Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 667 Zhiyun is also quite good at squeezing toothpaste.
As we entered June, one of the biggest tech news stories globally was Google's breakthrough in the field of artificial intelligence.

According to Google, they have designed a brand new algorithm that significantly outperforms their previous self-developed algorithms in key performance indicators such as training efficiency.

Meanwhile, Google also announced that they have begun to use this new underlying algorithm to design and build various big data models, including generative AI that is familiar to ordinary people, as well as big data models for other products, such as artificial intelligence models for smart robots, motion models for virtual devices with VR omnidirectional treadmill structures, and even are preparing to use them in the field of autonomous driving.

The above-mentioned fields are all very popular artificial intelligence application areas in recent years with huge market size... The market size of any one of these fields is in the hundreds of billions of dollars or even more.

Now, Google has announced its intention to leverage its technological breakthroughs in its core underlying algorithms to officially and on a large scale enter the aforementioned fields.

Of course, it's hard to say exactly when the product will be launched or what its production capacity and performance will be!

Breakthroughs in core underlying algorithm theory do not mean that corresponding big data models can be created immediately, nor do they mean that they can be applied to various products immediately.

They need time to translate their theoretical and technological breakthroughs into actual products, which could take several years.

Meanwhile, a large number of investors and professionals in the high-tech industry are also paying attention to another piece of information revealed by Google.

Google also announced that it has reached a new round of strategic cooperation agreement with Zhiyun Group, adding $100 billion worth of computing equipment to the existing $50 billion purchase of the 'Zhiyun Quantum Integrated Computing Power System'.

This brings the total procurement contracts for computing equipment between Zhuyun Group and Google to $150 billion.

This massive procurement order will be completed over three years, this year, next year, and the year after... with an average annual order value of $50 billion!

That's incredibly exaggerated!
This decision was particularly sudden, especially since it came shortly after Google announced that it had successfully developed a new generation of computing technology.

This has led many outsiders to speculate:

Is Google's breakthrough in new artificial intelligence technology directly related to the YCL-52 superconducting quantum computer?

And sure enough, the outsiders' guesses were right, that's the truth... Google's new generation of algorithm technology breakthroughs are based on quantum computing.

The new algorithm's technical characteristic lies in utilizing many features of quantum computing. Therefore, future big data models built using this underlying algorithm technology will need to be trained on the Zhiyun Quantum Integrated Computing Power System...

Traditional GPU computing centers can't handle this.

This is the reason why Google suddenly decided to significantly increase its investment in superconducting quantum computing... it's indispensable.

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The news from Google has sparked another widespread discussion about artificial intelligence technology... especially in Western countries, where many mainstream media outlets and new media bloggers are keen to report on Google's breakthrough in artificial intelligence technology.

Not only are the media keen on discussing it, but ordinary netizens on Western internet platforms are also very keen on discussing it.

Moreover, many media professionals and ordinary netizens have changed their views on artificial intelligence technology!

Prior to this, many Western media outlets and even ordinary people often spoke with an 'objective scrutiny' tone when they saw news about artificial intelligence technology products from Zhiyun Group online.

A typical media headline reads: "China's annual sales of intelligent robots exceed three million units, but... what is the cost?"
Hailan Auto has released a new generation of L4.3 autonomous driving system, with a 30% performance improvement, but... what is the cost?
A car accident involving a Hailan self-driving car has resulted in multiple injuries and fatalities. Is self-driving technology truly mature?
Zhiyun's virtual devices have entered the US market on a large scale, with month-on-month sales growth reaching 50%, but what are the risks?
Typical BBC style... bad news goes without saying, relentlessly criticizing and exaggerating the negative aspects... if it's good news, then downplay the good news itself and instead focus on the costs and risks.

Many people are questioning Zhiyun Group's artificial intelligence technology, saying things like intelligent robots will cause robot rebellion, robots will cause mass unemployment, and robots will harm children or the elderly.

