Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 604 Top Talents Study Science and Engineering
In late March, a sizable fleet of commercial vehicles arrived in a small town on the outskirts of Tongcheng.

The convoy entered the town and went directly into a large factory area. A very conspicuous sign hung outside the factory: Zhiyun Microelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. Factory No. 39!
Factory No. 39 is the third large-scale advanced 3D packaging process factory under Zhiyun Microelectronics, and it is also the most technologically advanced 3D packaging process factory in the world. It applies Zhiyun Microelectronics' second-generation 3D packaging process. The factory has just completed small-scale trial production and large-scale mass production technology verification and testing tasks.

Next, it will enter mass production.

The large-scale production of the 39th factory will directly increase Zhiyun Microelectronics' 3D packaging capacity by 60%, and will significantly increase the packaging capacity of advanced processes such as APO6000 series graphics cards, EYQ6 terminal computing chips, and ZY40 large-scale data processing chips.

The three types of chips mentioned above represent the most advanced chips in the current Zhiyun Group technology, and are also the most advanced mass-produced chips in human technology.

The logic chip cores of the aforementioned chips all utilize the top-of-the-line equivalent 5-nanometer process from Zhiyun Microelectronics.

Because it is a computing chip, it also encapsulates HBM3.5 high-speed, high-bandwidth memory, which is currently the most advanced second-generation HBM3 high-speed, high-bandwidth memory under Zhiyun Storage.

The packaging process uses second-generation 3D advanced packaging technology.

At the same time, these three types of chips are also the main chips supporting many core businesses of Zhiyun Group.

The APO6000 series graphics cards are not only used extensively in our computing centers and the newly released flagship virtual machine S4, but are also supplied to external customers on a large scale. Although the APO6000 graphics cards have only been sold to external customers for a few months, they have already become the most profitable product of Zhiyun Group. The total profit they contribute each month has exceeded that of the S20 series mobile phones released last year.

The EYQ6 chip, used in the intelligent robots of Zhiyun Group, is the core chip of the intelligent robot's computing power system. It is the brain of the robot and is responsible for the development of the entire robot business. At the same time, starting this summer, the chip will also be used in the high-end models of Hailan Auto, providing more computing power support for the next generation of L4 level autonomous driving.

The ZY40 chip, part of the ZY series, is a 'dedicated chip for large-scale data processing' developed by Zhiyun Group specifically for artificial intelligence terminal devices. It provides ample data processing capabilities for devices such as robots and virtual machines, and the ZY40 chip is the most advanced series among them.

All three of the most advanced top-tier chips mentioned above require the support of 3D packaging technology!
In other words, the production capacity of 3D packaging technology also limits their production capacity.

Putting everything else aside, the supply of APO6000 graphics cards is far from meeting demand, and major companies have to wait in long queues to receive their orders... The direct reason is that Zhiyun Group's 3D packaging capacity is insufficient!

Even though Zhuyun Group's 3D packaging capacity accounts for more than 95% of the global 3D packaging capacity, it is still not enough...

To address the issue of insufficient advanced packaging capacity, Zhuyun Group has invested heavily in capacity expansion in the packaging field over the past few years.

The 39th plant is an important part of the advanced packaging process capacity expansion plan: it is a super-large 3D packaging process factory with a larger capacity than the previous two plants.

After more than two years of intensive construction, equipment installation and debugging, it has finally ushered in the day of official large-scale mass production.

To this end, Ding Chengjun, Senior Vice President of Zhiyun Group and CEO of Zhiyun Microelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., led a team to the 39th Factory to hold a mass production ceremony.

After attending the mass production ceremony, Ding Chengjun attended a press conference at Zhiyun Microelectronics, where he introduced some basic information about the 39th factory to the media and also announced some of Zhiyun Microelectronics' plans in the field of advanced packaging.

The reporters were most concerned about the production capacity of 3D packaging technology!
This is related to the production capacity of the APO6000 graphics card, and also to the current development of the field of artificial intelligence... A large number of companies around the world, including Zhiyun Group itself, have a huge demand for this graphics card.

