What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 456 Articles of Association
When Yu Kai first visited Lingang, Yu Xing mentioned the name "Carbon Silicon Data Company" and talked about mining the value of data. This was not just empty talk.

He had made forward-looking judgments about the different stages of internet development that he had discussed in public when he first started his business.

However, what I'm saying to Yu Kai now is the truth. I am optimistic about this field, but my plan is to wait until the carbon silicon data industry has further developed and I have the resources to join it more leisurely.

However, top experts don't wait for anyone; if you miss it, it might be gone forever.

Just like the secret acquisition Yu Kai himself mentioned, Google bought Jeffrey Hinton's company, bringing him and his team directly into its fold, making it very difficult to seek contact with such a person again afterward.

Including Yu Kai himself, an expert who, upon returning to China, prompted Baidu to establish a deep learning research institute centered around him, may lose his enthusiasm and energy to promote such things once this trend passes.

If Yu Kai wants to start a business and have his own projects, he must concentrate his efforts, and the hardware-oriented travel solutions are themselves a challenge.

Yu Xing found it hard to refuse such an enthusiastic "embrace," even though the timing seemed a bit awkward.

“Dr. Yu has a vision, but he hasn’t mentioned funding for such an organization.” Lü Haiying understood her senior’s intentions and, at the end of the presentation, raised a key question, half-jokingly saying, “Is he afraid of scaring us away?”

Yu Kai didn't really want to talk about this today, or he probably preferred to discuss it privately with President Yu.

Even now, seeing Mr. Yu's relatively straightforward support, he still hesitated and said, "If only, if only we could have 1 million US dollars."

Lu Haiying had some expectations, but her expression still darkened slightly upon hearing this.

The other people in the meeting room had similar reactions.

Yang Zhenyuan couldn't help but exclaim, "Good heavens, Dr. Yu, good heavens... If everyone in the country could give me a dollar, that would be wonderful."

He remembered his dreams from his youth.

“We can’t do illegal fundraising.” Yu Xing frowned slightly at the numbers Yu Kai mentioned, but still smiled and said, “Raising funds is fine, this money…”

He pondered for a while, thinking about the Silicon Carbon Group, then about Silicon Carbon Data, and even considered Mount Peak or cryptocurrency, but felt it was still difficult to raise the funds by force.

The timing issue is that if you know that money can be turned into more money when it's being used, it's hard to invest it in such projects.

Yu Kai stared intently at President Yu, fearing that he might overturn his previous decision to support the project once he heard about the funding amount.

“The giants have money, Baidu does, but they’re not that willing to invest, right?” Yu Xing said after thinking for a while. “Dr. Yu, you see, it’s not easy to come up with the money just by discussing it like this. Could you draft an invitation list, whether it’s full-time or part-time, as an advisor or committee member or something? You can get the list, and then I’ll help you raise funds. Even talking to Tencent isn’t out of the question.”

Yu Kai was genuinely touched when he heard what President Yu said.

He nodded, naturally willing to draft a membership charter, and having come this far, he already had a general idea of ​​the scope.

Since Yu Xing was determined to bring this together, he continued, "If the company is willing to invest, then we can share the technology. Hmm, it seems difficult to make a profit from this. But if you have a list of people, you might be able to get funding from venture capital firms. IDG and Capital Today are unwilling because of Carbon Silicon Data's position. Now is a critical period for development here."

"The funding potential in this area is huge, after all, there are many institutions, and if each one contributes a little, it can still raise a lot."

"Dr. Yu, it just so happens that your company also needs financing. Why don't we meet together? Even if we can't reach an agreement on A, perhaps we can reach an agreement on B, which would be a good thing."

"Hmm, I'll help you make arrangements, about thirty or forty families, and see how enthusiastic everyone is."

Yu Xing quickly provided financial solutions.

Yu Kai said sincerely, "President Yu, you are better than..."

He only said half of what he truly felt before stopping.

"Stop criticizing Robin, the situation is different," Yu Xing interjected.

Yu Kai laughed heartily, "I didn't say who it was."

Yang Zhenyuan said, "In all my years working on Baidu, even if you only mention half of it, I know who it is."

The presentation on "deep learning" achieved excellent results in Lingang.

However, Yu Kai's appetite was too big.

Zhong Zhiling found it difficult not to privately confirm this with his senior: "Xing-ge, you and Dr. Yu promised that Silicon Carbon Data would invest money, and this amount..."

"Can we squeeze in $1000 million?" Yu Xing asked his junior CEO for his opinion. "You guys discuss it. If it really doesn't work, we won't force it. Anyway, we're going to cast a wide net, and maybe we can raise more from outside."

