Chronicles of Semiconductor Pioneers Chapter 1

"Dr. Zhou, welcome to join us. You will be ZTE's full representative in the American region in the future regarding this commercial monopoly incident.

If you have any needs, you can communicate directly with Mr. Cheng.

Alex Zhou graduated from the Junior Class of Huaguo University of Science and Technology. After graduation, he went to California Institute of Technology, Berkeley, to pursue a doctorate in semiconductors under the tutelage of Professor Victor Hu.

After graduating with a Ph.D., he joined ZTE after America issued a ban on ZTE and became ZTE's representative in the American region.

"Congratulations, ZTE is a very excellent company. Although we are currently experiencing some minor setbacks, it will not affect ZTE's development trend.

ZTE directly supports more than 100,000 high-tech jobs in America. We are a giant with presence in more than 150 countries and regions around the world. This is just a small incident. "

Ethan Cheng is the president of ZTE in the American region, and he maintained superficial respect towards Alex Zhou, an airborne person.

"Newman, I've already told you that my grandfather will meet with Henry later, but you don't have to be too optimistic about the outcome.

Seriously, you shouldn't have gotten involved in this vortex.

You may not get what you want."

Henry is the middleman Alex Zhou found. He is a former senior American senator and has extensive connections in Washington.

In just half a year, Alex Zhou found Henry and became ZTE's registered public lobbyist in the Senate.

The reason why Alex Zhou was able to get this position, the second-in-command of ZTE in the American region, is more importantly due to his good relationship with the grandson of American Trade Representative Lighthizer.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Zhou. Due to the lack of progress, your personnel transfer has been approved after review by the board of directors. You will return to China and join ZTE's research institute in Yanjing. The specific position and rank will be notified to you later."

Dr. Alex Zhou's choice to go to ZTE after graduation was also a gamble for him, betting that America's sanctions on ZTE were only part of the extreme pressure.

In the end, as long as ZTE was willing to pay a certain amount of compensation, America would lift its sanctions on ZTE. The result was completely different from what he expected.

Alex Zhou accepted the defeat and took the initiative to leave ZTE.

Things are in a constant state of dynamic development. It has been a year since Dr. Alex Zhou graduated. During this year, the world's most concerned issue is naturally the battle between the two giants, China and America.

The core area of   competition among giants is high technology, and semiconductors have become the focus of attention across China.

From ZTE being sanctioned, to TSMC being unable to provide foundry services for HiSilicon, to SMIC being unable to purchase advanced process lithography machines.

America is continuously increasing its sanctions on China's semiconductor sector.

When Alex Zhou graduated, there were only a handful of PhDs who could earn a million a year. But a year later, it is no exaggeration to say that PhDs in the semiconductor field earning a million a year are everywhere.

Not to mention that he is a PhD from UC Berkeley and studied under Professor Victor Hu.

Therefore, Alex Zhou, who left ZTE, was not worried about having nowhere to go.

On the eve of Alex Zhou's departure from American, he went to say goodbye to his mentor, and Victor Hu consoled him.

"China has always attached great importance to the development of the semiconductor industry, but this emphasis is only on the government level.

However, there is no consensus among the government, financial sector, industry and the public.

But after a year of trade war, all classes in China have reached a consensus.

China's semiconductor industry will usher in a period of truly rapid development, and your choice to go back at this time is very correct.

I have said hello to Simon Liang for you. You can go to Shenhai to talk to him when you return.

He can give you some advice from the front line of the industry.

Although I have worked at TSMC for a long time, my understanding of China's semiconductor industry is still limited. "

Alex Zhou was very grateful for Victor Hu's care for him, "Professor, thank you very much for your care for me in Berkeley over the past few years.

I will keep in touch with you more after I return to China.

China has reached a consensus that it will not be strangled by America in the semiconductor field under any circumstances.

There is even a consensus that America cannot be held back in high-tech fields.

This is both an opportunity and a challenge.

Likewise, my experience working in Washington over the past year has taught me this.

America also reached a consensus that it is necessary to curb China's high-tech development.

Therefore, for a long time in the future, China's semiconductor industry will face suppression from America and even the entire Western world.

