodies are bound to encounter this problem.

It’s just that everyone was the same before, so it’s not a black spot!
Since last year, the signal of Zhiyun's S series has improved, so it has started to make articles and promote the signal problem. If Apple really adopts Intel's communication baseband next year, Zhiyun Group will definitely make full efforts to solve the signal problem and set off a global discussion on signal strength...

Who made your fruit signal so bad?

The communication baseband is Zhiyun's core technology and even one of its core advantages, so Xu Shenxue has always attached great importance to it.

5G technology represents the communication technology of the future. Xu Shenxue also attaches great importance to it and has made preparations for it early on.

Under such circumstances, Xu Shenxue’s attitude towards 5G technology is that my 5G communication baseband is ready, and various patent sticks are also ready, so I can start entering the market to reap the benefits at any time.

As for when to make the cut, it doesn’t make much difference if it’s earlier or later, I will make a big cut anyway.

So you operators and communication base station manufacturers can do whatever you want... I won’t get involved.

This is true both at home and abroad!

After all, Zhiyun Group is just a company that sells mobile phones...it has to keep a low profile!

In many countries, there are not just one operator but many, and there are huge conflicts of interest among the operators.

Zhiyun Group uses the full communication baseband model in its global operations. No matter what model your operator uses, as long as it is a mainstream standard, my mobile phone supports it. The main feature is that it is universally applicable.

The cooperation with operators is gradually moving away from exclusive cooperation and focusing on broad cooperation.

Zhiyun Group has been extensively involved in the construction of various 4G test networks and 5G test networks both at home and abroad, and has cooperated with various operators to build test networks.

No matter who of you wants to do it, I support you...the main point is to treat everyone equally.

To make money, you need to have many friends and few enemies.

Anyway, the 5G networks of these operators will eventually be used by Zhiyun phones or phones using Zhiyun chips...

Helping operators build 4G and 5G networks means helping ourselves sell mobile phones better.

(End of this chapter)