Over the past few years, Zhiyun Group's artificial intelligence technology has shocked the world and ignited the global market after being applied to a large number of terminal products.

Many people in Europe and America are actually using Zhiyun S-series phones, smart robots, and virtual devices while simultaneously criticizing Zhiyun online with a sour tone.

Doesn't it look ridiculous...? But you should know:

Buying a Zhiyun phone is a way of life!

Criticizing Zhiyun online is called patriotism!

The two are not contradictory!
Ultimately, it's because they've fallen behind in artificial intelligence and many other emerging technologies!
Now that they have seen the news of Google's breakthrough in artificial intelligence technology, they are overjoyed and enthusiastically participate in the discussion, saying how important Google's breakthrough in artificial intelligence technology is, and how it is a decisive victory in breaking the blockade of China's artificial intelligence technology and shattering the myth of Zhiyun's artificial intelligence technology.

Then there are all sorts of wonderful things to enjoy: perhaps in just a few years, we will be able to buy intelligent robots, virtual reality devices, self-driving electric vehicles and other products developed and manufactured in the United States!
Of course, those who make these statements are just talking... but when it comes to actually buying Google's products, it's highly unlikely they'll actually pay for them.

It's fine to verbally support Google, but to actually pay for it... especially tens of thousands of dollars to buy Google's AI technology products... Dude, that's not funny at all!
They don't want to spend tens of thousands of dollars, or even more, to be Google's guinea pigs and cash cows for new products.

This is the difference between the online world and reality...

There are plenty of Europeans criticizing Zhiyun robots online, but the European market contributes to Zhiyun's second-largest global sales, and the sales volume is not significantly different from that in China...

The US criticizes Zhiyun even more harshly, but after Zhiyun robots were legally allowed to be sold to individual consumers in the US this year, sales skyrocketed... In just three months, it surpassed Japan to become Zhiyun's third largest market globally, and its market share is still growing rapidly.

It is estimated that it will not be long before its market size is comparable to that of Europe.

Due to its high price and the fact that it provides home services, the Zhiyun robot is mainly purchased by middle- and high-income families in various countries, and its sales are high in areas with good economies and where the salaries of local nannies and other service personnel are relatively high.

This is mainly reflected in major domestic cities, Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, as well as some regions such as Canada, Australia, and Singapore.

Besides domestic and international markets, there are many people criticizing Zhiyun in overseas markets... but this does not affect the sales of Zhiyun's various products.

Again:
Buying a Zhiyun phone is a way of life!

Criticizing Zhiyun online is called patriotism!

There is often a huge difference between what you say and what you do!

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In short, the internet in the Western world is now celebrating Google's breakthrough in artificial intelligence technology.

However, while some people cheered for Google's technological breakthroughs, they also noticed the huge investment Google was preparing to make in the construction of artificial intelligence infrastructure.

In particular, the new strategic cooperation between Google and Zhiyun Group has increased the procurement amount to $150 billion over three years.

This is not just Google's total investment in the field of artificial intelligence, but only the amount of computing power hardware equipment purchased from Zhiyun Group... 150 billion yuan over three years, averaging 50 billion US dollars per year. This investment amount has exceeded that of Facebook and Microsoft.

In its pursuit of transformation in the field of artificial intelligence, Facebook announced at the end of last year that it would invest $150 billion over the next three years in the research and development of artificial intelligence technology.

However, Facebook's data is highly inflated, as it not only includes investments in other areas of artificial intelligence but also likely the operational costs of internet AI services.

The actual amount used for purchasing computing hardware is far less than that, meaning the funds allocated to purchasing the 'Zhiyun Quantum Integrated Computing System' are far less than that...

In reality, the procurement contract that Facebook has officially reached with Zhiyun Group so far is only worth about 30 billion US dollars, with an estimated delivery time of two years, which averages out to about 15 billion US dollars per year.

It's worth noting that Facebook has spent a lot of money on artificial intelligence technology, but the actual technological results have been few and far between...