China is starting from scratch in many semiconductor segments.

It’s quite a challenge.”

"It is a challenge for the whole of China, but it is an opportunity for you.

It's not like you are facing suppression from the entire Western world.

"Have you decided which company you want to work for?" Victor Hu asked.

"I plan to start my own business. In the past two years, a lot of hot money has poured into the semiconductor field in China.

When I was still working at ZTE, people kept finding me through various channels, hoping to start a business with me.

During this process, I also screened out several suitable investors and planned to start my own business when I returned to China.

As you know, I still have several valuable patents, which can help circumvent the American blockade in certain niche areas. "

Victor Hu nodded and said, "I have worked in academia and industry, but I have no experience in entrepreneurship.

However, there are many people around me who are starting their own businesses, including my former colleagues, friends in academia, students, and my subordinates at TSMC.

Starting a business tests your comprehensive abilities. Even if you are academically talented, having technical skills alone may not be enough.

A series of factors such as technology, capital, market, management, etc. will affect the ultimate success of entrepreneurship.

Of course, the most important thing here is timing. Now China's semiconductor industry has the right timing and the best environment has been built. I believe you will be able to achieve good results when you return.

As for the degree to which you have achieved your expectations of success, I don't know. "

Semiconductors are undoubtedly one of the hottest keywords in IPOs in China's capital market in 2019.

A large number of semiconductor companies entered the capital market in 2019, and a total of 20 semiconductor companies passed the IPO review within one year.

The semiconductor industry raised twice as much publicly in 2019 as it did in 2018.

After returning to China, Alex Zhou's entrepreneurial journey was quite smooth. The overall environment, his own abilities, and the connections provided by Victor Hu were enough to make his early entrepreneurial journey go smoothly.

In just one year, Xinxin Technology, founded by Alex Zhou, has raised more than 100 million RMB in its Series B financing, led by Yunqi Capital and Yida Capital.

In these two rounds of investment, Xinxin Technology's own technical strength and operational conditions were crucial, but the personal connections that Simon Liang helped Alex Zhou build were equally important.

Simon Liang is the CEO of SMIC and a PhD graduate of Victor Hu. He has worked for AMD, TSMC, and Samsung.

After completing the B round of financing, Simon Liang and Alex Zhou were having a private meal together.

"Samsung Electronics' annual free technology transfer is about to begin again.

According to my inside information, they expect to transfer about 300 semiconductor technologies to small and medium-sized enterprises free of charge this year.

How well are we at the semiconductor company in Korea preparing for this?

It is difficult to become a long-term strategic partner of Samsung Electronics.

Although we disguised ourselves as a Korean enterprise through layers of proxy holding, we were established too recently and it was difficult to gain Samsung's trust.

However, as long as the core technology marked in the transferred technology is obtained, the valuation of Xinxin Technology in the next round will be multiplied by ten. "

Since 2013, under the leadership of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea, the giants in Korea's consumer electronics field have transferred their unused technologies to small and medium-sized enterprises free of charge every year.

From 2013 to 2021, Samsung transferred a total of 2,402 technologies.

For Samsung, the technology is useless, but for China's semiconductor industry, which is facing a blockade, it is different.

This is similar to the fact that although SMIC is far inferior to TSMC in terms of technology, SMIC can enjoy a higher valuation than TSMC (from the perspective of price-to-earnings ratio).

The reason why Simon Liang spared no effort to help Alex Zhou was not just because of their personal relationship.

Alex Zhou's own abilities, and his ability to do things in some areas that he cannot do.

As the CEO of SMIC, if Simon Liang disguises himself as a Korean enterprise to obtain technology transferred free of charge by Samsung Electronics, then SMIC can expect to be sanctioned.

Alex Zhou is different. Even if he is discovered, the scope of impact can be controlled within a very small range.

The actual controller behind the scenes is Alex Zhou's Morning Star Semiconductor, which disguised itself as a Korean enterprise and applied to Samsung for free technology transfer for small and medium-sized enterprises.

"Hope everything goes well." This was the last sentence sent by Simon Liang after Alex Zhou and he had a brief chat on WeChat.