Wang Yi knew the empire's true face best.
Given the current development momentum of Xingyi phones, being banned and suppressed in a few years was inevitable.
Wang Yi didn't want to be completely blocked, didn't want to be choked, so he could only plan ahead.
Chip R&D, wafer fabs, photoresists, and even EDA software, etc., all required recruiting talent, investing capital, and planning in advance.
If he waited until he was banned and choked to plan these, it would be too late.
Admittedly, EUV lithography machines had a very high difficulty coefficient; they couldn't be made, simply couldn't be made.
But the impact was very limited; ordinary DUV lithography machines were sufficient.
By recruiting semiconductor talents like Lao Liang into his command, developing the N+2 process, and using multi-exposure technology, DUV lithography machines could also make 7nm chips, even 5nm chips, which was sufficient.
As for 3nm chips, that was a matter for 2023.
They weren't much stronger than 5nm chips.
What's more, for things more than a decade away, there might be other solutions.
In terms of tackling key technological challenges, our speed and efficiency are number one globally.
Although the lithography machine field is currently lagging, in many aspects, we have already surpassed and are far ahead.
UHV power grids, 2600-ton large tunnel boring machines, laser weapons, drone technology, quantum technology, hypersonic missiles, wind tunnel technology, electromagnetic weapons...
If any of these things were brought out, the West would be helpless!
The 2600-ton large tunnel boring machine like the Linghang Hao is far ahead; Europe and America cannot make them, only we can!
Why do many public intellectuals and "sheepdogs" only know how to bring up EUV lithography machines?
Because besides EUV lithography machines, they don't know what else they can boast about.
After all, with all domestic products rising, the West leads in fewer and fewer areas, while falling behind in more and more.
It is precisely for this reason that the dominant position of the iPhone a decade later was shaken, overthrown, and replaced by domestic mobile phones.
Car brands like Porsche, BBA, Toyota, and Honda were also gradually replaced by domestic cars.
Most simply, in his previous life, in 2018, a budget of over 300,000 yuan mostly bought BBA, a budget of over 200,000 yuan bought Toyota and Honda, and domestic brands were rarely considered.
But in 2023, whether the budget was over 300,000 yuan or over 200,000 yuan, most considered BYD, AITO, Great Wall, Geely, Li Auto, Xpeng, NIO...
On the contrary, BBA cars that cost over 300,000 yuan dropped to over 200,000 yuan but still didn't sell well.
In any field, as long as domestic products achieve a breakthrough from zero to one, it's easy to go from there to 100!
Even for the most difficult EUV lithography machine, there is hope for overtaking, at the very least, a lithography factory is one solution.
It can only be said that the future is bright, but the path is winding.
As he was thinking, Wang Yi's train of thought was interrupted.
At some point, Song Sining's softness reached his lips...
This girl was truly becoming more and more charming.
How wonderful!
At the same time, the news of Gaode's 150 yuan permanent free navigation not only made it to the trending topics and caused a sensation across the entire internet but also spread among various car enthusiast groups and clubs.
It even spread offline, to the extent that many taxi drivers and truck drivers were spreading it by word of mouth.
"Lao Zhang, have you heard? Gaode Navigation's big move!"
"Of course, I've heard. Gaode Navigation: 200 yuan for permanent free navigation, get 50 yuan back if you use Changliao! I've already paid, Chairman Wang is a great benefactor!"
"It's only January 1st, and such a good thing has happened; this year is destined to be smooth. I also paid 200, it's such a good deal."
"Lao Qian also uninstalled Baidu Navigation and switched to Gaode Navigation, 150 yuan, permanent free navigation, it's awesome!"
"Lao Sun, are you still using your KELIDE?"
"Damn it, don't even mention it, I just subscribed to KELIDE Navigation for two months, and it cost me 300 yuan. I'm going to ask customer service if I can get a refund now!"
"Hahaha, you deserve it for using KELIDE. Isn't Gaode's 150 permanent free navigation better?"
"You dare to scold me again?"
"Seriously, this Changliao is really good to use. I chat with my wife and send voice messages; she can convert them to text and read them even while working. WeChat can't do that!"
