Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 656 They started arguing
"Gentlemen," Barrett began, his voice low, "I think we don't need to look at any more data reports. The Moc-os system from China is no longer a regional problem; it is becoming a challenger to the foundation of the Wintel alliance."

He gestured, and the projection screen behind him lit up, displaying several shocking data charts.
Momo OS's market share in China has shown an almost vertical upward trend, while Windows' market share has plummeted.

The following are shipment forecasts for Honor computers and their affiliated ODM manufacturers, as well as a performance comparison chart of the M-series processors based on the ARM architecture.

“The loss of market share is just the surface,” Barrett emphasized. “What’s more serious is that they are building a closed ecosystem completely independent of the Wintel system, from operating systems and application software to terminal hardware.”

Barrett glanced at Ballmer and said, "They seem to be following the same path they took before you were sanctioned."

Ballmer scoffed, "They took advantage of our open platform and learned our technology, but now they want to kick us out of China. This is nothing short of blatant robbery!"

His words were full of anger.

The latest battle report that Waters sent back from China infuriated him.

China is, after all, their largest dumping market. Now that China's foundation is in jeopardy, it's as if the foundation of most of Asia is unstable.

“Calm down, my friend,” Barrett smiled. “In business competition, there is no betrayal, only interests. What we need now is a solution, not anger.”

An Intel senior vice president of technology adjusted his glasses and said cautiously, "From a technical point of view, Momo OS is based on a Unix-like architecture, which is completely different from Windows. Although this system is outdated, it is closed and secure enough. It is not easy to suppress them from a technical point of view."

A Microsoft vice president of strategy commented, "What's more troublesome is their ecosystem strategy. They are rapidly migrating users by controlling offline traffic entry points such as internet cafes and university computer labs, as well as the soft withdrawal of Momo's apps. Once this ecosystem barrier, based on a huge user base and app binding, is formed, it is very difficult to break. So we must act quickly."

The meeting fell into a brief silence.

The Wintel alliance has dominated the PC industry for decades, relying on the ecological barrier built by the golden combination of Intel chips and Microsoft Windows.

The Intel senior vice president of technology pondered for a moment, then steered the conversation back to the core issue, saying, "We must now find the link in their ecosystem that is most dependent on external factors."

Pointing his laser pointer at the hardware data on the projection screen, he said, "We can't break through their operating system and application ecosystem in the short term because of their advantage in the local market, but they are powerless when it comes to hardware, especially chips."

He paused, looked around at everyone, and slowly said, "Honor Computer, Lianxiang Computer, Hasee Computer... these are the main promoters of the Momo system. Their lifeline is the X86 architecture CPU, and globally, only Intel and AMD can stably supply high-performance X86 CPUs."

“That is indeed a solution,” Intel’s strategy officer added at the opportune moment. “What would happen if Intel and AMD reached an agreement to simultaneously suspend the supply of CPUs to these manufacturers that are clearly focused on the Momo system? Their production lines would come to a standstill within weeks, and the day their inventory runs out would be the day their computer business comes to a standstill.”

"Without a hardware platform, even the best operating system is just a castle in the air. Users cannot buy new computers pre-installed with the Momo system, their need to replace existing devices cannot be met, and they cannot even get warranty service. Their ecosystem expansion momentum will inevitably shrink."

Barrett nodded slightly, turned his gaze to Ballmer, and smiled, "Ballmer, this is a theoretically feasible strategy, but the key lies with Superway. That old fox Hector will not easily give up readily available orders and market share for our common interests, especially when our two companies are competing so fiercely."

"If you want to persuade him, it is best for you to do it. After all, Microsoft and AMD have a lot of room for cooperation in areas such as game consoles and enterprise solutions."

Ballmer instantly understood Barrett's intention.

Intel needs AMD's cooperation, but doesn't want to bear the cost of persuading AMD alone. For Intel, having Microsoft step in and use the software ecosystem and future cooperation as bait to bring AMD into the game is the best option.