Microsoft is also a major player in the artificial intelligence technology industry. They are not just a computer operating system manufacturer; in fact, Microsoft is also a game developer and a major player in the artificial intelligence industry.

They have a subsidiary that has developed a large-scale generative artificial intelligence model called OPAI.
However, OPAI's performance is not very good, and even Microsoft itself does not use it on a large scale...

Because Zhiyun Group makes it freely available, all enterprises and individuals can use it for free, and GTAI, which is permitted for commercial purposes, outperforms their OPAI in terms of performance...

Let alone Microsoft, Google itself previously deployed GTAI, the AI ​​technology used to provide artificial intelligence services for its various internet businesses, instead of Google's self-developed AI.

However, Microsoft, which was able to create OPAI, does have a certain level of expertise in artificial intelligence technology and harbors enormous ambitions...

Putting everything else aside, the next generation of large-scale virtual games they are developing makes extensive use of artificial intelligence technology. Like Yihai Technology, they are trying to introduce artificial intelligence technology into virtual games to improve NPCs, monsters, and game scenes.

The use of artificial intelligence technology in virtual games has become the most popular and cutting-edge technology application in the gaming industry over the past year.

Microsoft has high hopes and ambitions in the field of artificial intelligence technology, so it is willing to spend money on it.

Microsoft's procurement contract with Zhiyun Group is a three-year contract worth $60 billion, which averages out to $20 billion per year. That's no small amount.

The massive investments of these companies, often amounting to tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars, also convey one message to the public:
These large, high-tech multinational corporations are now willing to invest heavily in the field of artificial intelligence!
This applies to companies in the US, and it applies to companies in China as well.

In China, besides companies like Zhiyun Group and Hailan Auto, other typical internet companies such as Weiku Electronics Group, Yihai Technology Group, Tencent, Alibaba, and Huawei have also invested heavily in artificial intelligence hardware.

It's not just companies directly involved in AI technology or products that are investing in it; in fact, some large high-tech companies that don't seem to be directly involved in algorithms are also investing heavily in AI hardware.

For example, companies like Amazon, Oracle, IBM, and some domestic companies, such as several telecom operators, Alibaba Cloud, and Zhiyun Cloud Technology, have all started to develop artificial intelligence computing power services.

This kind of 'cloud AI computing service' is also a newly emerging industry, but it is rapidly expanding its market.

For many companies, it is not cost-effective to purchase a large number of expensive computing power equipment. A typical problem is that the computing power equipment is underutilized. Another problem is that large-scale computing centers are too expensive. Most small and medium-sized enterprises, and even some large enterprises, are unwilling to spend money to build these computing centers.

There's also a technological hurdle. While large corporations are thriving with computing centers, building their own AI computing centers presents a significant technological challenge for most businesses, especially traditional companies outside the high-tech sector that are transitioning to AI. These factors have spurred the creation of the 'cloud AI computing services' market, which is enormous and has helped numerous SMEs get on the fast track of AI development.

Taking Zhiyun Group's cloud computing service provider, Zhiyun Cloud Computing Technology, as an example, the numerous artificial intelligence computing centers they have built not only meet the group's own needs but also provide computing power services to its sister companies and third-party enterprises.

Therefore, not all of the massive computing centers under the Zhiyun Group are used by themselves; a large portion is used to provide computing power to external users.

For example, Galaxy Bio-Group, a subsidiary of Galaxy Life, is one of the clients of Zhiyun Cloud Computing Technology, where it has long leased a large amount of computing resources.

This is why Galaxy Life doesn't have a computing center, but it can still use artificial intelligence technology to develop drugs... Instead of building its own computing center, it directly rents cloud AI computing power services from Zhiyun Group.

Oracle and Amazon are following this path, and their computing centers are also very large in scale...