"Exactly, us rough guys haven't had much education; how would we be used to typing? Changliao is still more convenient, direct voice messages can be converted to text when it's inconvenient to watch."
"Chairman Wang not only made navigation almost free but also brought Changliao, this good thing. From now on, us brothers will communicate using Changliao!"
"Not only that, Happy Match is also very fun. When I'm waiting for customers, I play Happy Match to pass the time."
"Don't even mention it, that game is so addictive, it makes me not want to pick up customers anymore."
"Hahaha, you can't do that, people shouldn't forget their roots!"
Similar scenes occurred all over the country.
Countless Baidu Navigation users and KELIDE Navigation users all switched to Gaode Navigation and directly paid 200 yuan.
Compared to Baidu Navigation at 360 yuan a year and KELIDE Navigation at 1296 yuan a year, Gaode's permanent free navigation is only 200 yuan, with a 50 yuan cashback; it's truly too good a deal, too cheap.
Car owners mostly didn't hesitate and went straight for it.
This caused Gaode Navigation's user count to increase by leaps and bounds.
By 1 PM, Gaode Navigation's user count had already surpassed 50 million.
By 3 PM, it directly surpassed 70 million.
And it was still rapidly surging!
However, completely contrary to the excellent situation at Xingyi Technology, NavInfo was burning with anxiety and held a day-long executive meeting:
The chairman said in a deep voice:
"Gaode's mobile app offering 200 yuan for permanent free navigation, with an additional 50 yuan cashback for using Changliao—this action not only overturned the table of paid navigation but also smashed the pot."
"Without any surprise, our NavInfo stock price hit the daily limit down. Everyone, tell me, what can we do? We can't just let it continue to hit the limit down when the market opens tomorrow!"
"This..."
Everyone fell silent, having no countermeasures at all.
It fell 10% today, not just a 10% drop, but due to A-share limits, a 10% drop halts trading.
But it's clear that after trading resumes tomorrow, it will continue to fall, another 10% drop, and trading will halt again.
The day after tomorrow will be the same.
10% a day, until the market capitalization is halved, before it can stabilize.
Seeing no one spoke, the vice president sighed:
"There's no other way, we can only immediately issue an external statement, saying that NavInfo only provides underlying map data, whether navigation is paid or free, it doesn't affect us much. Our clients are navigation software providers."
The chairman's face darkened:
"Do you think this is reliable? Will the shareholders listen?"
"I..."
The vice president fell silent, and finally said:
"But besides this, what else can we do? There's no other way."
"Sigh, let's research more to see if there are other strategies. If it really doesn't work, then we'll just have to make this statement."
"No, I suggest we make the statement first to curb the panic as soon as possible. If there are any other good solutions, we'll discuss them later."
"Alright, let's do that!"
Soon, NavInfo issued an external statement, directly stating that this incident had little impact on underlying map providers like NavInfo...
hoping to pull back the stock price with this.
But unfortunately, the public simply ignored this; many people didn't even understand the relationship between underlying map providers and upper-layer navigation app providers at all.
They just felt that Gaode Maps had overturned the table and smashed the pot; whether it was Baidu Navigation or NavInfo, whether it was an upper-layer application or an underlying map, everything was finished.
No one would make money anymore, and they all decided to sell off.
Sell as soon as the market opens!
Without any surprise, when the US stock market opened that night, Baidu's stock price plummeted again.
And when the A-share market opened the next morning, NavInfo also hit the daily limit down again.
The difference was, this time, it only took two minutes after opening to hit the limit down!
"It's over, with such a terrifying speed to hit the limit down, it's probably just the beginning, and it will continue to hit the limit down. Our public statement yesterday was meaningless!"
"Big trouble!"
Everyone at NavInfo, from top to bottom, was at their wit's end, yet had no countermeasures.
"Oh right, has the Tencent representative arrived? Do they have any solutions?"
The chairman couldn't help but say, the 'Goose Factory' (Tencent) is a major shareholder and also a backer.
The vice president sighed:
"They haven't come, it seems they are also helpless, and because of this Gaode situation, the 'Goose Factory's stock price has also fallen by 7%."
