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Chapter 598 Epilogue: [That man is back again and again!]

The 10th anniversary of the World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit.

The original guest list for this conference consisted entirely of general managers, deputy general managers, presidents, and vice presidents from major domestic companies.

There are very few chairmen.

Just days before the conference was about to begin, Chen Guiliang suddenly announced that he would be attending. The guest list immediately changed, with chairmen of several large companies agreeing to attend in person.

Of course, some people still choose to remain hidden, such as Jack Ma, who has been living in an unknown country for the past few years.

Outside the opening ceremony venue, Liu Qiangdong got out of a car, and reporters swarmed around him to interview him.

Liu Qiangdong smiled and waved as he was escorted by security personnel. He did not answer any of the reporters' questions, but simply joked, "Make sure you take good pictures of me."

Cars drove up, and big shots appeared one after another.

Xie Yang was noticeably overweight, walking forward with a protruding belly. He is now the Vice President of ByteDance and Chairman and President of Douyin Technology.

"Mr. Xie, has there been any progress in TikTok's negotiations with the United States?" All the reporters were asking this question.

Xie Yang didn't say a word and walked quickly towards the venue; he was in a bad mood.

Before the US has even reached a conclusion, India is joining in the commotion, saying it will completely ban TikTok within India.

The reporter pressed on, asking, "Mr. Chen Guiliang hasn't made any public appearances in recent years. Is he going to announce some major news this time?"

Xie Yang remained silent and quickly walked into the meeting room.

Next, several more ByteDance and HarmonyOS executives appeared, but none of them revealed any information to reporters.

Finally, Chen Guiliang arrived.

Chen Guiliang was much more approachable and amiable.

"Mr. Chen, you've completely stepped back from the front lines these past few years. Are you making a comeback now to personally deal with US sanctions?"

"I locked myself at home to write books. After I finished writing 'Those Things About the Ming Dynasty,' I came out to get some fresh air. It has nothing to do with sanctions or anything like that."

"Mr. Chen, AI has become incredibly popular this year, with major global companies entering the field. What progress has been made on 'Tianwen AI'? Will the US export controls on high-end chips affect the development of Tianwen AI?"

“Tianwen AI was founded in 2017 and has been working quietly for more than six years. Long before the US export controls, we purchased tens of thousands of high-end chips from various channels.”

"Did you anticipate that the US would impose export controls?"

“Be prepared for a rainy day.”

Chen Guiliang walked into the venue, ignoring the reporters, and was greeted by Chinese and foreign guests who shook hands with him as he went.

His seat was in the first row, which was full of leaders and CEOs.

Yes, and scholars too.

Academician Wu sat next to Chen Guiliang.

This Academician Wu is 80 years old and has close personal relationships with the bosses of all the major internet companies in China. Moreover, he speaks with humor and wit, and his speeches are like stand-up comedy.

"I haven't seen you for several years. I thought General Manager Chen had retired," Academician Wu joked.

Chen Guiliang said, "Old Wu was still working hard at 80, how could I retire when I'm not even 40? I've been writing books at home these past few years, and I've finally finished writing 'Those Things of the Ming Dynasty'."

Academician Wu asked the young man sitting next to him, "He said he's been writing books. Does Mr. Ma believe that?"

"I don't believe it," said Brother Ma.

Chen Guiliang grinned and said, "Mr. Wu, Mr. Ma, I'm going to do something big today. Guess what it is?"

Little Ma was silent for a few seconds: "I can't guess."

Academician Wu said, "Isn't it related to AI? AI is the hottest topic this year, and you were one of the earliest people in China to work on AI."

Zhou Hongwei, who was sitting in the row behind them, stood up and leaned on the back of Academician Wu's chair, saying, "I knew President Chen was going to do something big, so he rushed to the summit. Could it be that after lying low for a few years, he's going to announce that he's going to build new energy vehicles?"

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "I'm not going to compete with you for business. I've invested in CATL and am working on intelligent driving systems, so why would I need to build cars myself? You guys are busy making gold, and I'll sell jeans."