Its production capacity directly affects the rate at which global artificial intelligence computing power increases!

In response, Ding Chengjun explained, "With the commissioning of the 39th factory, our Zhiyun Microelectronics' 3D packaging capacity will increase by 60%. At the same time, last winter, our second equivalent 5-nanometer factory also entered full production, and our second BMH3 memory factory also went into production in January of this year!"

"By combining these three factors, our Zhiyun Microelectronics will see a significant increase in production capacity for advanced computing chips to meet the ever-growing market demand!"

"At the same time, we are continuing to expand our capacity for advanced manufacturing processes and are constantly exploring even more advanced processes!"

Although the answer was brief, it contained a lot of information... Although this information was not exactly a secret, industry insiders who were interested could find information about the commissioning of the second 5-nanometer process plant and the second BMH3 plant in some of the publicly available information from Zhiyun Group, and even the specific production capacity could be found.

After all, Zhiyun Group doesn't keep these things secret; they release press releases about them.

Many related companies, especially those that ordered APO6000 graphics cards, have been notified that the delivery date for their orders is expected to be several months earlier... meaning they need to prepare the money to pay the remaining balance!

These are all major clients with very large order amounts, often hundreds of millions of dollars, and some clients even have orders worth billions of dollars. Although a portion of the funds has already been paid as a deposit when the order is placed, the remaining amount is still considerable.

Such a large amount of funding requires these large enterprises to prepare in advance.

These companies are naturally very happy that Zhiyun Group was able to deliver the goods ahead of schedule... The development of the field of artificial intelligence is becoming more and more rapid every day. Even without considering developing their own underlying algorithm models, the scale of application using the open-source GTAI model is enormous.

In the current internet field, there are countless generative services based on GTAI in various software, and the demand for computing power is getting bigger and bigger... Most medium and large-scale internet companies will purchase APO6000 graphics cards and then use them to deploy GTAI to provide various artificial intelligence-based services for their own internet content businesses.

The world's leading internet giants have spent billions, even tens of billions of dollars, to build computing centers.

Even larger companies, including those in traditional manufacturing, are starting to deploy GTAI to improve production efficiency.

The core element of these computing centers is the APO series graphics cards, especially the most advanced APO6000 graphics card.

The early delivery of the APO6000 graphics cards by Zhiyun Group is a great thing for them... Of course, raising the funds is also a troublesome matter.

With the large-scale production of 3D packaging technology at its 39th factory, Zhiyun Group's production capacity of various top-tier computing chips has also increased accordingly.

This will also bring more revenue and profit to Zhiyun Group.

However, Xu Shenxue no longer pays much attention to these things; he focuses on next-generation technologies and the future.

The Zhuyun Group is already doing very well in several core areas, and it can develop very well without Xu Shenxue having to manage it too much.

Now, Xu Shenxue is focusing on some cutting-edge technologies to ensure that the Yuzhi Group can still lead its competitors in technology in the next few years or even ten or twenty years and continue to develop new businesses.

If a company wants to survive and thrive in the long run, it cannot afford to be complacent... otherwise it will become a negative example, like Nokia and Motorola.

They were so powerful in the feature phone era, but they were easily defeated in the smartphone era and then taken down by Zhiyun and Apple.

In the era of smartphones, it wasn't just these two companies that went out of business; a whole host of domestic and international mobile phone manufacturers, camera manufacturers, and others also perished.

Zhuyun Group's early rise was built on the corpses of these companies.

Xu Shenxue will not allow Zhiyun Group to become a stepping stone for the rise of other companies in the next possible major technological revolution.

In the great technological revolution of the future, Zhiyun Group must be involved, and even become a leading enterprise in driving technological change!

This is also the core reason why Xu Shenxue spares no effort in promoting the research and development of various cutting-edge technologies!

Resting on past glories and waiting to die won't work; you'll eventually be finished... Let's not talk about the distant future; just look at the present. The core business pillar of Zhiyun Group's early rise—the smart terminal business—has been showing a continuous decline in recent years... There's no way around it; the overall smart terminal market has entered a saturated market, competition continues to intensify, and there haven't been any major technological breakthroughs. Under such circumstances, even Zhiyun Group is finding it difficult to stabilize its revenue and profits.