The chairman suddenly understood:
"That's right, Gaode's move caused the 'Goose Factory's navigation strategy to suffer a critical blow before it even began. The emergence of Changliao also significantly impacted WeChat; it's likely they truly don't have time for us now. Sigh!"
"Indeed, how to break this deadlock next is up to us!"
Also facing a headache was KELIDE.
Chairman Zhang Xing burst into curses:
"Wang Yi, that guy is just messing around, too chaotic!"
"Our KELIDE Navigation is 108 yuan a month; previously Gaode at 50 yuan a month already severely impacted us. Now it's directly 150 yuan for permanent free navigation; it's simply outrageous!"
"From now on, Gaode is 150 yuan for permanent free navigation, who would still use our KELIDE Navigation at 108 yuan a month?"
"It's too much, such a cheap price is completely vicious competition!"
Listening to the chairman curse, the executives were on tenterhooks, and their expressions were extremely complicated.
KELIDE was originally the big brother in the navigation industry, especially for aftermarket in-car navigation and mobile platforms.
Current navigation is divided into three types: pre-installed in-car navigation, aftermarket in-car navigation, and mobile navigation.
Pre-installed in-car navigation is mainly dominated by NavInfo and Gaode, primarily collaborating with car manufacturers, featuring navigation systems built in before leaving the factory.
They cannot connect to the internet, do not support online upgrades, and require paid upgrades at 4S stores.
Aftermarket in-car navigation, on the other hand, refers to navigation devices and other in-car navigation systems installed after the vehicle leaves the factory, mainly KELIDE Navigation and Lulutong Navigation.
They also cannot connect to the internet, do not support online upgrades, and require going to a store or purchasing a driver CD.
Mobile navigation, meanwhile, is an emerging internet navigation, which became widely popular as phone navigation many years later.
It was mainly dominated by KELIDE, Gaode, and Baidu, all offering paid navigation.
Originally, in these three areas, several major navigation companies each had their own turf; relying on high fees, they all made a fortune.
But starting from Q2 2011, the automotive industry suddenly entered a cold winter, and car sales plummeted.
Whether it was pre-installed or aftermarket in-car navigation, all revenues sharply decreased.
KELIDE had no choice but to shift its focus to the only growing segment, mobile navigation.
However, just as KELIDE was preparing to make a big move relying on its brand advantage, Gaode overturned the table!
The table of the only growing mobile navigation market was overturned, and the pot was smashed.
It simply left no room for survival!
This made KELIDE's old chairman curse angrily:
"You can't fight a price war like this! What's the point?"
"With Gaode's nearly free approach, how can KELIDE, at 108 yuan a month, still compete?"
The manager sighed:
"There's no other way, KELIDE can only follow suit and lower prices. Gaode offers 200 yuan for permanent free navigation, we offer 500 yuan for permanent free navigation!"
Unexpectedly, the vice president immediately retorted:
"No way! It's also permanent free navigation; would consumers ignore Gaode Navigation at 200 yuan and choose our KELIDE at 500 yuan? Are they crazy?"
"This..."
The manager was momentarily speechless:
"Then we offer 300 yuan for permanent free navigation, it's only a hundred yuan difference, and with KELIDE's brand influence, it would be no problem at all."
The vice president frowned slightly:
"That sounds plausible, but there's a serious problem: once we lower the price, those old KELIDE members who paid 108 yuan a month and have already pre-paid for several months, and KELIDE users who have purchased annual memberships, will definitely demand refunds! How should we handle these?"
"Indeed, lowering prices is easy, but if old members demand full refunds, that will be difficult."
"Wang Yi is rich and powerful; he can afford to refund all old Gaode members, but we can't afford to refund!"
"This..."
The manager fell silent.
In terms of burning money, KELIDE is just a small company and cannot compare to Wang Yi.
"In my opinion, let's just continue as we are. KELIDE remains at 108 yuan a month, without lowering prices, and we'll earn what we can."
"That's right, not all drivers know about Gaode's 200 yuan permanent free offer. There will always be some 'big fools' whose information is delayed and will definitely continue to buy KELIDE Navigation!"
