Chapter 164: Keep the Green Hills, Don't Worry About No Firewood

Li Dongling's gaze swept across the faces of everyone in the conference room. "In the future, Dongxin Semiconductor can invest 40 million yuan into the computer chip project every year. We can give the project team three years to develop it. If a commercially viable computer chip cannot be developed within three years, Dongxin Semiconductor will suspend this project!"

Three years, an investment of nearly 100 million yuan into the computer chip project—nearly 15 million US dollars. Placed domestically, this was absolutely a big-handed R&D investment. If it couldn't be developed within three years, then there was no need to continue developing it, and it could be directly pushed down and started over!

The key was that the computer chip project was different from other chips. In this field, Intel had already established a dominant position. The most critical chip architecture for entering this trade had already been unified by Intel's X86.

Even for other manufacturers that could develop computer chips like AMD, IBM, Motorola, etc., most of them took X86 architecture authorization from Intel.

Just this step of taking authorization from Intel had stumped who knew how many companies. Ever since Intel, at the request of the "stirring stick" IBM in the American tech world, authorized the X86 architecture to AMD, it ended up cultivating a traitor and a deadly enemy. Since then, it had rarely authorized the X86 architecture to other companies, just for fear of cultivating another deadly opponent. Even architecture patents that were already lagging and outdated, it wasn't willing to authorize.

And chip architecture authorization was just the first step. Whether it could be developed later, whether it could be mass-produced after development, and whether it could be sold after mass production, etc., were all difficulties!

Therefore, developing computer chips was absolutely an industry with high risk, high investment, and high R&D difficulty, but the return wasn't necessarily obtainable. Compared to developing chips for products like Shenzhou phones, Little PHS phones, and Silver Mink optical mice, the risk and difficulty were who knew how many times greater.

Li Dongling was willing to invest 40 million yuan into the computer chip project every year for three consecutive years, which in reality was already preparing to throw the money into the water.

For this first condition of Li Dongling, Ni Guangnan and Huang Lingyi both nodded in agreement. In reality, this had already exceeded their expectations. The R&D funds invested had already exceeded their expectations. They could feel that Li Dongling truly wanted this project to be successfully developed.

In the previous life, the company where Huang Lingyi led the team to develop the first domestic general-purpose computer chip had an initial fund of only 1 million yuan. Later, it was basically raising money while developing, and it could stop at any time because of funds.

And from the establishment of the R&D team to the development of the first chip, because the performance couldn't compare to Intel, AMD, and other chips, basically no computer manufacturer was willing to purchase it, leading to insufficient funds. In ten years, the R&D funds were only about 400 million, and most of the funds were funds and subsidies obtained after the first chip was successfully developed. The team didn't get much funds in the early stage.

Now, Li Dongling gave Ni Guangnan and Huang Lingyi's computer chip team nearly 100 million in funds within the first three years. Compared to the R&D team led by Huang Lingyi in the previous life, the conditions were already much better!

"The second point: while developing computer chips, other chip projects of Dongxin Semiconductor cannot be delayed. For example, the R&D of chips for Little PHS mobile phones and Silver Mink optical mice should be successfully developed on time, and should even be prioritized for R&D!"

Once this point of Li Dongling came out, Ni Guangnan clearly had something to say, and Huang Lingyi also frowned. Li Dongling knew what they wanted to say and said directly, "Keep the green hills, and you will have the opportunity to make a comeback!"

"If, the first computer chip of Dongxin Semiconductor is successfully developed, can it compete with Intel's latest computer chip?!"

This soul-searching question from Li Dongling made Ni Guangnan and the two speechless. The words that reached their mouths couldn't be spoken.

Even if they were confident again and had confidence in their technology and team, Ni Guangnan and Huang Lingyi wouldn't think that the first computer chip they made in Dongxin Semiconductor could challenge Intel!

Even, this first computer chip, the symbolic significance was far greater than the actual significance. It fundamentally couldn't sell many. More was that for the domestic tech industry, there was a substitute. If one day, manufacturers like Intel didn't sell chips to domestic companies, this chip could be replaced, but that was all. In reality, it might fundamentally not be able to sell a few pieces.

"In the next few years, the computer chip project might all be in a state of loss. Coupled with the lithography machine project, Dongxin Semiconductor needs more 'Sirius'-like projects that can make a profit to have funds for R&D!"

"Dongxin Semiconductor only needs to earn more revenue to have funds for the R&D of lithography machines and computer chip projects. Even if it fails the first time, it can have a second time, a third time, or even more times. There will always be an opportunity to stand up and compete with Intel and AMD!"

Ni Guangnan and Huang Lingyi heard Li Dongling's words and felt that Li Dongling's words indeed made sense. This kind of money-burning project like computer chips needed continuous investment. Just like AMD, which was constantly adding trouble to Intel, it also appeared in the 1960s and only became Intel's strong opponent in the last ten years or so. This was enough to prove that only by living long could one have the opportunity to laugh last.