Ballmer took a deep breath, his brain racing.

After weighing the pros and cons, he realized that this might be the most effective way to immediately damage the Momo OS ecosystem.

Temporary concessions and costs are acceptable as long as their hardware foundation can be stifled.

“Okay!” Ballmer slowly stood up and said, “I’ll go talk to Hector. Barrett, I need your assurance that once AMD agrees, Intel must act in sync with AMD without any delays.”

Barrett nodded solemnly and smiled, "Of course, although we have had some minor disagreements over IBM, the foundation of the Wintel alliance is unshakable. On this matter, we stand together."

“Okay.” Ballmer knew Barrett meant it.

After all, in the business world, no one would turn down money.

A few days later, at the headquarters of AMD in Sunnyvale, California.

Unlike the modern feel of Intel's headquarters, the atmosphere here is more pragmatic and even somewhat conservative.

In CEO Hector's sleek office, Ballmer sat across from Hector at a table.

Without much small talk, Ballmer got straight to the point, revealing Intel's analysis and the plan for a joint supply cut.

"Hector, that's the situation. The rise of the Momo system is not only a crisis for Microsoft, but also a challenge to the entire x86 ecosystem. If they succeed, the future PC market landscape will be completely changed. Once this closed and exclusive new ecosystem is formed, both Intel and AMD will be marginalized."

Hector leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped on the table, his face expressionless.

He is a shrewd businessman, known for his caution and ability to survive in the cracks between giants, and is known in the business world as Brother Loach.

“Ballmer,” Hector said slowly, his voice steady, “I understand your and Intel’s concerns, but you must understand what the Chinese market means to AMD. In recent years, it is precisely through cooperation with manufacturers such as Honor and Hasee in the Chinese market that our market share and revenue have been able to steadily increase.”

"If the supply is cut off, it means that we will give up this hard-won piece of the pie and hand the market back to Intel. This is not in the interests of AMD shareholders."

He paused, then continued, "Moreover, this blatant joint supply cut-off violates commercial contracts and will inevitably trigger severe legal disputes and public backlash. China will not sit idly by; they may launch an anti-monopoly investigation or even take more severe countermeasures. Chaowei will have to bear a large part of this risk on its own."

Ballmer knew Hector wouldn't give in easily, so he quickly smiled and said, "Hector, I understand your concerns. Microsoft won't let AMD bear the losses and risks alone."

“We’ve come up with a few compensation options that I think you’ll be interested in.”

"Oh? Tell me about it." Hector's small eyes gleamed with shrewdness.

"Our game consoles can prioritize using AMD's APU design, and we will offer you the greatest concessions in terms of price and cooperation terms. You should be well aware of the profitability and stability of this business."

"In addition, we can consider appropriately increasing the proportion of AMD's EPYC processors in enterprise-level server procurement, and provide you with more support in promoting joint solutions." "We can even give AMD more lenient optimization in some non-core graphics processing, and you should be well aware of the value of this."

Hector laughed and said, "Of course I know. You've been helping NVIDIA suppress us. The optimization effects you've given them are more than three times that of ours."

“From now on, you will enjoy the same treatment as NVIDIA and start on the same footing.” Ballmer looked at Hector and smiled.

He knew that these three conditions were enough to drive Hector, that slippery eel, crazy.

Hector remained silent for a long time, his mind racing with a difficult decision.

Ballmer's offer was indeed tempting, especially the collaboration on game consoles, which was something Supermicro had been eager to strengthen.

While a joint supply cut-off carries enormous risks, if executed properly, it could indeed severely damage the competitor threatening the traditional x86 paradigm in the short term.

Moreover, Intel's involvement also helped to share the risks and criticism to some extent.

But he also knew that this was a dangerous gamble.

If the Chinese market reacts more strongly than expected, or if Momo Group finds an alternative, or even if Intel suddenly turns against them, AMD may face long-term market losses.