"What's more, we still want to go public on the New Third Board! If we lower prices, issue refunds, and our revenue looks so bad, how can we go public?"
"Go public? Go public my ass!"
Chairman Zhang Xing flew into a rage.
KELIDE originally had decent revenue and was preparing to go public on the New Third Board in 2012.
But now, it's only the beginning of 2012, and Gaode pulled this stunt, KELIDE's path to going public was cut off.
Chairman Zhang Xing sighed:
"Let's forget about refunds. Once we actually issue refunds, all previous memberships would have to be refunded, and we couldn't bear it. Moreover, huge investments are still needed for mobile navigation in the future; if we truly refund, there'd be no money for R&D."
Everyone nodded; that made sense.
Most importantly, money earned and already in the pocket, how could it be given back?
KELIDE is just a small company, far from being as rich and powerful as Wang Yi.
Zhang Xing then changed the subject:
"However, if we don't lower prices, I'm afraid not many people will use KELIDE Navigation in the future. How many new users did we get yesterday?"
The Marketing Director took out a report:
"There were still some in the morning, but by noon, there were very few, and almost none in the afternoon. Some even asked customer service if the money they had already topped up could be refunded?"
Zhang Xing: "..."
Everyone: "..."
"Indeed, KELIDE Navigation at 108 yuan a month versus Gaode's 150 yuan for a lifetime after cashback. How consumers would choose goes without saying; if we don't lower prices, KELIDE might be finished."
Zhang Xing sighed deeply:
"Since there's no hope for going public, then let's lower prices and grab market share."
"KELIDE: 300 yuan for permanent free navigation, and directly compete with Gaode Navigation!"
"Yes, then what about the old members who have already paid?"
Zhang Xing thought for a moment:
"For those who pre-paid for two months or more, upgrade them to Crown VIP to enjoy permanent free navigation, but no refunds."
"Alright!"
Baidu Headquarters.
Li Yan once again held an executive meeting, but his state was much better.
An executive spoke first:
"Chairman, Gaode Navigation's almost free approach has dealt another critical blow to Baidu. Last night, when the US stock market opened, Baidu's market value fell by another 20 billion; now it's only nearly 140 billion, which is already halved compared to the previous 280 billion!"
Li Yan, however, was unfazed:
"I know, it's fine, it's hit rock bottom and should rebound from there."
Others became interested, and some asked:
"Chairman, is Baidu going to counterattack?"
Other executives echoed:
"Counterattack immediately! Gaode has overturned the table, Baidu should also overturn the table. They offer 150 for permanent free navigation, we'll offer 100 for permanent free navigation!"
"No, directly make it free, directly announce permanent free navigation! This way, it will definitely deal a critical blow to Gaode."
Qu Xin, however, waved his hand:
"It's useless, consumers all know Baidu doesn't have underlying map data available. Once NavInfo's authorization expires, we won't be able to do navigation next year; how can we deliver on permanent free navigation then?"
"This..."
Everyone fell silent.
To counterattack, one must first have navigation before being able to counterattack.
But now, after Baidu's authorization expires this year, there will be no underlying map data, making navigation impossible at all.
How can we counterattack?
Li Yan nodded:
"Vice President Qu is right; regarding free navigation, we won't get involved nor participate, and certainly won't use this to continue attacking Xingyi Technology."
"Why?"
Several executives were very puzzled and couldn't swallow their anger.
Li Yan was somewhat speechless:
"Now that Wang Yi, this madman, has finally changed direction to do social media and target Tencent, why should we provoke him again at this time?"
"Do we have to make Wang Yi turn back and continue to aggressively attack Baidu? Causing us to continue suffering heavy losses?"
"This..."
Everyone in the room fell silent, then suddenly understood, and spoke up one after another:
"Chairman is brilliant; the period of fighting with Wang Yi was simply a nightmare."
"Exactly, our Baidu stock price went from $148 to $73, it's too terrifying."
"Wang Yi doesn't play by the rules; if he truly becomes a mortal enemy, that would be big trouble."