In the conference room, Dongxin Semiconductor General Manager Wu Xinyi's expression was somewhat strange. Li Dongling's words were indeed high-sounding and couldn't pick out any flaws. Seeing Ni Guangnan and Huang Lingyi, two technical big shots, had clearly agreed with Li Dongling's words.

But as management, having mixed in the industry for many years and drunk quite a lot of poisonous chicken soup, Wu Xinyi felt that Li Dongling was tying Dongxin Semiconductor's safety to projects like Little PHS mobile phone chips, and it was also related to the success or failure of the computer chip project. How could Ni Guangnan, Huang Lingyi, and a host of Dongxin Semiconductor technical personnel not take these projects to heart!

It was called a "three-chapter agreement," but the conditions Li Dongling put forward were mainly these two. He could support Ni Guangnan and Huang Lingyi in developing computer chips, but other chip projects must not be left behind, especially the mobile phone chip project.

Still that sentence: people all need hope to support them. For people like Ni Guangnan who had already thrown fame and fortune behind them, the belief in developing computer chip processors was the spiritual pillar supporting them in this trade!

If they were delayed in letting these technical big shots develop computer chips, then in not long, the scene that happened at Lenovo might happen at Dongling High-Tech!

As for developing computer chips, it was also absolutely useful for Dongling High-Tech. Dongling High-Tech would sooner or later enter the computer trade. Developing chips now was equivalent to making technical reserves.

Even if it failed, it could be counted as accumulating experience. In the future, when Dongling High-Tech developed self-developed chips again and impacted high-end computer brands, it would need top-level chips. These experiences were all indispensable. Failure wasn't necessarily the mother of success, but it could indeed save quite a few detours. The money couldn't be spent in vain!

If it could be successfully developed, it would be even better. Dongxin Semiconductor's first self-developed computer chip might not be very advanced in performance, but as a domestic self-developed computer chip, its appearance was absolutely a milestone event for the domestic chip industry, and Dongxin Semiconductor's status domestically would also soar into the sky.

This chip couldn't be installed on high-end computer brands, but it was no problem to carry it to mid-to-low-end computers. Taking the volume-rushing route, Dongling High-Tech could also launch a few new brands to test the water in the computer trade. When the time was right, it would launch the Shenzhou brand of computers to impact the high-end computer brand market with the highest profit.

And as a domestic computer chip, the computer chips produced by Dongxin Semiconductor, in terms of performance, might not be able to compare to Intel, but the security performance didn't need to worry. It wouldn't leave backdoors like some chips and systems. As long as the technology and products were mature, domestic satellites, mechanical equipment, etc., would absolutely purchase them. Survival was no problem.

As for wanting to earn money, it still had to do commercial general-purpose chips, which was selling computer, mobile phone, and other chips. This was a matter of no way. Electronic products were an industry of trillions of US dollars every year. As long as one entered this trade to share a cup of soup, one could earn a full pot of money.

After the meeting ended, Li Dongling came to his office at Dongxin Semiconductor. Wu Xinyi, Ni Guangnan, Huang Lingyi, and others all followed Li Dongling here.

After sitting down, Li Dongling drank a mouthful of water, and his gaze couldn't help but look out the window. He could see

"Academician Ni, Professor Huang, do you already have ideas for the computer project?"

Li Dongling turned back and asked the two of them. He knew that since they had followed him, they must have something to discuss with him.

Ni Guangnan and Huang Lingyi exchanged a glance and then nodded. Ni Guangnan hesitated for a moment, "We do have some ideas and plans!"

Then, Ni Guangnan looked at Huang Lingyi, who also spoke up directly, "To start the computer chip project, the most important thing right now is the chip architecture!"

"Just as you said earlier, Mr. Li, the computer chip we intend to develop may not be too advanced in the first generation. We are currently positioning it as a mid-range chip, capable of reaching the level of the 586 processor released by Intel two years ago!"

In the current computer chip industry, the most advanced processor is basically Intel's fifth-generation X86 chip, named the first-generation Pentium processor.

According to this plan, by the time Dongxin Semiconductor develops its first processor comparable to the first-generation Pentium, it would basically be one to two generations behind Intel. But there was no other way; research and development is something that can only be caught up with slowly. It would be good enough just to be able to develop it at all. Going from zero to one is much more difficult than going from one to one hundred.

"How will you handle the chip architecture?!" Li Dongling asked.

"In the future, we can develop our own chip architecture, but for now, we need to purchase it from abroad!"

Huang Lingyi said, clearly having already discussed it with Ni Guangnan, "We plan to spend money to apply for authorization to use the MIPS chip architecture from MIPS, a subsidiary of the American company Silicon Graphics!"

(End of chapter)