Zhong Zhiling sensed that his senior's attitude was indeed not so forceful.

He pondered, “$1000 million is possible, but the question is how long this funding need will last. This time we can find institutions and perhaps raise money based on the list of top experts, but it will be difficult next time because a business model that impresses them will not appear anytime soon.”

Yu Xing nodded secretly; that made sense.

But he just laughed and said, "Let's live for today, deal with the present first, and think about the future later. Things will work themselves out."

Zhong Zhiling kept his expression unchanged, thinking to himself, "I'll fool as many people as I can."

“Besides, investing doesn’t guarantee profits.” Yu Xing shook his head. “Business models aren’t something you can just create. Our Carbon Silicon Data is different now than when we first started.”

Zhong Zhiling didn't continue the conversation on this topic. Xing Ge had already started to act a bit unreasonably, saying that the industry that Carbon Silicon Data was in was completely different.

"Anyway, it's up to everyone to decide. If you feel something is inappropriate, then just say so," Yu Xing stated.

Zhong Zhiling felt something was off and said directly, "Brother Xing, you've been a bit... approachable these past few days."

"It's because I saw Dr. Yu leave Baidu," Yu Xing laughed. "People either aren't paid enough or they've been wronged. I figured I should pay attention to that too, so I don't repeat the same mistake."

He truly hadn't expected that the collaboration between Ling Gang and silicon carbon would inspire Yu Kai's desire to leave, and then his willingness to promote the new Deep Academy. He couldn't help but ponder Yu Kai's mindset.

Zhong Zhiling: "..."

He thought for a while, not knowing how to evaluate it, and could only say, "Dr. Yu's destructiveness is indeed quite strong."

Yu Xing shrugged: "I didn't intend to sabotage anything."

Zhong Zhiling pursed his lips: "I meant Dr. Yu."

No, Xing-ge, do you really think you're a PhD?
Did you forget that you bought your doctorate?
Yu Xing noticed the suppressed smile on his junior's face, waved his hand, and left himself alone in the office to continue thinking about how to better facilitate the deal.

Although Yu Kai has not completely left Baidu, he has already stated his intention and handed over his work. Now that he has come to Lingang, no one really cares about him.

He squatted in Lingang, painstakingly compiling a list and calling each person to inquire, sometimes about science, sometimes about the future, sometimes about serving the country, and he quickly managed to entice a few people to join.

He then called Andrew Ng in Beijing, mentioning the project he was working on and hoping his friend could join in.

“I’m already at Baidu, isn’t that a bad idea?” Andrew Ng hesitated. “What’s wrong with it? Silicon Carbon Data is just an investment, it’s not like they’re in charge. It’s an inclusive and open organization,” Yu Kai said. “It’s not like you’re leaving Baidu, you can serve as an advisor. What’s wrong with having another organization researching deep learning in China? We can learn from others, and besides, who knows who might be the source of our expertise.”

Andrew Ng said with a wry smile, "Dr. Yu, what exactly are you trying to do by jumping around like this?"

"I just wanted to promote the development of deep learning and artificial intelligence," Yu Kai said earnestly, explaining his initial motivation. "It just so happened that Mr. Yu was willing to support us, so it was a perfect match."

Andrew Ng said, "It will develop, and Silicon Valley is paying more and more attention to it."

“It’s different. Not everyone is willing to stay in Silicon Valley, right? I called Li Feifei, and she’s also willing to come back to China.” Yu Kai laughed. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with trying something new. You can just register your name and chat to pass the time when you’re not working.”

Andrew Ng agreed to serve as an advisor.

After securing his friend's favor, Yu Kai excitedly informed President Yu about the matter.

He went to the office but couldn't find anyone, and then learned that General Manager Yu was test driving.

After Yu Xing finished test driving, he saw the preliminary list drawn up by Yu Kai and the addition of Andrew Ng. He smiled and said, "That's good. I know that Dr. Ng had a great reputation at Google before, which can be used to persuade Alibaba and others. However, Dr. Yu, if Alibaba and Tencent are willing to invest money, it is very likely that they will come with mandatory conditions, so... we need to think carefully about the organizational framework."

"Also, you've found someone suitable to handle this. Surely you're not giving up your business and planning to devote yourself entirely to this, are you?"

Yu Kai nodded, a few names flashing through his mind as he pondered the matter.

But he quickly put it aside, as it also requires communication and discussion with others before making a decision.