And the aforementioned companies, whether they are directly engaged in artificial intelligence algorithms, artificial intelligence computing power services, or robots, autonomous driving, etc... basically these days, any company that is engaged in artificial intelligence technology or big data modeling technology...

They are all direct or indirect customers of Zhiyun Group... They all need to purchase computing power equipment or cloud computing from Zhiyun Group.

Even if they purchase cloud AI computing services from companies like Amazon, they still use the computing power equipment from Zhiyun Group.

Zhiyun Group is currently the largest, and arguably the only, supplier of artificial intelligence computing equipment on Earth, holding over 99% of the market share.

The remaining one percent is the market for AMD and other companies involved in computing chips... They basically survive by relying on special protected markets, especially the defense market.

It's not that Zhiyun Group doesn't sell APO series graphics cards to various countries... it's just that they dare not use them, fearing there might be backdoors.

Is there a backdoor?

Zhuyun Group naturally vehemently denied the existence of a backdoor.

However, for security reasons, the export of such top-tier equipment must have a backdoor...

The backdoor left behind actually has a rather simple and pure function: remote locking!

For the company, this backdoor has no impact. Zhiyun Group will never use such a backdoor in the business field. Otherwise, it would cause irreparable damage to Zhiyun Group's business reputation and result in the loss of a large number of overseas markets and even some domestic markets.

To put it simply, unless World War III breaks out, Zhiyun Group would never use such a heavyweight chip backdoor!

But for the defense sector, that would be a much bigger problem... For example, if the US is happily fighting a war, and Zhiyun Group remotely locks up its APO series chips, causing the battlefield AI command system to crash, wouldn't that be ridiculous?

Furthermore, for some unmanned terminals, it is even more unthinkable to use the PX or LC series general-purpose terminal computing chips from Zhiyun Group.

Otherwise, it's anyone's guess who the robot dogs coming to the battlefield will be aiming their guns at...

This has given AMD, Qualcomm, Intel, and other American semiconductor companies room to survive in the computing chip field... although this room is rather small.

These computing chip companies have too small a market share to have much impact on Zhiyun Group's market share in computing chips.

Not to mention, since last winter, when Zhiyun Group officially released the YCL-52 superconducting quantum computer, the computing hardware market has entered a new era.

It is no longer a pure GPU computing card, but has evolved into a new generation of computing power system that combines superconducting quantum computers and GPU computing cards: YQu!

This refers to the 'Zhiyun Quantum Integrated Computing Power System' that Zhiyun Group released last winter and began delivering this spring. When promoting the system overseas, it was referred to as 'YQu'.

It is derived from the initials of Yun, the logo of Zhiyun Group, and Qu, the simplified form of the word "quantum".

YQu is easy to pronounce, with a similar rhythm to WIFI, which is conducive to its spread through language...

Otherwise, it would involve a whole string of technical terms, since "Zhiyun Quantum Comprehensive Computing Power System" is, in direct terms, Zhiyun Quantum Comprehensive Computing Power System.

Most people would be dumbfounded... not because it's complicated, but because the words are too long.

Therefore, the marketing department of Zhiyun Group specifically created an abbreviation for this system for marketing purposes, namely 'YQu'.

With the large-scale supply of Zhiyun Quantum's integrated computing power system this year, the computing power equipment market is now dominated by this system.

The original computing power system composed entirely of GPUs, namely the GT series servers under the Zhiyun Group, is now considered an auxiliary computing power device, and its market share has been greatly reduced.

Basically, when investing hundreds of millions of yuan in the infrastructure of the field of artificial intelligence, the preferred choice is to purchase the Zhiyun Quantum Integrated Computing Power System with superconducting quantum computers as its core... The hardware has a relatively high cost-performance ratio per unit of computing power.

Secondly, and quite importantly, the power consumption per unit of computing power is also lower... This is actually a very important performance indicator.

It's not that businesses can't afford the electricity bill, but rather that there isn't enough electricity available for them locally.