Even a strong business like smart terminals is now declining. Who dares to say that the currently booming computing chip business, robotics business, and virtual business will not encounter any problems in the future?
To avoid potential problems in the future, we must continue to invest in the exploration of new technologies, especially cutting-edge technologies.

Highly qualified personnel are indispensable for conducting cutting-edge technology research and development.

In late March, Xu Shenxue attended a strategic cooperation meeting between Zhiyun Group and South China University. Zhiyun Group provided funding and equipment, while the university provided personnel and facilities to jointly establish a joint research and development center, which is a very typical example of university-enterprise cooperation.

Zhiyun Group frequently engages in this kind of activity, and has already established joint R&D centers with more than 20 top universities in China.

Relying on these joint R&D centers, the participating universities will increase enrollment in specific majors and utilize the funding and equipment provided by the joint R&D centers to cultivate more high-caliber talents.

Some universities even collaborate with Zhiyun Group to run schools. Tongcheng Semiconductor College is a typical example, which is dedicated to training high-end talents in semiconductor design and manufacturing for Zhiyun Group.

This strategic cooperation with South China University is not the first time, but rather a further deepening of the existing cooperation between the two parties.

At a later press conference, the two parties jointly announced that Zhiyun Group will provide at least 20 billion yuan in funding over the next five years for the joint R&D center, creating a top-tier R&D center integrating teaching and scientific research.

In essence, Zhiyun Group's collaborations with universities involve paying them to train the talent it needs.
Most of the talents trained will directly join Zhiyun Group.

The schools, on the other hand, gain more funding and equipment, and also obtain very impressive graduate employment data...

The number of graduates who can join a top-tier company like Zhiyun Group each year is the most effective recruitment tool right now!
Look at Guangcheng University. It used to be just an ordinary 211 university, but because it was Xu Shenxue's alma mater, it got the opportunity to cooperate with Zhiyun Group early on, to set up a joint research and development center and jointly run schools.

Then, Zhiyun Group also conducts large-scale campus recruitment at Guangcheng University every year, and the acceptance rate is relatively high... which has led to rumors that Zhiyun Group's campus recruitment in Guangcheng is less difficult than that of other schools.

Under such circumstances, a significant number of the school's graduates are able to successfully join the Zhiyun Group every year... and that's the Zhiyun Group!

With an average median annual salary approaching one million, a world-class stage, and a respectable social status, this is a top company that countless fresh graduates dream of joining!

Zhiyun's regular large-scale campus recruitment usually targets 985 universities, with very few 211 universities recruited, and on a smaller scale. However, Guangcheng University is one of the few exceptions...

As it turns out, this school's admission scores are higher than most 985 universities!
Even if the high school seniors don't know, their parents and teachers certainly do...

It's hard to say about other majors, but if you can get into one of the top-tier programs, such as Electronic Information Engineering, then you've basically got one foot in the door of Zhiyun Group.

Every year, Zhiyun Group recruits a large number of fresh graduates in this major from Guangcheng University, and the acceptance rate is very high.

Many students apply to these prestigious majors because they want to work for Zhuyun Group!

For most people, going to school and applying to university is ultimately about finding a good job after graduation...

This is also why most high school seniors in China today tend to choose science and engineering majors when applying to universities.

The reason is quite simple: science and engineering majors are more likely to find jobs, have relatively higher incomes, and have a greater chance of earning high incomes and a respectable social status. Most importantly, they do not need to rely on family resources... as long as the students themselves are good enough.

Unlike many liberal arts majors, which are often wasted if family resources are limited, finding a satisfactory job is very difficult.

Perhaps top liberal arts students, such as top talents like Wang Hua who are good at finance, can earn very high incomes, even more than most science and engineering professionals... But how many investment gurus like Wang Hua are there in total?
How many is that across the whole country?