"It's not that we're afraid of Wang Yi; it's mainly that 'the barefoot aren't afraid of those with shoes' (i.e., those with nothing to lose are bolder). Baidu has shoes, Wang Yi is barefoot."
"It's best if we don't act; let Xingyi Technology and the 'Goose Factory' fight it out, and we'll watch from the sidelines, that's the best."
Li Yan nodded:
"Exactly, so Baidu Navigation won't make a move this time; we'll sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight!"
"Yes!"
Then Li Yan looked at Qu Xin:
"Acquire a company with Class A surveying and mapping qualifications as soon as possible, so we can create our own underlying map data. Even if navigation no longer makes money, Baidu's strategic security for underlying maps must still be guaranteed. Being blocked by underlying maps like this, once is enough. Our autonomous driving still needs continued R&D; this is a long-term strategy."
"Yes, Chairman."
Qu Xin responded:
"Once we acquire a company with surveying and mapping qualifications, we can then heavily promote it, starting from underlying maps, and going ALL in on AI autonomous driving, which will certainly bring back a good portion of the stock price."
"Exactly! We must let the world see Baidu's strength and determination!"
As Li Yan spoke, he sneered inwardly:
"As for Wang Yi, let Chairman Ma have a headache over him; Baidu is no longer participating! It would be best if Xingyi Technology and the 'Goose Factory' wage an all-out war, with both sides suffering heavy losses!"
Xingyi Technology.
Wang Yi and Song Sining also came to the company.
Today is January 2nd, the second day of the New Year's Day holiday; they should have been on holiday.
But there were still many employees at Xingyi Science Park working as usual.
Especially a few newly launched businesses were in a critical period, making it impossible to take a holiday.
But considering that Xingyi Technology calculates overtime hourly, with triple pay, working overtime for three days means getting nine days' worth of salary, everyone didn't mind and even volunteered for overtime.
In other companies, overtime can only be compensated with time off, with no overtime pay at all, let alone triple pay.
"Chairman, here is the latest 24-hour data, please take a look."
Jian Ziyan had already prepared the report, handed it to Wang Yi, and also gave one to Song Sining.
Song Sining was not only the president of Meiyou Technology but also the vice president of the parent company, Xingyi Technology.
Wang Yi read carefully:
"In one day, Gaode Navigation added 30 million new users? The total user count exceeded 70 million?"
Song Sining was also startled:
"This kind of increase is too terrifying! The revenue is even more frightening; over 40 million people directly paid 200 yuan, bringing in over 8 billion in revenue! Even with 50 yuan refunded, the revenue is still 6 billion!"
"In one day, Gaode Navigation earned 6 billion!"
Song Sining's expression was somewhat complex.
Even if these users only top up once in their lifetime, it's still very good.
Wang Yi chuckled wryly:
"There's no other way, navigation is an essential need right now. Previously at 50 yuan a month, or even 108 yuan a month, they still had to pay to use it. Now that we've brought the price down, naturally, they're rushing to use it."
Song Sining nodded:
"Yes, I guess this wave will turn many Baidu Navigation and KELIDE Navigation users into Gaode users! But next, they're probably going to counterattack."
"Counterattack? KELIDE and Baidu are also going to launch similar navigation offers to compete with us for customers?"
Jian Ziyan's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly:
"If that's the case, then Gaode's subsequent growth rate will be affected."
Wang Yi, however, waved his hand:
"It's not a big problem. Firstly, we've already captured 70 million users; the entire navigation market currently has just over 100 million users, they won't be able to snatch much."
"Secondly, Baidu Navigation doesn't have underlying map data, so the threat is not significant."
"As for KELIDE, let's see if they will follow suit and overturn the table!"
In his previous life, in 2013, Baidu and Gaode launched free navigation, but KELIDE didn't follow and continued with paid services, after which KELIDE fizzled out.
Whether KELIDE would follow this time, Wang Yi wasn't sure.
Then, Wang Yi continued to look at other reports:
"Changliao's registered users exceeded 50 million, and active users exceeded 30 million!"
This record also greatly surprised Wang Yi.
The growth rate was terrifying, truly terrifying.
Of these 50 million registered users, 4 million were Xingyi phone users.
