As a mage, I just want to pursue the truth

Chapter 179 Selective Authorization

Ke Chuang Bio's great success in the field of brain-computer connection has led to the emergence of many companies in the field of brain-computer connection in recent years.

Previously, perhaps only Shenhai and Hangzhou had startups in China that were engaged in brain-computer connection.

In recent years, start-ups in the field of brain-computer connectivity have been found in almost all first- and second-tier cities.

In addition, as the existence of the soul has been confirmed, many scientists believe that there is a close connection between the brain and the soul, which has led to the emergence of start-ups in the field of brain-computer connection like mushrooms after rain.

Under the stagflationary economic situation, the gap between the rich and the poor is widening.

In order to delay their lifespan, the rich believe that increasing investment at the soul level will lead to research results that can extend their lifespan.

Previously, life was extended at the physical level. They believed that combining the body with the soul was the best way to extend life.

A team of dozens of people can get venture capital of over 100 million yuan, which is a huge premium.

In comparison, Neuralink at least has a commercial product, and with the support of Musk and Tesla, there is still room for imagination.

Venture capital does not calculate current profits and revenues, but invests in expectations.

The reason why Zhu Xiaohu did not invest in ByteDance back then was not only because he said he felt Zhang Yiming was not aggressive, but more because he did not think ByteDance could grab market share from Tencent.

Deep down, he is not optimistic about ByteDance's prospects.

Since Zhu Xiaohu has been an angel investor for many years, he cannot publicly say that he has poor vision, so he can only criticize and then praise Zhang Yiming.

It not only found a good reason for not investing in ByteDance that year, but also praised Zhang Yiming.

(The above is just my personal speculation and purely subjective opinion.)
The investment logic for Neuralink is the same. From the perspective of revenue and the future, Neuralink is obviously not worth the price.

But from another perspective, America will definitely have to have a brain-computer connection company that can replace Ke Chuang Bio.

Considering this perspective alone, Neuralink will definitely be able to go public, and a valuation of 500 billion US dollars after listing is not expensive.

The genetically modified seeds of China Seed Group have caused previous seed giants to retreat step by step worldwide.

Monsanto's financial report for 2023 showed a loss for the first time. Even so, America could not let Monsanto fall.

America's three main industries are technology, energy and food.

Seed autonomy cannot be guaranteed, seed pricing power will be handed over, and the strategic advantage of grain will not be able to form a closed loop.

China lags behind in many areas in the grain sector, and the seed industry is only a small aspect.

However, breakthroughs in this area can drive progress in the entire upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.

Following the same logic as saving Monsanto, investing in Neuralink will definitely be profitable.

After careful consideration, Young decided to consider investing in Neuralink if there were no better investment projects on the market.

It's just that the price is going down.

“Pico’s sales this year are not optimistic. According to the market department’s survey, VR users would rather save money to buy Futureverse than buy other VR products.”

The launch of Futureverse has had the greatest impact on VR manufacturers.

They are direct competitors to brain-computer connected VR.

"Especially those who have experienced brain-computer connected VR, their ideas are more firm. If they want to buy it, they must buy Futureverse."

“Players who have experienced Futureverse agree that the biggest advantage of brain-computer connection VR over traditional VR is the sense of immersion.”

"And Futureverse's display is better than what can be seen with the naked eye from Pico."

There is a dark cloud inside Pico and the situation is not optimistic.

Pico's market share in the domestic market has already exceeded 50%, moving towards a semi-monopoly market position.

As a result, the emergence of Futureverse tells Pico to step back a little.

"If the price is set at 3000 yuan, differentiated competition can only barely maintain the basic market."

"If we increase our investment in product costs and upgrade the display effect, processor and other aspects, the price will definitely increase accordingly."

"If you want to achieve an effect close to futureverse, the price must be increased to at least 6,000 yuan, which is too risky."

“The price is only 4,000 yuan lower than Futureverse, so it’s hard to guarantee that users will buy it.”

Pico's marketing director was very pessimistic when he gave his work report.

With players of this level appearing on the market, Pico's upper limit seems to be locked.

After Pico was acquired by ByteDance, its chairman is still Zhou Hongwei.

Zhou Hongwei was not as pessimistic as his subordinates. Instead, he was full of confidence:
“The entry of Kechuang Biotech into the market is not necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, I think it is a rare opportunity.”

