What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 698 Wedding Gift Money

It appears that Guo Shanfeng received another tip-off from an insider.

Yu Xing's deepest feeling about this is that even if his side doesn't touch political factors, they will still have to deal with them now.

Perhaps it's because of the successful bet by the Peak Fund, or perhaps it's because of the influence of the short-selling king. This seemingly genuine revelation, with its beginning and end, is undoubtedly an attempt to use someone else to do the dirty work. As for who exactly is being targeted, it's hard to guess the real intention.

However, this does confirm the necessity of the EU GDPR regulation to strengthen data control. Even when the regulations are still under discussion and transition, relevant agencies are always keenly trying to maximize their own interests.

Even the most stringent regulations can be exploited, let alone the regulatory failures that occur with such rapid technological advancements.

Cambridge Analytica is not a publicly traded company, but its actions are enough to condemn publicly traded companies. The mere fact that user data was leaked and used in the political arena will inevitably require a response from Facebook, which indirectly complements the GDPR regulations discussed by Yu Xing and Liu Chiping.

The final Brexit vote was close, so it's hard to say how much of an effect this targeted political advertising actually had. It even gave stakeholders a chance to use it to attack the other side.

“Let’s just seal this email for now and pretend we didn’t see it. Anyway, we’ve received too much stuff, and we might get caught up in some kind of mess.” Liu Wanying gave Yu Xing’s approval to the decision. “Since someone has leaked this information, if they see that we’re not doing anything, they will definitely try to do something through other channels. In the end, it won’t affect our tracking of Facebook and Snap’s advertising model.”

Whether it's through a mountain-climbing incident or other forms of exposure, this is destined to be a scandal and will inevitably push forward the process of data protection. However, the effects of a mountain-climbing incident will certainly be immediate.

Liu Wanying added one last thing: "Keep it in your hands, so that if it hasn't been exposed when you encounter the Brexit camp in the future, you can use it to your advantage."

Yu Xing hadn't expected this direction at all, and exclaimed in astonishment, "You...you ruthless short seller!"

Liu Wanying curled her lip: "Do you think people will be polite to businesses like MusVid that are developing overseas? Even if there are three of you, they will only target one of you."

Yu Xing was surprised that Xiao Ying was actually quite prescient.

In fact, compared to the automotive business, it is easier for Mus to go global. When it comes to manufacturing industries like complete vehicles, different regions naturally have their own self-protection mechanisms.

He couldn't help but think about his contacts with various parties in Malaysia, and felt that there might indeed be a need for more shared interests, but both Peak Hedge Fund and Cobit were good tools.

A more experienced team needs to be assembled in this regard, but the most urgent task is for Mus to secure a new round of financing.

Liu Chiping's trip back was originally to seek support, and now that a critical window of opportunity for development has been set, it is even more necessary to raise sufficient funds for development.

As of now, MusVid has 1.6 million registered users, around 7000 million monthly active users (MAU), and around 1800 million daily active users (DAU), barely making it into the second tier, behind well-known platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Snap.

However, Mus has not yet made any commercial attempts, and there is a vague analysis and evaluation of it from the outside world, but its popularity cooled down quickly after Vine went bankrupt.

Compared to Mus, which ranges from short music videos to a full-format content platform, Facebook is a monopolistic giant that can launch corresponding competitors at any time. Vine, despite having the backing of Twitter, still failed. Whether short videos, which have not yet been successfully commercialized, can actually succeed remains to be seen.

Wall Street values ​​Mus in the range of $10 billion to $14 billion, while Liu Chiping previously pushed for a $5 million valuation financing round involving institutions such as Temasek and IDG.

This time, he is not considering the valuation issue; he only wants to obtain $2 million to $4 million for promotion over the next year.

Liu Chiping's reasoning was to compare it to Snap's situation, where Snap's estimated funding for this area this year is around $1.5 million, and this is already a relatively restrained expansion based on its good reputation. The key issue is to provide a convincing reason for institutions to increase the valuation; otherwise, according to Wall Street's ceiling, a valuation of $14 billion would require a 14.3% divestment to secure $2 million in funding, which is unsatisfactory for both the confident Liu Chiping and Silicon Carbon.

Liu Chiping returned to Lingang to discuss Snap, talked about Facebook, reviewed seven layers of information, considered data collection, and after thoroughly clarifying everything, he prepared to discuss with President Yu how to lobby for increased valuation.

Yu Xing received Liu Chiping's report while test driving the five-seater version of Kyushu.

He listened as he drove, and finally commented, "Not bad, it's quite professional."

Having received the praise, Liu Chiping waited for a while without any further developments, then tentatively asked, "President Yu, shall we talk to Mr. Xiong from IDG first?"

He paused, then thought of Xu Xin and Li Song, who were colluding with each other, and added, "Or, let's talk to Mr. Xu of Today Capital first. They haven't been among the shareholders of Mus's financing."

Yu Xing said casually, "No need, they won't agree. You yourself said that Vine has gone bankrupt. Let Li Song handle this. If the hedge fund over the mountain peak makes money this time, the money will come from there. Everyone makes money, so they should give us a share first."

Liu Chiping was both delighted and surprised, and asked the crucial question: "President Yu, is it compliant?"

“It’s definitely not compliant now. Let the LPs of Guoshanfeng hold a meeting and agree to set up a special VC sub-fund. That would also satisfy the risk preferences of different investors.” Yu Xing thought about this. “Let’s call it Guoshanfeng Growth Fund 1. That’s what all funds are called, right? The lock-up period can be even longer. I see that Soros and others have 10-year lock-up periods. We don’t need that long.”

The funds at the Peak Fund are mostly client money, but after a successful validation round, client money can be appropriately used for its own purposes.

Liu Chiping objectively stated, "Those shareholders might have objections to raising the valuation in this way."

Yu Xing also objectively stated, "If you have any opinions, keep them to yourself. Who knows more about development than the former president of Tencent? If you don't trust me, who can doubt you?"

Liu Chiping felt that the statement should be reversed.

Yu Xing laughed again, "Anyway, it's the same old story: if the money isn't enough, then I'll..."

Liu Chiping chimed in, "I'm waiting for President Yu to short-sell and support us."

He now knows that Peak's potential targets include Facebook and Snap, as well as internet companies that may be affected by information collection policies, and this round of funding will burn through cash on these companies.

We burn money on them, and then in the future, we recoup the money by burning their market value, thus achieving a healthy cycle.

Yu Xing smiled, chatted for a few more minutes, and then gestured for Liu Chiping to test drive the Kyushu.

After walking around twice, he asked expectantly, "Mr. Liu, how does it feel?"

Liu Chiping seemed to ponder for a moment before replying, "Not bad, it's quite presentable."

　I'll write another chapter tomorrow morning. My tenosynovitis has flared up recently, and I've been using voice recordings and editing, which I don't feel comfortable with. I'll try my best to write.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)