America: My Time

Chapter 1512 One link after another

Chapter 1502 One Link After Another

When John launched his counterattack and tore open the chip market, the old guys like Rockefeller realized that they had lost this confrontation. However, it was impossible for them to give up so easily. After all, they still held the initiative and the upper hand. Although John's counterattack was powerful, it was only for self-preservation. It was still a long way from shaking their overall plan.

Their apparent advantages gave these old fogies a sense of urgency, and they quickly shifted their focus, aiming to drive John out of the personal computer market. After all, this market offered the greatest potential profits compared to others, and they controlled ample resources. In their eyes, as long as they worked together, success was assured!
The reason these old guys are so confident is because they want to unite with 'Supermicro' and have a competition between the top two, directly killing off the other CPU chips. And they have already started to take action.

The idea was good, but reality was harsh. Trying to force John out of the personal computer chip market was wishful thinking; they didn't understand John's strategy in this area. If they had known more, they wouldn't have had such thoughts. Of course, these old guys also forgot an important point: John has its own personal computer brand and an entire industry chain. How could they possibly fall because of their petty calculations?

Even if John's personal computer brand lacks competitiveness in the US market, or even the European market, it's not a problem in Asia and the Middle East. As long as they can maintain their position and wait for new CPU chips to emerge, everything will be fine. Time is on John's side, not theirs.

Why can't these old guys see through what Morgan can see through? It's not that they can't see through it, but that they're unwilling to accept it. They all believe they have the ability to kick John out of the game, and they all fantasize that the development speed of EUV lithography machines can be accelerated, or even completed in a short time, so as to deliver a fatal blow to John from the root and eliminate him from the cost. After all, as long as they have a cost advantage, all of John's plans are just a joke!
John, of course, saw through their scheme, which was why he had mocked these old men so harshly and shown them no mercy. Since these old men were determined to push things to the extreme, John had no reason to give them any more face. John wanted to outmaneuver these old men, and they shared the same idea, so it would come down to their methods and abilities!
“When will Cyrex be able to produce the next generation of chips, and can the corresponding software optimization keep up? Those old guys are running out of time for us. They should have realized it by now. We have to speed things up!” John said to Anne Malcasi, a hint of urgency in his eyes. After all, this was no ordinary contest; it was a life-or-death struggle. Defeat meant elimination.

John was acutely aware of how wildly personal computers and the internet would develop in the future, so he didn't want his plans to be disrupted at this crucial moment, or forcing him to be sidelined by those old fogies. If he failed this time, it would be difficult to regain control in the future.

"It will take a little more time, but it's almost finished. After all, this was a project that was planned a long time ago. I'm just worried that their methods are far more than what we've shown so far. They will continue, and they might even try to outcompete us on cost! The yield rate of the new CPU chip might not be as high as theirs. If they engage in a price war with us, we will be at a disadvantage!" Anne Malcasi was also aware of Intel and AMD's methods. Although these guys hadn't made their move yet, it was already close. Moreover, in her opinion, their schemes went far beyond this, and they would have other plans as well!

"Of course. With those old guys' cunning and treacherous nature, they would naturally make comprehensive preparations. They can't kick us out of the game by relying solely on their own strength. If I'm not mistaken, they want to unite all the semiconductor chip companies in the United States, and even cooperate with those guys in Japan and South Korea to jointly besiege us. Only by defeating us can they seize our market share. But they're overthinking it! If it weren't for this Asian financial crisis, perhaps they would still have a chance, and those guys in Japan and South Korea would still cooperate with them. But now these guys are willing but powerless. They don't have enough funds to target us, and these guys won't trust them either, after all, these guys have no integrity!"

John understood the Rockefellers and their ilk far better. Since their previous schemes had failed, given their greed and madness, they would inevitably unite with more people to attack him and force him out of the semiconductor industry. Because John understood their intentions so well, he had prepared for the worst. From the beginning, John had been preparing for the worst, taking control of the entire supply chain, even controlling quartz sand and rare earth elements, precisely because he feared these guys might deliver a fatal blow at a crucial moment, strangling him.

“If things really get to that dangerous point, our semiconductor factory in the US will be affected. After all, we don’t have any cost advantage here. Once the war starts, we will fall into losses, and we can’t hold on for long unless we make up for it in other ways.” Anne Malcasi immediately realized that once the conflict started, the factory in the US would be their biggest problem and their biggest burden.

“Yes, the biggest problem is the factory in the US, and these guys are already prepared. They all know I can’t let the US factory stop production, after all, the factory is in Oregon!” John naturally understood this as well, and he had already thought of this the moment he started relocating the factory.

"If that's the case, we'll be in a very passive position. If this goes on for too long, we'll have to abandon our previous plan, suspend the splitting of communications, and use the profits from that part to make up for the losses at the factory!"

