Chapter 534

March 10th.

The sun was bright, in a coffee shop next to MIT.

The negotiation with Siemens didn't go very smoothly. Xu Qingzhou met with General Electric's Vice President Rebel Zacharia.

"Professor Xu, very happy to meet you. Please allow me to introduce myself first; my name is Rebel Zacharia, serving as the Senior Vice President of Global Technology Cooperation at GE."

"Hello." Xu Qingzhou shook hands with the other party, and the two sat down immediately.

After a few pleasantries, Zacharia went straight to the topic, saying, "Professor Xu, do you have any plans to sell the superconducting thin film patent?"

"Of course, this is the purpose of our meeting."

"If you are willing, we can pay 300 million US dollars as a one-time buyout fee."

"A tempting amount."

Xu Qingzhou shook his head and said, "It's a pity to tell you that I don't have the idea of a one-time buyout. After all, I don't have the need to quickly recover funds, and as for risk, the superconducting thin film has broad market prospects, and I also don't need to have concerns about avoiding market risks."

He paused for a moment, "I can grant your company exclusive authorization worldwide except for the Xia country, 600 million prepayment, plus 8% of global sales."

Zacharia was stunned, not expecting Xu Qingzhou to open his mouth like a lion. He said in a deep voice, "Forgive me for being blunt, your quote far exceeds our expectations. Of course, it also far exceeds the value of your patent itself."

"This is not our final experimental result."

Zacharia was somewhat helpless. As a manager of an enterprise, what he was good at was painting cakes for shareholders, investors, etc... Alright, should have thought of it long ago; besides doing scientific research, what these scientists might be best at is painting cakes.

He still asked, "What is your goal?"

Xu Qingzhou said confidently, "3.0×10^6 A/cm², maybe even better."

"This..."

Zacharia suddenly had a headache: "Professor Xu, I'm not doubting your ability, but you should know that for top-tier superconducting thin films, the improvement of every indicator is extremely difficult; your goal... is very far away."

"Moreover, the superconducting thin film field is changing with each passing day. Just the MIT laboratory alone can already make 2.5×10^6 A/cm² superconducting thin films. Compared to this, your product has substitutability."

"In half a year, we made 2.2×10^6 A/cm² performance superconducting thin films; this goal is not far away, it's already in the plan."

"We have unique technical advantages. As far as I know, GE once acquired the thermal barrier coating technology developed by Narovis, the price was quite expensive, and GE was willing to pay 430 million for technology that can improve gas turbine efficiency by 25%, while our superconducting thin film covers technology that can improve it by 75%."

Zacharia showed a thoughtful expression. After a pause, he asked another topic: "You have already met that guy Kex, right?"

"Hmm, met."

Kex, the CEO of Siemens. Xu Qingzhou met with the other party in the morning, and the result... wasn't very pleasant. The other party's attitude was very firm, willing to pay at most 300 million in prepayment.

"Result?" Zacharia asked curiously.

"Went back to have a meeting; obviously, my quote also exceeded his expectations."

Xu Qingzhou didn't hide it.

Zacharia smiled helplessly and said seriously, "Professor Xu, you are a mathematician, you might not know the game in the economic field. Sometimes, acquiring an enterprise or patent technology is not because this company and patent have incomparable advantages, but only because it needs to occupy the market."

"Thank you for your reminder, but..."

Xu Qingzhou sipped his coffee calmly, shrugged, and said, "This is not something I should consider."

"The price you gave is far beyond expectations."

Zacharia paused slightly, let out a long breath, and continued: "Of course, if you consider 400 million US dollars, 4% sales sharing, I will try to persuade those guys on the board of directors."

Even 400 million US dollars was far beyond their budget. Before coming, their bottom line was 200 million US dollars, plus 3% sharing.

Xu Qingzhou shook his head with a smile: "500 million, 6% sales sharing, this is my bottom line. You can consider it seriously. Moreover, GE can enjoy sub-licensing rights, allowing secondary authorization to third parties, paying me 50% of the sharing."

He said slowly, "This is a difference in magnitude, and after GE purchases this patent license, it can occupy three strategic fields: fusion energy, superconducting power grids, and quantum computing, creating over 5 billion US dollars in direct revenue within 10 years."

With technology in hand, he really wasn't panicked.

Song Yao had long since researched the superconducting thin film market and viewed quite a few cases.

"The patent technology developed by Narovis is limited to the European and American markets. Now it has expanded three times. According to the market multiplier effect, the sharing ratio should be ≥3%×3=9%. I don't think I'm asking for an exorbitant price."

This is the benefit of the first-mover advantage, occupying an absolute advantage.

"It seems Professor Xu has already understood the market situation in detail."

Zacharia was inexplicably tempted. Being able to perform secondary authorization is a temptation. Of course, this temptation is based on the foundation that Xu Qingzhou really can make the top superconducting thin film.

Xu Qingzhou didn't commit himself. He and Song Yao had indeed studied the market situation carefully.

"500 million, buying GE's future, this deal is very cost-effective."

Buying GE's future for 500 million...

Zacharia didn't continue speaking, seemingly pondering the gains and losses. Saying it's exaggerated, it is indeed exaggerated, but this kind of thing is not impossible. A patent really can cast a commercial empire, just like Apple harvesting the dividends of smartphones based on design patents.

And Xu Qingzhou didn't disturb him, sitting and drinking coffee. The surroundings suddenly quieted down.

Two minutes passed.

Zacharia let out a long breath, as if he had made some kind of determination, and said helplessly, "Alright, Professor Xu, you win. I'll go back and prepare the letter of intent for cooperation."

They didn't have many bargaining chips; either they didn't want it and looked for a new alternative superconducting thin film, or they had to accept the conditions Xu Qingzhou mentioned.

The superconducting thin film performance Xu Qingzhou published was quite good, especially at low temperatures and high fields, suitable for high-end scenarios such as MRI equipment, particle accelerators, and fusion reactors.

Future is promising.

Although...

2.2, distance 3.0, it seems indefinitely far away.

And Zacharia is somewhat of a gambler in some aspects, just like Carson.

Investment is like gambling. Although he already has several big cards in his hand, no one can guarantee they are the winner until the end.

Moreover, this young man in front of him gave him a kind of terrifying confidence and composure. Therefore, he decided to gamble.

"Happy cooperation."

Xu Qingzhou smiled lightly and said, "One day in the future, you will definitely cheer for today's decision."

"Happy cooperation, I look forward to this day."

Zacharia finalized the letter of intent for cooperation and left in a hurry.

Outside the coffee shop.

The assistant who had been waiting for a long time followed Mr. Zacharia into the car and asked, "Mr. Zacharia, did you talk it down?"

"Yes, 500 million US dollars, 6% sales sharing."

"Ah?"

The assistant was stunned.

"Hi, Grace, don't be dazed; we still have a lot of work to do. For example, we have to face the questioning of those people on the board of directors."

Zacharia rubbed his brow, feeling a great headache.

Now that he had calmed down, even he himself felt it was a bit crazy to be willing to pay 500 million US dollars for ethereal data.

(End of chapter)