Zhou Hongwei lamented, "We didn't find any gold; all the money went to you jeans sellers."

Little Ma didn't say anything, just listened to their conversation.

Having lost too many core businesses to Chen Guiliang, Tencent is now investing heavily in new energy vehicles. This time, it's not the same as before, investing in companies like NIO, Li Auto, WM Motor, and FMC; Tencent is directly entering the car manufacturing industry!

Several models under Tencent have sold quite well in the past two years.

As time passed, more and more people came over to shake hands with Chen Guiliang.

Finally, everyone was seated and looked at the large screen in front of them.

A one-minute video address appeared on the screen.

The whole audience applauded.

Next came the welcome address from the organizers, followed by speeches from leaders at all levels and keynote addresses.

"Next, please welcome Mr. Chen Guiliang, Chairman of ByteDance and Game Science, to give a speech at the conference..."

Amid applause, Chen Guiliang walked onto the stage.

Everyone in the room was looking at him, waiting to hear something exciting.

Who doesn't know Old Master Chen's temperament?

This guy has been "hidden" for several years, and his sudden appearance at the conference certainly wasn't just to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Wuzhen Summit.

Chen Guiliang adjusted the microphone: "I still remember the first Wuzhen Summit... It was much smaller then, and the venue wasn't decorated as high-endly, but everyone had a great time. After the summit, we even went sightseeing together to relax..."

"...First of all, I congratulate the World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit on its successful conclusion!"

"Clap clap clap!"

As the applause subsided, Chen Guiliang continued, "I've been in the internet industry for almost 20 years and have always believed in inclusivity and universal benefit. But I also have considerable resilience when faced with difficulties and sanctions!"

Applause erupted again, especially from the representatives of the companies that had been sanctioned, who clapped particularly loudly at this moment.

"The AI ​​field has heated up this year, with nearly a hundred AI models emerging, which Chinese media jokingly call the 'Battle of a Hundred Models'..." "OpenAI was founded in 2015. We weren't far behind; in 2017, ByteDance, Youke, and HarmonyOS jointly founded 'Tianwen AI'..."

"We transferred key technical personnel from three companies and recruited from several top universities across the country. None of them had overseas experience, and they have been working diligently for six and a half years. Here, I would like to thank them for their dedication over the years..."

"I now announce that the Tianwen S1 model is about to be released. This version is free. It is not open source for now, but we will consider it in the future."

"The training cost of Tianwen-S1 is less than one two-hundredth of that of GPT-4. For more detailed information, interested parties can attend the AI ​​sub-forum at this conference..."

"Thank you!"

Chen Guiliang's speech lasted less than 3 minutes, but it was like dropping a bomb in the venue.

The fewer words you speak, the bigger the problem becomes!
The world's richest man, who hasn't made a public appearance in years, personally came to the Wuzhen Summit to announce an AI model. Will this thing be ordinary?

The training cost is less than one two-hundredth of GPT-4?

That sounds too fantastical; I wonder how many American companies' stock prices will plummet!

And what does "not open source for now, but will consider it in the future" mean?
Everyone was speculating whether Chen Guiliang intended to use this opportunity to negotiate with the Americans.

Sitting on the left side of the first row, the Chairman and General Manager of IBM Greater China stared in disbelief at Chen Guiliang as he walked off the stage.

His purpose in attending the Wuzhen Summit was to promote the AI ​​that IBM released this year.

Chen Guiliang returned to his seat, and Academician Wu hurriedly asked, "Is the training cost really less than one two-hundredth of GPT-4?"

Chen Guiliang laughed and said, "Academician Wu can attend the AI ​​sub-forum. I don't understand the technology, but the person in charge of Tianwen AI can explain it more clearly."

Academician Wu said, "I will definitely go!"

Chen Guiliang then turned to Pony Ma and asked, "Does Tencent want to cooperate? By paying to access Tianwen S1, Tencent can also develop its own AI products. And the price isn't too high."