Hearing this, John shook his head and said, "No, that won't do. If we do that, we'll fall right into their trap. These guys are hoping we abandon our previous plans so they can drag the communications side into it too. We can't stop the split; on the contrary, we need to speed things up and get Meg Whitman to finish everything quickly. As for the factories on the US border, there are ways to turn things around. If they want to wage a price war, we'll play along. We'll put the production of the new generation of CPU chips in the US. After all, we're competing for the high-end market, and those defective products will become our main force! As for the losses, we can make up for them in workstations and servers!" As soon as John finished speaking, Annie Malcasi instantly understood his intention. The production of the new generation of CPU chips would inevitably produce defective products, given the limited production capacity. Moreover, the factories on the US side had capacity issues, so focusing on the high-end market was the best choice!

“I understand. We’ll use defective products to compete with them in the personal computer market. Even if we suffer some losses, it will be within an acceptable range. In contrast, the contract manufacturers in Asia are no longer a problem. They are still producing according to the original plan. Even if it’s a price war, we have enough advantages!” Anne Malcasi fully approved of John’s plan, and this time she once again witnessed John’s remarkable methods and wisdom!
"As long as we don't give up on the personal computer market, as long as we ensure that our original market share is not taken away, those old guys can't do anything to us. After all, we have our own market share, which they can't suppress just because they want to. At worst, they can completely give up the US and European markets, but such a situation is almost impossible. The Europeans won't accept their 'proposal' so easily. If the Europeans dare to do that, then we will have an excuse to play the relocation game again."

When Anne Malcasi heard that her boss was considering relocating the factory to Europe, she couldn't help but sigh, shocked by her boss's audacity. She quickly said, "Boss, this won't do! If we make such a move now, we'll completely lose our European market share, and the market we've worked so hard to build will fall into the hands of our enemies!"

John shook his head and said, "No, you're overthinking it. Even if we did that, those guys wouldn't be able to capture the entire market. You've forgotten something important, or rather, you don't know enough about the Europeans. They're much greedier and more insane than those old guys. For them, as long as a personal computer is still usable, it won't be obsolete. You've forgotten that they've completely upgraded to deal with the Y2K threat. Under these circumstances, how big do you think the European market will be? Compared to that, I have more faith in their car market, retail market, and even the gaming market, rather than their personal computer market."

Anne Malcasi was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized why her boss was so confident. It was because her boss had seen through everything about the Europeans and had already made plans. No wonder her boss chose to do all this at this time. This was not a momentary impulse, but a long-term plan!

She understood, but some things couldn't be said aloud. Anne Malcas nodded and said, "I understand. It's not just in Europe, it's in the US, and even globally. The entire market is facing immense difficulties right now; it's far from as large as imagined. Everyone was misled by previous assumptions. It's not that the personal computer market is experiencing a crazy boom, but rather that the Y2K threat is forcing everyone to upgrade."

"That's right, that's how it is. Of course, the personal computer market has made some breakthroughs, but it's not as crazy as they think. Once the Y2K crisis is over, the European market will inevitably decline. Even with the internet boom, it won't last forever. The market will eventually become saturated. Besides, when I was doing business with the Europeans, I also made an agreement with them that they would need to purchase ASUS personal computers."

Good heavens, John is truly cunning; he's already laid out his plans in this regard. Unless the Europeans break their agreement, but the cost would be too high—they'd lose credibility. These guys wouldn't be foolish enough to do something that benefits someone else, so at most, the Europeans will see their market shrink. If that happens, it means they've lost out on their deal with John, since they themselves aren't willing to develop the European internet, thus losing their competitive edge!

"If that's the case, then I can rest assured and don't need to worry about the losses at the US factory!"

"Don't worry, that small loss is nothing, and it's not even guaranteed to happen. Don't forget, the Middle Eastern tycoons have huge orders. They're completely upgrading their systems. With their wealth, they won't use those risky personal computers and servers anymore. And after what happened before, do you think they'll trust Intel or those old guys? As long as we firmly grasp the Middle Eastern market, getting through this crisis won't be a problem! The biggest crisis for us isn't their threat, but our own R&D capabilities and the timeline for next-generation CPU chips. For now, we can use laptops as substitutes, but servers and workstations won't work. If possible, you should send someone to the Middle East to give them a detailed explanation and make them understand how much Bell Labs values ​​them."

Anne Malcasi immediately understood John's intention. This was a massive project, and with a little effort, they could secure more orders from the Middle Eastern tycoons. After all, they were undergoing a complete equipment overhaul, and such an offer was irresistible. Although her boss must have spoken with the Middle Eastern tycoons, Bell Labs needed to take action; this was no small matter, and it also involved communication issues!
The immense profits were beckoning him, no wonder the boss remained unmoved, completely unaffected by Intel and AMD's petty maneuvers. Everything was under his control. No matter how much those guys schemed, they couldn't succeed. After all, Intel and AMD couldn't hold out forever; they needed time and energy to integrate, especially since they shared Nvidia's assets! Digesting these assets would take time. If they continued to fight Bell Labs, they would ultimately be the ones who suffered, not John, not Bell Labs, and not ASUS!

(End of this chapter)