“We discussed the joint entry of Kechuang Bio, Tencent and Dami many times internally. This is a rare opportunity, which means that the VR market is about to mature.”

"VR is bound to experience explosive growth this year. While everyone in the market is discussing VR, not everyone can afford the futureverse with a starting price of 10,000 yuan."

"This is our opportunity."

“We can eat into the mid- and low-end market.”

"What we need to do now is to add mid-range products with a target price of around 5000 yuan, and then maintain the current low-end products at 3000 yuan."

“In addition, Kechuang Biotechnology will not open its VR brain-computer connection technology to the outside world now, but that does not mean they will never open it up.”

"We can now work with Neuralink to jointly develop brain-computer connected VR."

"When Neuralink's technology is close to maturity, Kechuang Bio will inevitably open up its technology patents to the outside world."

"Another very important point is that Tencent's game "Heroes' End" is ported to our platform."

The subordinate explained: "I'm afraid Tencent will not authorize it. Our colleagues from the Commerce Department have already talked to Tencent a few days ago, and they refused."

Zhou Hongwei gritted his teeth and said, "We have to talk no matter what. You keep in touch with the other party first, and I will talk to Boss Zhang."

It’s a pity that Tencent cannot port the game to Pico.

ByteDance and Tencent are sworn enemies, and the competition between the two sides is a zero-sum game.

As a VR company under ByteDance, Pico cannot obtain the resources of Tencent.

This is a life-and-death battle.

"The joint lunar landing plan between China and Russia will be carried out this week, and this lunar landing is an unmanned lunar landing test.

The Chang'e-10 unmanned spacecraft will fly into lunar orbit and lower its lunar module to within kilometers of the lunar surface.

China plans to make its first attempt at a manned lunar landing in early 2024.

First unmanned testing, then manned lunar landing.

After successfully landing on the moon, China plans to build a long-term space station in lunar orbit.

Prepare for the next step of building a base on the moon.

After Merlin appeared, people finally understood why countries were competing vigorously for talents in mathematics and astronomy departments.

Popular science videos about magic coin are everywhere. Someone even broke down the Heber algorithm into more than ten two-hour video courses and posted them on Bilibili.

If you are interested in the development of the aerospace industry, you will find that the aerospace industry in America and China seems to have accelerated in the past two years.

NASA's internal officials have basically been replaced from top to bottom. Previously, the problem of internal embezzlement of funds was too serious.

China, on the other hand, has increased its investment in aviation and the treatment of aviation talent.

Originally, everyone thought that the 2025 moon landing was just an expectation, and whether it could be achieved was still unclear.

But looking at the current situation, it seems that landing on the moon is just around the corner.

As the country develops, people no longer need major national projects to cultivate national self-esteem, so the attention paid to the aerospace industry is decreasing.

Two years ago, the three astronauts in space were even about to return to the blue planet, which made them a hot topic.

But the significance of the moon landing is still significant, as the moon symbolizes too much in Chinese mythology and legends.

The success of manned lunar landing also means that China has become another country after America to successfully land on the moon, although it was in cooperation with Russia.

America's lunar orbital space station has been successfully launched.

Let’s ignore the International Space Station on Blue Planet for now and launch the lunar space station first.

They plan to build a base on the moon first to ensure the long-term normal operation of the lunar base.

Then consider the Mars landing plan.

The plans of China and America are similar, but the difficulty of landing on Mars is incomparable to that of landing on the moon.

You can never be too cautious.

Even the Europa Alliance has formulated its own plans for landing on the moon and Mars, and is proceeding according to plan.

At this time, Da Ying was very miserable. He wanted to return to the Europa League, but the Europa League did not agree.

Although they cooperated with Japan and Kangaroo Country, Da Ying did not leak the information about the magic forum to Japan and Kangaroo Country.

If we want to build a base on Mars on our own, we'll have to wait until the next century.

But if the moon landing and the rewards for the moon landing were revealed to Japan and Kangaroo Country, and if they knew about the magic forum, then Da Ying would really become an orphan.

You have to know that although they have obtained the right to use a magic coin, the ownership is still in the hands of Kangaroo Country and Japan.

Therefore, Daying plans to take a different approach. They believe that they have industrial advantages in the field of artificial intelligence.

Da Ying plans to place all his bets on artificial intelligence, with Wiles personally leading the research and development of artificial intelligence.