Over 10 million were users attracted by "Defend the Grapefruit" and "Happy Match."
Over 30 million were Gaode cashback users.
What pleased Wang Yi was that whether they were attracted by games or by Gaode Navigation, 60% of users converted into active users.
This shows that these people recognized Changliao and were willing to continue using it, not just for the cashback or gift packs.
Changliao is different from QQ; it doesn't have as many flashy features, and it's for acquaintance social networking, making it more suitable for adults.
Especially for car owners, typing while driving is inconvenient; sending voice messages is much more convenient.
Although WeChat also has this feature, WeChat does not have voice-to-text, making it inconvenient to listen to messages many times.
As for Moments and nearby food, nearby tours, and nearby group-buying features, WeChat cannot compare.
It can be imagined that after some time, many WeChat users might defect and become Changliao users.
As long as Changliao doesn't 'court death'.
Actually, Miliao was also quite popular originally, starting even earlier than WeChat.
But later Miliao 'courted death' by introducing a feature that displayed 'message read', and well, Miliao was finished...
As for the reason, those who understand, understand!
However, Wang Yi would not engage in such self-destructive behavior.
Then, Wang Yi continued to look at other data:
"'Happy Match', users exceeded 15 million!"
Wang Yi was not surprised by such a terrifying increase.
After all, just the users pre-installed on xphone 1 were 4 million.
Plus the press conference, such high traffic, and trending topics, adding another 10 million non-Xingyi phone users was only natural.
This type of universally popular game that naturally comes with traffic never lacks users.
Even with minimal promotion, user numbers can surge.
What's more, Wang Yi arranged a press conference with high-profile marketing and even had Gulinazha endorse it.
Wang Yi smiled slightly:
"The data for Gaode Navigation, Changliao, and Happy Match are all very good, excellent, completely exceeding expectations."
Song Sining nodded, flipping through the report:
"Not only that, affected by yesterday's press conference, xphone 1 sales surged again; 500,000 units were sold in one day yesterday, your inventory is going to run out again."
Wang Yi: "..."
"Also x buds, 400,000 units were sold yesterday."
Wang Yi: "..."
The normal sales of xphone 1 and x buds were originally over 100,000 units a day, but as soon as the press conference started, they directly sold 500,000 and 400,000 units!
It can only be said that no matter how good a product is, it still needs promotion.
Of course, there's another reason, which is the Xiao Ai AI voice assistant that crushes Siri!
Without Xiao Ai, many users, for Siri's sake, chose to wait for the iPhone 4s.
With Xiao Ai, which even crushed Siri, those users completely changed their minds, directly giving up on the iPhone 4s and getting on board with xphone 1.
Wang Yi asked again:
"How are xphone 1 sales today?"
Jian Ziyan checked the data:
"As of 10 AM, xphone 1 sales today have exceeded 150,000 units!"
"150,000 units by 10 AM, xphone 1 sales today will likely reach 400,000 units, or even 500,000 units!"
Wang Yi was convinced:
"This time, we pushed a bit too hard. I estimate that many users waiting for the iPhone 4s have chosen to directly get on board with xphone 1."
Song Sining's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly:
"At this rate, our current daily production capacity of 150,000 xphone 1 units is a bit insufficient; we probably need to increase orders."
"We definitely need to increase orders. When 'Happy Camp' airs on Saturday, with xphone 1 as the exclusive title sponsor, it will bring in a lot more sales!"
Wang Yi took a deep breath:
"Xiao Ai AI voice assistant, 'Happy Camp' title sponsorship, under multiple buffs, I estimate xphone 1 sales in January will be even higher than last month! Notify BYD to increase daily production capacity to 100,000!"
BYD's daily production capacity of 100,000 means a monthly production capacity of 3 million units.
Plus Xingyi phone factory's monthly production capacity of 2.5 million, totaling 5.5 million.
That should be enough for January sales!
As for February and March, if sales decrease, dropping to 3 million, resulting in serious overcapacity?
Not a big problem; by then, BYD will continue to OEM xphone 1, and Xingyi phone factory's capacity will be freed up to produce xphone 1 pro.
(End of chapter)