Yu Kai then brought up another matter that he was hesitant about: "Mr. Yu, I will talk to others again. Actually, we don't have to limit ourselves to Chinese people. As long as the treatment is good and the mission is lofty enough, we can also attract overseas elites. However, I came here today to ask you for advice. I have decided on the company name, 'Horizon,' but the main direction is a bit difficult to determine. Whether it is robotics or autonomous driving, the implementation time of both is hard to say."

He is a world-leading machine learning expert with an impressive resume, but he has never started a business. When he really had to consider leaving Baidu, he suddenly found himself overwhelmed with questions.

In particular, since Mr. Yu is willing to lead meetings with many venture capitalists, the outline of the project needs to be clarified as soon as possible.

Yu Kai tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. Suddenly, he thought of President Yu, who was right in front of him. This man had a wealth of entrepreneurial experience!
“I thought you’d figured it all out.” Yu Xing looked at Yu Kai with some surprise. “Well… that’s normal. Actually, many people start businesses based on passion alone, but yours…”

He took out two cigarettes and handed one to him.

Yu Xing did not give a clear conclusion. After taking a few puffs of his cigarette, he said, "Your entrepreneurial field is one I haven't thought about in detail, but there are commonalities in business. If both are difficult, then you definitely can't do both. It's right to make choices."

"I think, Dr. Yu, you first need to figure out who your customers are, then figure out their pain points and needs, and finally, what better ways do you have to meet their pain points and needs?"

"The best approach is one that is difficult for others to replicate."

Yu Kai focused his attention, waited for a while without any further developments, and then asked in surprise, "That's it?"

"That's all? What else do you want me to say?" Yu Xing couldn't help but chuckle. "Do you want me to write you a project proposal? You have to figure out your own project yourself. If you can measure these things and then effectively promote it, maybe you'll be halfway to success."

Yu Kai pressed further: "And the other half?"

Yu Xing sincerely said, "Finding a partner depends on luck."

Yu Kai: "..."

He thought President Yu was joking.

“I’m serious. Just like you wanted to start this new Deep Academy, you’re lucky to have met me,” Yu Xing said with a smile. “If it were someone else, the country probably wouldn’t be willing to spend money and send people to support you like this.”

Yu Kai then revealed, "President Yu, I was thinking that if Lingang doesn't support us, we can try Lin'an and Pengcheng instead."

"To put Lingang ahead of the three giants, Dr. Yu, you've already thought highly of me." Yu Xing wasn't angry and still smiled. "You should come with me to visit them later. They're really rich. I was just trying to bring them together."

Their conversation naturally drifted back to the new Deep Academy.

After receiving support from General Manager Yu, Yu Kai actually gained more confidence and had certain aspirations for his fundraising efforts.

However, he soon realized that reality was still reality.

On April 20, Alibaba CEO Ma Chuan attended an event in Shanghai.

When Yu Xing saw the news in Lingang, he thought that there was no time like the present, so he simply called Ma Chuan and invited him to come and discuss the future.

Despite a minor unpleasantness earlier, Ma Chuan still came with curiosity about the carbon silicon group's trams.

He visited the prototype of the "Kyushu" car and couldn't help but marvel at it.

However, when he met Yu Kai, listened to his story, and even saw the preliminary list of members, he still gave his opinion frankly.

"Alibaba can't invest in this; I don't think it's a good investment."

"Mr. Yu, I suggest you don't invest either."

"What's the point of stretching something over 20 or 50 years, with so many variables?"

Ma Chuan expressed his strong opinion, even advising Yu Xing to withdraw his investment.

Yu Kai was furious at Mr. Ma's reaction, his face flushing red.

“Maybe it won’t take that long,” Yu Xing laughed. “Twenty years is too long. I think five or ten years is still a good time to invest and hope.”

Upon hearing this, Ma Chuan directly asked Yu Kai, "Dr. Yu, can you develop an effective machine learning solution in five or ten years?"

Yu Kai frowned; he couldn't guarantee that.

Seeing that he did not answer, Ma Chuan looked at Yu Xing.

Yu Xing thought for a moment and said, "I think this is quite interesting. If it succeeds, it could bring about a lot of change, and Alibaba doesn't lack that little bit of money."

Ma Chuan shook his head: "Ali should do the right thing, not the interesting thing."

Yu Xing smiled at Yu Kai: "Dr. Yu, President Ma has rejected you, but you will face many more rejections. I suggest you name your organization 'Morning Enlightenment'."

As you hear the news, you can die in the evening.

Ma Chuan laughed heartily and joked, "This is like throwing money in the morning and dying with it all gone by evening."

Yu Kai sighed, a fitting translation already forming in his mind: Dawn of Nous. But it seemed that exploring the origins of intelligence would have to proceed despite pessimism from figures like Mr. Ma.

(End of this chapter)