Rebirth: My 80s

Chapter 621

The industrial base of Baotong Company is located on the westernmost side of Hong Kong Island, west of Queen's Road, close to the freight terminal and not far from the University of Hong Kong.

The industrial park covers an area of ​​about fifty acres and houses traditional integrated circuit factories, higher-end wafer fabs, and IC design and R&D centers.

These days, almost all the companies that specialize in semiconductors have this pattern. First, because traditional larger integrated circuits still dominate the market and cannot be divested.

Secondly, if you want to avoid being eliminated, you must keep pace with the times and build higher-tech wafer fabs. Besides, from the perspective of making money, the smaller and more precise the chip must be, the more profitable it is.

Another point is that there is currently a consensus in the industry: Chip companies must be able to not only produce but also design, test and package themselves.

Almighty and invincible.

To be precise, before the emergence of TSMC in 1987, semiconductor companies around the world were based on the "chip factory + design department" model, without exception.

Of course, this is a special industry that relies heavily on technology. A few leading companies are often far ahead, showing a disconnect with the small companies behind.

In terms of overall scale, Baotong is not the largest semiconductor company in Hong Kong. The reason why it attracted Li Jiankun is that this company attaches great importance to R&D investment in IC design. Their IC design capabilities are No. 1 in Hong Kong.

You know, Hong Kong City is already one of the best electronics markets in the world.

Therefore, looking at the world, Baotong's IC design capabilities can also be ranked in the second echelon.

The first echelon is naturally companies such as Texas Instruments, Intel, AMD and Samsung.

"Crack!"

The black business car stopped at the bottom of one of the most unique buildings in the industrial park.

It looks like several rectangular boxes put together, giving the impression of building blocks. It is all white, with black window frames and anti-visibility glass of the same color.

A design style that transcends its time.

Li Jiankun fell in love at first sight...

When Will led them into the hall, several people formed a circle and were discussing something. When they saw a person in the middle, the guy's eyes dodge and he almost turned around and ran away. Fortunately, I remembered the purpose of my trip and approached him with a stern look on my face.

"Uncle Matt~"

The little old white man with a carefully trimmed gray beard immediately took a step back to avoid his paw, frowned and asked, "What are you doing here?"

This person's name is Matt Evans, the head of Baotong IC Design Center, and a close friend of Will's dead father.

Will quickly explained his purpose and introduced: "Uncle Matt, this is Mr. Li, he wants to..."

"Hello, hello." Before he could finish speaking, Matt put down his work and greeted Li Jiankun enthusiastically. He grabbed Li Jiankun's hand and shook it again and again.

Li Jiankun was a little confused, was he too enthusiastic?

With a smile on his face, Matt asked: "You want to design two types of chips?"

"Yes……"

"Come, come, please come to the reception room to negotiate."

This guy is just like Will. In Cantonese, if you don't look at his face, you can't imagine that he is a crooked nut. Apparently spent many years in Hong Kong. Will grew up in Hong Kong.

After sitting down in a simple and bright reception room on the first floor, Matt had three cups of special coffee brought to him. Naturally, the bodyguards, the wealthy brothers, were not included in the reception. Li Jiankun saw that he was a neat person who didn't talk nonsense, so he reached to the side; Effie took out a piece of information from a rather small beige briefcase with rounded corners.

"You two, please taste the coffee and I'll take a look."

Li Jiankun looked to the side and said, "Why don't you go out for a walk."

Will: "..."

Just throw it away after use?
  Before he could speak, Matt glanced over with sharp eyes. "Go out!"

Will smiled bitterly, picked up the coffee cup and left the room with his hips twisted. Fortunately, the strong smell of rouge has faded away a bit.

Li Jiankun noticed that Matt's eyes flashed green when he looked at the documents.

Is making chips a particularly strange thing these days? Even Baotong IC Design Center has little business?

Analyzing the products on the market that require chips and the new electronic products that will be born every year, I am afraid it is true. Compared with later generations, the development and iteration of current electronic products is naturally much slower.

After a long time, Li Jiankun and Effie's coffee ran out, and Matt finally closed the document and raised his head.

Li Jiankun cast a questioning look.

"Mr. Li, Miss Ai, I am honored to tell you that our Baotong IC Design Center is fully capable of undertaking this business."

Li Jiankun smiled and asked, "How long will it take?" Matt's eyes flickered and he asked, "I need to confirm with you two that you want to use our Baotong IC Design Center to complete the entire process of these two chips from design to tape-out. Process, right?”