Even if Wang Hua didn't work at Zhiyun Group, but instead worked for an investment fund or other company, he would be at the senior management level.

The vast majority of people who study finance, management, marketing, or other humanities-oriented majors, if they don't have much family resources, either end up as salespeople or low-level clerks or other ordinary clerical jobs... and their income is relatively low.

Unlike STEM fields, where studying a good major and working hard in school makes it relatively easier to find a job after graduation, with more opportunities to enter medium-sized or larger companies and earn higher incomes, it doesn't require relying on family resources.

Moreover, the vast majority of those recruited by Zhiyun Group through its annual campus recruitment and social recruitment are science and engineering talents, while the number of positions for liberal arts talents is very small!
This also led to a very competitive admission process for liberal arts students at Zhiyun Group... When recruiting experienced professionals, they only hire master's and doctoral graduates from top universities.

In the third business division of the strategic investment department where Wang Hua works, the new colleagues who joined this year are all PhDs from Tsinghua and Peking Universities... Wang Hua has learned a little about them and knows that these new colleagues were all top students during their school years, and they are the kind with both high IQ and EQ, and they were mentored by famous teachers!
This is much more complicated than when Wang Hua joined Zhiyun Group.

However, it is relatively easier for science and engineering talents to join Zhiyun Group... Since they recruit more people, the requirements will naturally be slightly more lenient.

Parents of students naturally consider the employment situation when their children take the college entrance exam... and as a result, many of them go on to study science and engineering majors.

Especially for outstanding students from average families with limited resources, studying science and engineering is an excellent choice.

When applying to universities, some of the top high school seniors not only value prestigious universities, but also universities that have in-depth cooperation with Zhiyun Group, such as Guangzhou University and Shenzhen University.

Despite the extensive collaborations between Zhiyun Group and universities, and the significant amount of money invested annually in talent development, Xu Shenxue still feels it's not enough...

To be precise, there isn't a enough supply of top-tier talent... as for ordinary talent, there's plenty to be found.

This is also why, under Xu Shenxue's leadership, Zhiyun Group and South China University reached a new round of cooperation this year... Not only South China University, but Zhiyun Group is also in talks with other 985 universities to increase its efforts in cultivating top talents in specific majors.

With a sufficient talent pool, Liuhe Investment's Thousand Talents Program can acquire enough outstanding candidates and then select a sufficient number of top talents from them!

Starting in March, Liuhe Investment's Human Resources Department officially launched the fourth phase of its "Thousand Talents Program," which will select promising talents from across the country for special funding.

The Thousand Talents Program primarily selects university students... however, there is one group that receives special attention but is an exception.

Those are a very small number of high school students who have not yet entered university but have already achieved excellent results in various science competitions!

When admissions officers from top universities begin contacting these promising students who excel in competitions and signing various guaranteed admission agreements.

The human resources department of Liuhe Investment is also traveling all over the country to find and evaluate these top talents with potential!
Once he passes the review and approval of Liuhe Investment's human resources department and is included in the Thousand Talents Program... a scholarship and other resources that are astronomical for an ordinary family and an ordinary student will be directly showered upon him!
To exaggerate a bit, it's no different from a pie falling from the sky!
Now, the father of Wen Junda, a senior high school student in a small city in central China, received a strange phone call: a person claiming to be a human resources specialist from Liuhe Investment said that his son had been selected for the preliminary candidate list of their Thousand Talents Program and hoped to have the opportunity to visit them and their son Wen Junda!

He was still confused after receiving the call. What the heck was this?
But not long after, he received a call from the principal of his son's school, saying that someone from Liuhe Investment wanted to talk to them and hoped that he would take it seriously.

This is strange... If it were an admissions officer from a prestigious university, it wouldn't be strange to him; he would be used to it.

Because his son won first prize in the International Physics Competition, a bunch of schools are vying to sign him up for admission without examination. However, it's no use for other schools to come; his son has his sights set on Tsinghua and Peking Universities and is about to sign an admission agreement with them.

But Liuhe Investment's Thousand Talents Program, what is that? I've never heard of it before!
(End of this chapter)