"I'll think about it," said Little Ma.

There weren't many speakers at the opening ceremony, and they finished quickly.

Next is the five-person talk, which invites five guests to the stage to chat with the host about the topics.

Neither Chen Guiliang nor Pony Ma participated, but Zhang Chaoyang chatted with several CEOs.

At the luncheon, groups of people came to Chen Guiliang to inquire about the Tianwen S1.

Chen Guiliang avoided the topic, only inviting them to participate in tomorrow's AI sub-forum.

After the meal, Chen Guiliang gave an official interview.

Chen Guiliang: "Don't ask AI."

Reporter: "Okay. Mr. Chen, what else have you been doing these past few years besides writing books?"

Chen Guiliang: "Collecting, horseback riding, fishing, reading, playing games."

Reporter: "You haven't been involved in company affairs?"

Chen Guiliang: What do you think?

Reporter: "At the beginning of this year, Mr. Chen topped the Forbes World's Richest People list with a net worth of $2650 billion, while Bernard Arnault, the head of LVMH, ranked second with only $2110 billion. First of all, congratulations to Mr. Chen on retaining his title as the world's richest person."

Chen Guiliang: "Thank you."

Reporter: "After you first became the world's richest person, you put some of your shares into the employee stock option pool every year to incentivize employees. Why did you do that?"

Chen Guiliang: "When wealth reaches a certain level, it becomes nothing more than numbers. As long as you can maintain control over the company, why can't you use it to motivate your employees?"

Reporter: "If you hadn't done that, your assets would probably be over $3000 billion, right?"

Chen Guiliang: "I'm not quite sure."

Reporter: "You did a live broadcast a few days ago, which sparked a heated discussion among netizens."

Chen Guiliang: "Yes, many people criticized me. Perhaps I expressed myself in a way that was problematic. I referred to those with a wealth score below 20 as extremely poor, which led to the perception that everyone below the middle class in the United States was extremely poor. This statement is indeed debatable."

Reporter: "Some people used very offensive language."

Chen Guiliang: "I know that some scholars and internet celebrities are also criticizing me. I'm used to this. When I was young and hot-blooded, I liked to argue with certain groups. Back then, those people really used dirty language when they insulted me, but now they're very tactful."

Reporter: "Much of it is because DEI criticized you."

Chen Guiliang: "These people were the most vocal in their criticism and incited a large number of netizens. I don't discriminate against special groups; anyone with the ability can work for my company. But some people went too far and ruined my entire department. I had to lay them off! Let me talk about something else; I don't want to discuss this anymore."

Reporter: "Many of your companies and products have been sanctioned by the United States. Some say that your comeback is because those executives couldn't hold on any longer, and you had to personally take charge."

Chen Guiliang: "It's just a paper tiger, I don't need to take action. I'm just restless and want to show my face."

Reporter: "You are an investor in Netflix's Series A and Series B rounds. It is rumored that the US is putting pressure on Netflix's major shareholders to forcibly acquire your Netflix shares?"

Chen Guiliang: "Your information network is better than mine."

Reporter: "A few days ago you said that investing in gold was a good idea, and in just a few days the price of gold skyrocketed. Many people followed your advice and invested. Did you anticipate this phenomenon?"

Chen Guiliang: "I don't have that much power. The recent surge in gold prices has nothing to do with me."

Reporter: "But in the past two days, many netizens have thanked you for giving them directions, which has allowed them to make a fortune."

Chen Guiliang: "Investing in gold is fine, but don't use leverage. Don't blame me if you get wiped out."

Reporter: "What are your views on the economic situation next year?"

Chen Guiliang: “…”

The next day.

At the AI ​​sub-forum of the Wuzhen Summit, the Tianwen S1 AI model was officially released.

The world was shocked, and related tech stocks plummeted.

ByteDance and HarmonyOS stock prices surged.

Many netizens in China copied and pasted this message, flooding the screen with comments like, "That man is back again!"

(End of this chapter)