Chapter 788: In Summary, Three Words: Seek Cooperation

"Currently, 90% of our profits still come from the battery patent portfolio, generating about 7.5 billion yuan annually."

In the living room, Song Yao adjusted into a comfortable position, leaning sideways against the sofa.

Xu Qingzhou turned on the TV and searched for match replays.

He wasn’t surprised that their income came mostly from batteries.

Batteries are intimately tied to people’s lives—phones, computers, cars, energy storage systems—all require batteries.

Any company that licenses their patents must pay them for every battery produced.

Of course, the reason they’re making so much money now is that the battery industry is in a boom phase; once the market saturates, their income will gradually decline.

The next time they’ll make a fortune will be when controlled nuclear fusion is achieved.

When the price of electricity becomes virtually free, demand will surge—and so will demand for batteries as the carrier.

"The Advanced Research Institute hopes it won’t follow the path of other domestic advanced research institutes."

Although modeled after it, the Beijing Advanced Research Institute’s operational model differs from Princeton’s due to the different era.

For instance, the IAS was founded in 1930 by the billionaire Bamberger siblings with a $5 million donation—equivalent to over $100 million today—and operates entirely on its endowment fund.

Here, all funding comes from Zero Point Technology.

"The IAS model of Princeton’s Advanced Institute is fundamentally about the financial sustainability of public-interest academic institutions: using capital returns to support academic freedom, not profiting from scholars’ patents."

Song Yao was better at economic matters; she tucked her toes into Xu Qingzhou’s shirt and slowly explained to him, "The biggest challenge before us is how to achieve a virtuous cycle."

Their current plan is for Zero Point Technology to provide everything the Advanced Research Institute needs—funding, equipment, and more.

But the Institute is not required to return anything.

Any patents developed by scholars within the Institute belong solely to the researchers themselves, with no claim by the Institute.

We provide the money, the equipment—you focus on your research. Even if you achieve results, they’re yours.

Doesn’t that sound like charity?

That’s exactly how Princeton’s Advanced Institute operates.

This ties into what Song Yao called the virtuous cycle.

Zero Point Technology can afford the Institute’s expenses, has no profit motive, and covers all costs; if no virtuous cycle is established, this funding will eventually run out.

According to Song Yao’s idea, after the Institute is established, it will engage in professional investment to grow its capital: the initial fund will be invested in financial markets, managed by a professional team, generating returns through long-term investments that cover the Institute’s operational costs—scholar salaries, equipment maintenance, administrative expenses, and more.

This is one source of income.

Generally, the larger the endowment fund, the more effectively its investment returns can cover long-term operations—take Song Yao’s alma mater, Harvard University, with a $53 billion endowment and annual returns in the billions.

Second, it relies on public donations: once the Institute produces results and builds a reputation, it can attract donations from society.

Wealthy individuals who have achieved financial success often seek spiritual fulfillment—and donating to universities, research institutions, and charities is common.