Chapter 202: The New King

After Marcello's expression shifted for a moment, he picked up his phone with a numb face and made a call to the company president, Sergei.

"Sergei..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the man on the other end of the line, whom he addressed as Sergei, said in a deep voice:

"If you are planning to talk about Su Xin's press conference, then I have already seen it."

Marcello was silent for a moment, then asked with a hoarse voice and some difficulty: "Then what do you think we should do next?"

"What else can we do? Properly handle the issue of the falling stock price, give the board of directors an explanation, and continue to produce and sell our Lithography Machines."

"Then... the Tianke No. 1?"

On the other end of the line, Sergei said indifferently:

"Although their Lithography Machine is more advanced than ours, it is a new product after all, and the entire industrial chain is almost brand new. Coordinating every aspect in the initial stage will certainly be difficult; it is not that easy to achieve production, let alone production capacity."

"Furthermore..."

"Even if Su Xin has solved the full set of technologies for an Advanced Lithography Machine, so what? Given the foundation of Long Country, there is simply no sufficient relevant talent."

"Not to mention senior engineers for assembly and debugging, even the operators need specialized training."

"But Long Country has none of that."

"After so many years of development, we have a stable heritage, which allows us to continuously produce various technical talents such as senior engineers."

"And them?"

"Those engineers were only hired more than two months ago. Some of them have probably never even seen an Advanced Lithography Machine. To learn how to assemble and debug it will take at least a year or a year and a half. After-sales service requires even more profound knowledge and experience; without three to five years of operational experience, they are all just amateurs."

"Therefore, although the Tianke No. 1 has been successfully developed, the technological leap is too great. It will certainly not be easy to enter the mass production stage."

"And the 3nm Lithography Machine we are currently developing has reached a critical juncture and could break through at any time. By then, we might be able to catch up."

"With our perfect industrial chain, mature production processes, professional technical personnel, and stable after-sales system, even if we develop it a few months later, our production progress can still catch up to them."

"Coupled with the reputation we have accumulated over a long time, customers will certainly trust us more. After all, equipment like a Lithography Machine is too precise; it is difficult to solve even the slightest problem. If Tianqi Core Technology lacks stability and its after-sales service is not strong enough, there will be too many subsequent troubles, and those chip manufacturers will not be willing to take such a big risk."

"In a situation where the nm Processes of both sides are similar, chip manufacturers will definitely prioritize choosing us."

"Therefore, if Tianqi Core Technology wants to truly catch up to us, it will take at least a year or two."

"If they want to pose a real threat to us, it might take three to five years."

"And this period of time is our last chance to reverse the decline."

"It is still far too early to talk about defeat."

Hearing these words from President Sergei, Marcello felt a little more settled, but he was still not as optimistic as the other party.

He sighed softly:

"The most critical problem now is that even if all the major chip manufacturers are willing to choose us, because of our previous blockade measures, there are grievances against us throughout Long Country."

"Before, they had no choice and had to beg us to buy, but now that they have a new choice, they will certainly never look at us again in the future."

"Once the Tianke No. 1 process matures, Long Country, the largest Semiconductor market, will definitely choose the Tianke No. 1 instead of us."

"Therefore, we are destined to lose this largest market forever."

"If back then..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was directly interrupted by Sergei—

"There are no 'ifs'."

"Since we made the choice, we must accept the consequences that come with it. Whether good or bad, there is no need to regret."

"We don't have time to sit here sighing; we must seize the time to occupy the market as much as possible before Tianqi Core Technology rises."

"Currently, the market demand for Advanced Lithography Machines is limited. As long as we occupy these markets as much as possible and satisfy the needs of major chip manufacturers, even if their technology becomes stable in the future, no one will want the Tianke No. 1 anyway."

"A person who is full does not need to eat another piece of bread, even if it is equally delicious."

"And once the Tianke No. 1 has no sales, they will not have production capacity, the production lines and technical engineers will never be trained, and the industrial chain will never be able to truly mature."

Marcello nodded thoughtfully.

Sergei continued:

"And to occupy the market, besides rushing production and delivery, the most important thing is—to re-enter the Long Country market."

"Next, I will communicate with relevant personnel to request the lifting of restrictions and resume selling Advanced Lithography Machines and related equipment to Long Country."

"Although the Tianke No. 1 has been successfully developed, it is still a long way from being launched for sale, let alone production and delivery; that will take at least a year or two."

"If there is a ready-made Advanced Lithography Machine in front of them, who would waste so much time waiting for the Tianke No. 1, which is likely still unstable?"

"Even if everyone in Long Country has grievances against us, so what?"

"Capital only speaks of interests."

"As long as any one manufacturer introduces our Advanced Lithography Machine, other manufacturers will definitely scramble to follow suit; otherwise, their technology will fall behind and the market will be occupied by others."

"In the end, those chip manufacturers will obediently vote with their feet and become our customers."

"Therefore, there is no need to worry too much now; our path of competition is still long."

In fact, although Sergei appeared so indifferent, he was actually somewhat panicked inside.

If it were any other manufacturer that developed an Advanced Lithography Machine with a 3nm Process, the result would likely be the same as what he said: it would take several years to pose a threat to them.

But Su Xin is different.

With Su Xin's unparalleled funds and his extravagant style of not treating money as money, he could completely ignore costs and losses to forcibly improve efficiency and make the production line mature as quickly as possible.

To put it exaggeratedly, even if ASML really completely occupied the market, Su Xin might still produce the Tianke No. 1 at full capacity, just to train the production line and relevant technical engineers.

Based on everyone's understanding of Su Xin, the other party is indeed very likely to do so.

And there is one most important point.

With Su Xin's research and development capabilities, once the current Tianke No. 1 stabilizes, he will definitely be able to develop a more advanced Lithography Machine before ASML.

This means that from the moment the Tianke No. 1 was born, Tianqi Core Technology Company is destined to become the industry leader, leaving ASML behind forever, and the distance will only grow further.

Therefore, Sergei knew in his heart that even if everything was as optimistic as he said, ASML would have at most two or three good years left.

There is a famous saying in the global business world.

When Tianqi Group enters a certain industry, it means that industry has welcomed a new king.