redvbooks Chapter 144 International Competition
Chapter 144 International Competition
The message was sent by Han Lu this morning, and it consisted of only one sentence: Three international car companies contacted us last night, requesting to schedule a meeting.
When Zuo Cheng saw the message, he was walking from the parking lot towards Building 402. He put his phone back in his pocket, didn't stop, and continued walking. He wasn't surprised by the news; information travels very quickly in the tech world, and a solution approved by a few people in the industry will spread rapidly. He just hadn't expected it to spread so quickly.
Han Lu was already waiting for him, standing in the corridor with a stack of printed email screenshots in her hand.
"Three companies," she said directly. "Bosch's Intelligent Driving Division, Toyota North Asia's Technical Cooperation Department, and a German-owned Tier 1 supplier called KOB. All three contacted us after seeing the news of our meeting with Mr. Wei; the news spread quite quickly."
Zuo Cheng took the stack of papers, flipped through them, paused on Toyota's email for a few seconds, then flipped to Kobo's email and asked calmly, "How did the news get out?"
"After Mr. Wei's meeting, their internal CTO, Mr. Bao, had dinner with several people in the industry that evening. They discussed our solution and mentioned a drone company whose sensor fusion technology was superior to most autonomous driving companies he had encountered. This news spread."
Zuo Cheng put the stack of papers back, sat down on a chair outside the conference room, thought for about five seconds, and then asked, "Have you found out exactly what they want to discuss?"
"Bosch wanted to see our fusion algorithm and said they might consider licensing the technology to support their next-generation domain controller. Toyota directly asked if we were interested in collaborating on the development of an L3 system. Kobo was more direct, saying they wanted to see our technology roadmap and, if possible, hoped to discuss a procurement contract with us in the next quarter."
Zuo Cheng went through these three pieces of information in his mind.
Bosch wants algorithm licensing, which is easy to negotiate and brings in money quickly, but the recipient might modify the algorithm themselves, leading to long-term instability. Toyota offers joint development, which takes longer but secures a major client. Kobo uses a purchasing agent model, the simplest and lowest-risk approach.
All three are top international players; any one of them alone represents a collaboration opportunity that most domestic companies might not be able to catch up to even after a decade of pursuing it. But Zuo Cheng doesn't intend to disrupt his plans because of this.
"Let's meet with Kebo first," Zuo Cheng decided. "Don't follow everything at once. Domestically, President Wei's pace is the main focus. Internationally, let's start with the easiest ones to secure, establish a model, and then we'll have leverage in later negotiations."
Han Lu wrote it down and then added, "Shouldn't the international team produce the English version of the technical white paper first? If they want to meet with the science and technology experts, they'll definitely need to see the written materials."
"Do it. Have Chen Hao coordinate, Shen Yiming provide the technical materials, and produce a draft within two weeks."
Han Lu had already made a note on her phone and continued, "There's one more thing. President Wei called. After yesterday's meeting, they held a small internal meeting. President Bao compared our solution with their self-developed team's solution and said that our fusion architecture has a 14 percentage point higher accuracy in rainy weather scenarios than their self-developed version."
"What was President Wei's reaction?"
"Mr. Wei said that it would take them at least two years to catch up with the 14-percentage-point gap. He plans to report to the board this afternoon and propose accelerating external cooperation. If the board approves, the next step might be to discuss the contract framework directly, without waiting for the three-month demonstration to end."
Zuo Cheng didn't say anything, only saying, "Okay, continue following up."
Shen Yiming came from the other end of the corridor, holding a tablet. Seeing Zuo Cheng sitting outside, he walked over and said, "Mr. Zuo, several candidates have come for interviews these past two days. One of them has experience with LiDAR perception algorithms and previously worked at a certain autonomous driving unicorn company for three years. He's quite skilled. My initial interview with him is over. Would you like to meet him?"
When are you coming?
"This afternoon."
"Make the arrangements." Zuo Cheng paused for a moment. "If this person is suitable, don't withhold their salary; pay them the market rate. At this stage, retaining truly capable people is more important than anything else."
Shen Yiming nodded and went to make the arrangements.
Han Lu sent the draft schedules of those international car companies to Zuo Cheng's phone. Zuo Cheng glanced at it, moved the Kebo one to the top, and changed the note: "Prioritize this project."
Someone handed him a bottle of water in the hallway. It was Chen Hao. He had clearly just seen some news from inside and said, "Boss, an international car company is approaching us. Should we adjust our valuation?"
"Valuation is determined by the market." Zuo Cheng took the water, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. "What you should be worried about isn't the valuation, but whether we can get the demo version running within three months. That's the most pressing thing right now."
Chen Hao nodded, saying nothing more, but his eyes gleamed with barely concealed excitement. This was the first time 402 had ever been approached by an international Tier 1 supplier. He roughly knew what this meant.
Zuo Cheng didn't give him much time to think and directly instructed, "Start working on the English version of the technical white paper today, submit a draft in two weeks, and show me the first version. The version released to the public needs to control the information density; you can mention the technical roadmap, but you can't include all the core algorithm details."
"Understood." Chen Hao adjusted his glasses and turned to get back to work.
In the afternoon, sunlight streamed in through the glass curtain wall at the end of the corridor, illuminating the entire passageway. Han Lu, Shen Yiming, and Chen Hao each headed to their respective workstations to handle their tasks.
Zuo Cheng was the last to get up and walk towards his office. He paused at the door and glanced out the window.
Outside is the urban area of Hangzhou. It's early spring, and the leaves are just sprouting, tender green and thin.
In his previous life, he had witnessed too many companies fall into the trap after being exploited by international giants, becoming cheap OEM nodes in their supply chains, and then slowly being replaced. In this life, he intends to take a different path.
Technology licensing is not about selling technology, but about exchanging technology for a voice. Maintaining stability on the domestic front while simultaneously opening doors on the international front is the only way to stand firm.
At the same time, he knew that the speed at which this news spread meant that Lin Jianhua would soon receive the information. In his previous life, Huaxin had struggled for three years in the field of intelligent driving, ultimately achieving nothing. In this life, if 402 secured a contract with an international automaker, Lin Jianhua's situation would only become more dire.
Wei Dongsheng's side is the main storyline.
Internationally, that's a plus.
In three months, he wanted everyone to know that 402 was serious.