The strange behavior of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council except Da Ying made other countries very sensitive.

Could it be that there is some new discovery on the moon that we don’t know about?

Any medium-sized country with a certain amount of energy knows that there was definitely no magic on Blue Planet before.

Merlin appeared out of nowhere.

Wu Chang's behavior made them suspect that Merlin was an alien visitor and that his spacecraft from Blue Star was discovered by a big country on the moon.

So everyone wants to be the first to reach the moon and find Merlin's spaceship.

But the problem is that landing on the moon is a systematic project. Without the accumulation of technology, it is unrealistic to do it suddenly.

China's aerospace engineering has a clear technical thread, and the country has never given up investing in aerospace, even during the most difficult economic times.

I was about to give up, but then the people from Japan came to me:

"Both America and China are increasing their investment in aerospace. We suspect they have received some information. Do you have any information?"

Da Ying thought, I was worried that I couldn't find a reason, so I just caught Nihong and grabbed her. It would be a waste if I didn't grab her:

"According to the news we received from America, there are new discoveries about magic on Mars."

"So now America and China are organizing preliminary research for landing on Mars."

Neon was also fooled. They wanted to find America to confirm the news, but the problem was that America didn't tell them anything about magic.

It is even more impossible for China and Russia.

The only possible European Alliance has not revealed any information because Japan and Da Ying are mixed up.

So the only option is to be fooled by Da Ying.

After many communications between Neon, Da Ying and Kangaroo Country, they also made up their minds to land on Mars.

Can you please not say anything for now? You have to at least show some attitude.

After the domestically produced new energy vehicles equipped with a new generation of lithium battery technology were launched on the market, they were widely sought after by users.

Compared with foreign brands of electric vehicles, it has obvious advantages in terms of endurance and charging.

After the launch of domestic new energy vehicles equipped with new lithium battery technology, the sales of electric vehicles of foreign brands such as Tesla, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have declined significantly.

"We are a long-term and stable partner. I would like to ask when you can provide us with brand-new lithium batteries? We need stable production capacity."

"I'm sorry, the graphene printing equipment used in the new lithium battery technology is limited. The annual production capacity is only so much, and all of them have been reserved by Weilai and Xiaopeng."

"I heard that before Kechuang Biotechnology signed a patent licensing agreement with you, it clearly stipulated that it could not supply products to foreign car companies?"

It is impossible to keep this kind of information secret as the range of people involved is too wide.

However, this kind of clause will not be written directly into the contract. If it is written into the contract, you will encounter a lot of trouble.

“There is such a statement, but it is just a soft requirement.”

"The problem is that we are a joint venture, and Chinese capital accounts for more than 75 percent. Why can't they supply us?"

He complained in his heart: You also know that you are a Chinese company. For the same product, America's after-tax price is only two-thirds of China's pre-tax price.

On the surface, he was very polite: “The main reason is that NIO and Xpeng signed a supply agreement in advance.

Our current production capacity can only meet the needs of these two companies. We can fully cooperate after the capacity is expanded."

China's local car companies have squeezed out the living space of joint venture and overseas car companies.

The most nervous among them is Volkswagen, as the Chinese market provides them with more than 40% of their revenue.

Volkswagen can be said to be the best-selling joint venture brand in China. Their transformation focus in recent years has also been on new energy.

In the five-year plan formulated in 2021, Volkswagen plans to invest 900 billion euros in research and development in the field of new energy.

The fact that super lithium batteries are not supplied to Volkswagen has a huge impact on its sales.

The sales volume of new energy vehicles has dropped precipitously.

The person in charge of Volkswagen directly contacted Kechuang Biotechnology. After a fruitless communication, the other party directly said cryptically:

"If Sinovation Biotech continues to use its technological advantages to implement differentiated market treatment, Sinovation Biotech will face administrative measures to restrict your selective licensing of technology."

Kechuang Bio may not be as profitable as Volkswagen in terms of revenue, but it does not need to worry about the threat from Volkswagen. Cheng Gang said directly: "We do not selectively license nor do we treat people differently."

"We just prefer domestic suppliers and hope to cultivate domestic companies. Volkswagen will also give priority to German companies in this regard. Our practices are consistent, and you have no right to blame us."

"As for who to license the technology to, this is an internal matter of our company and we don't need you to dictate."

(End of this chapter)