When it comes to computing power for artificial intelligence, power supply is an unavoidable topic... Artificial intelligence consumes an astonishing amount of power; for specific examples, you can refer to Zhiyun Group's own data.

Despite possessing such advanced technology and consuming less power per unit of computing power, it is still troubled by power supply issues.

And other companies are even less likely to be able to compete... After all, not every company is like Zhiyun Group, with the world's largest power generation network as its power supply.

The emergence of the Zhiyun Quantum Integrated Computing System relies on the extremely low power consumption of superconducting quantum computers, which means that many companies can obtain good computing power even when local power supply is relatively limited.

This is actually quite important, especially for countries with power shortages.

This is also one of the key reasons why Zhiyun Quantum Integrated Computing System is welcomed by companies around the world.

Of course... the Zhiyun Quantum Integrated Computing System has only been on the market for six months, and the Zhiyun Group's production capacity is also limited, so its supply capacity is also relatively limited.

In addition, most enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, and some purely research institutions, do not actually have the capability to operate the Zhiyun Quantum Integrated Computing System.

For many years to come, GT series servers or APO series graphics cards sold directly will continue to have a huge market share.

Whether it's the Zhiyun Quantum Integrated Computing System, the GT Server, or the direct sale of single-card APO series computing power cards, these products can bring huge revenue and profits to the Zhiyun Group.

This has led to the computing hardware equipment business becoming the most profitable and highest-revenue business segment for Zhuyun Group.

This is why Zhiyun Group is happy to see other companies continue to expand in the field of artificial intelligence and even make some technological progress. Zhiyun Group welcomes even the technological progress of potential competitors.

Even without achieving a technological breakthrough, Zhiyun Group is already preparing to release a new generation of free and publicly available artificial intelligence algorithms... and without exception, all of these algorithms focus on the characteristics of quantum computing.

When it comes to selling computing equipment, Zhuyun Group is very serious!

Even competitors like Google, Apple, and Microsoft still sell it!
Anyway, Zhiyun Group doesn't need to worry about its competitors surpassing it in artificial intelligence technology... because Zhiyun Group is not just one generation ahead in the core underlying algorithms of artificial intelligence, but several generations ahead.

In addition, Zhuyun Group's computing hardware equipment is also divided into versions for internal use and versions for export.

Our own superconducting quantum computer has already entered the YCL-61 era, which is the sixth generation of superconducting quantum computers, with 50,000 controllable qubits... Even the previous generation YCL-51 had 10,000 controllable qubits.

However, the YCL-52 superconducting quantum computer sold to foreign companies has only four to six thousand controllable qubits.

The performance difference is huge.

Meanwhile, among the computing power equipment of Zhiyun Group, there is actually a neuromorphic computer... and this thing has never been announced to the public, let alone sold.

The APO6000 graphics card has a 160GB internal version and a 120GB external version, which is quite different in performance.

In summary, Zhiyun Group is now developing its own second-generation integrated computing power system, namely the YANC system... This system is much more powerful than the YQu system exported to other countries.

Therefore, what outsiders can see and buy are all technologies that have been used internally by Zhiyun Group for many years and have been phased out!

Even so, it remains a global leader with no competitors!

So much so that Zhuyun Group is planning to take a piecemeal approach in the field of fifth-generation quantum computers...

If the external environment, primarily the absence of new competitors, then the performance level of this fifth-generation quantum computer will see a slight improvement, but not a significant one.

The system is upgraded once every one or two years, with each upgrade involving one or two thousand qubits.

Upgrading from 6,000 qubits to 8,000 qubits, then to 10,000 qubits, and finally to 12,000 qubits... each upgrade sells for two years, and if this continues, it can sell for ten years.

If there are still no competitors in ten years, then we will export our sixth-generation quantum computer technology.

Before exporting, we first need to apply a severe slash to reduce prices to their absolute limit, and then gradually improve them...

When it comes to things like squeezing toothpaste, Zhiyun Group is quite adept!
(End of this chapter)