After a long period of thought, Hector finally raised his head and said, "Ballmer, your conditions are very sincere, but that's not enough. I need Microsoft to commit to ensuring that AMD's market share in the consumer CPU market remains stable at a certain percentage over the next three years, and that there is no hidden bias towards Intel products when it comes to operating system-level optimization."

“You’re such a greedy person,” Ballmer chuckled. “Well, what can I say? I can only wish us a pleasant collaboration.”

This was an extremely demanding condition, essentially requiring Microsoft to be bound to Supermicro to some extent. But considering the enormous threat posed by Momo OS, Ballmer didn't bother with it.

Thinking about it carefully, having another AMD to counterbalance Intel isn't so bad.

With their hands clasped together, a joint effort to strangle their rival in the Far East was thus achieved.

Once the agreement was reached, the operation was launched swiftly.

Intel and AMD's legal, public relations, and sales teams, under strict confidentiality, simultaneously prepared formal notification letters for target customers such as Lianxiang, Honor, and Hasee, as well as public announcements.

A week later, the storm arrived without warning.

First, Intel issued a statement through its official website and major global financial media outlets:
[Intel's Statement Regarding Adjustments to Supply Policies for Certain Customers]

Based on an ongoing assessment of the long-term stability and potential risks of the global supply chain, and in order to ensure a healthy competitive environment in the industry, Intel Corporation has decided to suspend the supply of all Intel processors and related chipset products to Lianxiang Group, Honor Computer Co., Ltd., Digital China and their affiliated entities, effective immediately.

We have noticed that some of these partners’ business practices may deviate from the long-term goal of building an open and innovative global technology ecosystem.

This move is a prudent business decision, and Intel will continue to be committed to providing leading products and technical support to customers around the world.

Almost at the same hour, AMD's announcement followed:

[AMD's Update on Business Partners]

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has always adhered to the principle of win-win cooperation.

After careful evaluation, we believe that the current cooperation model with companies such as Lianxiang, Glory, and Shenzhou may not fully align with Chaowei's long-term commitment to the healthy development of the industry and technological innovation.

Therefore, we have decided to suspend the supply of all AMD processor products to the aforementioned companies.

At the same time, we will continue to work with like-minded partners around the world to advance computing technology.

These two carefully worded yet clearly targeted statements, like two bombshells, instantly ignited the global technology and financial sectors.

[Wintel alliance joins forces to block chip supply, Chinese PC manufacturers face chip shortage.]

[Intel and AMD jointly target the Momo OS ecosystem with precise targeting.]

The global PC industry chain faces a crisis of fragmentation, with the shadow of a technological cold war looming.

This major international event was featured on the headlines of major news outlets around the world.

The capital market reacted violently. Lianxiang Group, whose stock price had soared due to Momo Group's investment, saw its Hong Kong stock price plummet, quickly triggering the circuit breaker mechanism.

Even the entire Chinese technology sector was affected, and the domestic capital market was in dire straits.

Less than three days after Intel and AMD issued their joint statement, Enze Capital, headquartered in London, UK, simultaneously released a strong statement.

This is an official statement jointly signed by Lei Busi, Chairman of Enze Capital, and Mike, President, which has been disseminated to every corner of the world through Global Vision, one of the world's top ten media outlets.

[Enze Capital's Solemn Statement Regarding the Unfair Competition Practices of the Wintel Alliance]

Enze Capital strongly condemns the joint supply cut by Intel and AMD.

This move is a blatant act of unfair competition and commercial bullying based on market dominance, which seriously violates the spirit of the free market and basic principles of commercial contracts, and is an open disruption to the healthy development of the global technology industry.

Enze Capital hereby solemnly declares that the largest shareholder of Momo Group is Enze Capital, which is registered in an EU member state and governed and protected by EU law. The Wintel alliance's targeted attack on Momo Group and its partners is essentially an unreasonable suppression and exclusion of European companies.

We strongly suspect that this action is intended to curb the rational allocation and healthy development of European capital in the global technology sector!
(End of this chapter)