Li Jiankun always felt that something was wrong, but the other party couldn't fault it. He added: "Perhaps it will be produced by Baotong in the future."

At least get a batch of samples out first.

"That's great!"

Li Jiankun waited patiently, but the other party had not answered his question yet.

Matt summed it up and said: "I can't give you an exact time yet. Detailed calculations will be needed later. There is only a vague range: it will take about 3-4 years to complete."

"squeak--"

Fortunately, he was sitting on a long sofa, and Effie was still pressed to the side. Otherwise, Li Jiankun shivered violently and might have been turned over.

"It will take so long?!"

Matt nodded seriously and said, "Of course. The design of a chip is a system project, and you have quite high functional requirements for the chip."

Li Jiankun secretly smacked his tongue, suffering the loss of being unprofessional. In other words, I was misled by an experience in my previous life.

In his previous life, he had a friend who made small home appliances. One year, in preparation for Double 11, he needed to design a chip to launch a new vacuum cleaner. He talked about it with him, and vaguely remembered what his friend said at the time: it took a month and a half. The cost is half a million.

Decades apart, it seems that they cannot be compared...

"What about the cost?" Li Jiankun's eyelids twitched wildly.

Matt replied: "Similarly, it needs to be calculated. I can't give a precise answer now. After both chips are completed, the total cost is probably more than [-] million Hong Kong dollars."

Gudong!

The sound of swallowing saliva came from Effie.

Matt looked at the wealthy brothers who were poking at both sides of the sofa like javelins, and then at Li Jiankun with a dull expression, and said with a smile:

"Mr. Li is obviously not a person who is short of money. I'm afraid he just lacks a little understanding of the industry. I can give you a detailed introduction to the whole process of the next chip from design to tape-out, and then integrate it into the two chips you want to develop. process, talk about the time it takes to develop each of their functions, and you will understand that our charges are great value for money and fully meet the standards.”

Developing a chip for a mere digital BB machine is so time-consuming and expensive these days! This was something Li Jiankun never expected.

I'm a layman, and I'm using the thinking of later generations to substitute it.

If this is the case, he will have to re-examine the BB machine project.

"Mr. Li, what exactly are you dissatisfied with? If you have any requests, just make them and we can give you appropriate discounts."

It was obvious that Matt wanted to close this deal. When he saw Li Jiankun getting up to leave, he hurriedly caught up to ask.

In fact, the money is not bad. Even if it is developed with 1987 million Hong Kong dollars, it will still be a profitable business. The key is time. In three or four years, if the other party is now pulling in business, it must be a conservative estimate. What kind of BB machine will it be in [-]? Isn’t it delicious to fuck Big Brother?

Li Jiankun shook his head and said nothing. Since he had doubts about the entire project, he did not want to talk more.

I didn't see Will when I went out, just right. The four of them walked quickly into the commercial vehicle. The driver, Lao Liu, stepped on the accelerator and drove away.

In the car, Li Jiankun was not in a good mood. I was holding a small BB machine, but I just couldn’t hold it in...

As the car passed by the University of Hong Kong, I suddenly thought of the four postgraduate students in communications technology from Tsinghua University that I was recruiting with high salaries, and my lips became even more bitter.

Of course, these four people will definitely not lose.

"Old Liu, go to Hong Kong University."

However, if the BB machine project cannot be completed, we still need to inform Ding Lun and others. Let's do it, let them study with peace of mind, wait until they get their Ph.D., and then start researching new projects.

But he was not sure whether Ding Lun and the other two were currently at HKU. Fortunately, the admission letter was handled by him, and he had a target to find four people.

Although the University of Hong Kong is beautiful, and the air is filled with the fragrance of books that no university lacks, the problem is that it is really a small place. After a few glances, there is no surprise. The area is less than 800 acres. Many people may not have the idea. , I feel it’s not too small.

What Li Jiankun wants to say is that his alma mater, Yanyuan, covers an area of ​​about 7000 acres...

The place was small, and it was easy to feel around. After a lot of trouble, we actually found Ding Lun and the four of them. When lunch was approaching, the four of them were still in the laboratory. Even the female student who was helping to find someone had a look in her eyes. Awe.

After the meeting, Li Jiankun said he would take them out for a meal. As they walked on the road, he told them about their recent trip to Baotong IC Design Center.

Ding Lun suddenly stopped, his face was inexplicably distorted, and he uttered a curse word:
  "He farts!"

(End of this chapter)