Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 667 Compromise
The negotiations stalled again and ended in discord once more.

Following the failure of these negotiations, the EU immediately hinted that if this approach proves unsuccessful, it will have to consider initiating the "European Automotive Chip Security Act," using national security as a pretext to set higher standards for automotive-grade chips from non-European sources, and even provide substantial subsidies to support domestic alternatives.

Washington is under increasing pressure as it senses the EU's do-or-die determination and the enormous costs of a potential trade conflict.

The White House National Security Council also began to assess the situation, concluding that it would be a losing proposition to completely sever ties with one of the most important allies for the sake of a niche market.

During another crucial video conference, Deputy Secretary Harrison's tone softened considerably, stating, "Madam Commissioner, we understand your concerns about supply chain security in certain areas. However, we must ensure that any efforts toward self-reliance are strictly confined to clearly defined automotive-grade standards and comply with WTO rules, without creating spillover effects that could impact other semiconductor trade."

Commissioner Margaret astutely seized upon the other party's softening stance and immediately responded: "We can make a clear commitment and legally binding definition on this matter. All production capacity and technology developed under this framework will strictly adhere to internationally recognized automotive-grade standards and certifications, and the products will primarily be used in the automotive electronics field."

"At the same time, we welcome American companies to continue to participate in the competition in the European automotive market. However, Europe needs more options and more assurance in terms of automotive-grade chip supply."

After another round of intense negotiation over the wording of the terms, the two sides finally reached a compromise that was highly restricted.

A week later, the EU and the US jointly issued a brief statement.

Following constructive consultations, both sides recognized the importance of ensuring the resilience of supply chains in critical industries. The U.S. understands and supports Europe's efforts to enhance the security of its automotive industry's supply chain in the area of ​​automotive-grade chips. Based on this, the U.S. confirmed that European semiconductor companies can conduct licensed production of automotive-grade chip architecture designs, building upon existing technology licensing models.

The news has far greater significance than the words themselves.

In Europe, this was seen as a major diplomatic and industrial victory.

Although it only opened a small window into automotive-grade chips, its symbolic significance is enormous.

It proves that through unity and a strong stance, Europe can wrest back some autonomy from American technological hegemony.

Mike and Tony raise a toast at Enze Capital's London headquarters.

“Automotive grade…” Tony pondered the term and said, “It has the highest requirements, but the profit margin is relatively less attractive. It’s exactly the area that those American giants are unwilling to fully invest in. We’re starting from here. Although the profit margin is low, at least we’ve taken a step forward.”

Mike smiled and nodded: "The boss saw this coming long ago. Automotive-grade chips are our training ground. Once ARM establishes itself in the automotive-grade field, and its technical capabilities and reliability are recognized by the industry, then in the future..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his eyes said it all.

This small window may very well become the gateway to a wider world in the future.

Both he and Tony knew that the war over chips had finally begun.

In order to protect its core interests, the United States believed that what it was giving up was just a trivial matter. However, if this trivial matter were to develop further, it would have the power to destroy the world.

The entry ticket they've gained today in the seemingly narrow field of automotive-grade automotive technology is invaluable.

The release of the joint statement by the US and the EU was like throwing a boulder into a seemingly calm lake of European semiconductors, causing ripples that quickly spread and evolved into a wave that swept across the entire industry ecosystem.

The first to feel this spring breeze was ARM, located in the eye of the storm.

The Cambridge Science Park, where ARM's headquarters are located, used to have a certain academic tranquility, but now the entire company is filled with an unprecedented sense of excitement.

On the afternoon of the same day the statement was released, President Simon Higgs urgently convened all core executives and top architects.

Inside the meeting room, the projection screen no longer displayed complex architectural diagrams, but rather a brief joint statement, magnified so that every word was clearly visible.

"Gentlemen!" Simon's voice was slightly hoarse with excitement as he pointed at the screen and shouted, "From today onwards, we are no longer just designers hiding behind labs and licensing agreements. We at ARM are about to truly have the right to turn our blueprints into real products, although this right is currently confined to the cage of automotive-grade standards, but..."

"Tell me, who should be the world's strongest chip company?"

"ARM!!!"

"Of course it's us!" a large group of top architects shouted.

This moment was one they had waited far too long for. They were like peerless martial arts masters, tied to a tree by a group of junior martial arts practitioners, forced to copy secret manuals for them every day.

These newcomers to the industry include Intel, Qualcomm, and Apple.

Because the chip architecture designs of these companies all come from ARM.

So, who is the world's strongest chip company?

“That’s right!” Simon exclaimed excitedly, “We are the world’s strongest chip company. Even walking, we should be faster than them by car!”

Simon looked around at the equally flushed technical elites present, waved his hand vigorously, and said, "So what kind of chip we make is not important. What's important is that the door is open. What we need to do is to use the fastest speed and the most stringent standards to come up with an automotive-grade chip solution that will make the entire automotive industry take notice."

"We want to let Tier 1 suppliers like Bosch, Continental, and Denso, and OEMs like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi know that they have a reliable, high-performance new option from Europe for the heart of their future smart cars!"

The meeting room immediately erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers.

For years, they have designed countless ingenious architectures that have powered hundreds of millions of consumer electronics devices worldwide, but they have never been able to get to the true core of the chip.

The frustration of working for someone else's benefit finally found an outlet at this moment.

After the meeting, the R&D department adjusted the technology roadmap overnight, elevating several CPU and GPU core design projects for automotive applications, which were originally in the pre-research stage, to the highest priority, devoting resources to them and sprinting towards completion.

The liberation of ARM is just the beginning.

On the European continent, those dozen or so semiconductor companies that had once struggled to survive in niche markets under the pressure of American and Asian semiconductor giants seemed to have been injected with a shot in the arm overnight.

In Munich, Germany, Infineon engineers unearthed long-forgotten, enhanced technical documents on semiconductors and microcontrollers and began intensive technical collaborations with local automotive electronics giants.

In the laboratories of STMicroelectronics in Grenoble, France, lights blaze through the night as they leverage their deep expertise in sensors and embedded systems to accelerate the development of system-on-a-chip (SoC) integrating more sensing and data processing capabilities. Meanwhile, in Eindhoven, Netherlands, NXP Semiconductors, a company spun off from Philips' semiconductor business, has also rapidly adjusted its strategy, closely combining its processor strengths with the new demand for self-sufficiency in automotive-grade chips.

These companies may not be as large as Intel or Qualcomm, or as competitive in the race for the best manufacturing process, but they have decades of experience in industrial control, reliability design, and domain-specific architecture optimization.

Previously, these capabilities were limited by market access and ecosystem barriers, making it difficult to make significant strides in the chip industry.

Now that a crack has been pried open in the policy barriers, their long-accumulated technology has finally found a direction to be put to use.

Just as the media described, the sleeping giant of the European semiconductor industry has now awakened.

Behind this wave spontaneously initiated by the industry, a powerful capital force is making precise arrangements at an astonishing speed.

Less than 48 hours after the joint statement from the US and Europe was released, Enze Capital’s London headquarters held a highly anticipated press conference.

President Mike announced a groundbreaking investment plan in front of major global financial and technology media outlets:

[To actively respond to and strongly promote the European strategy for self-sufficiency in automotive-grade chips, and to consolidate and strengthen our leading position in this crucial field for the future of industry, Enze Capital has decided to jointly launch a £15 billion European automotive-grade chip innovation fund with Mercedes-Benz Group, BMW Group, and Volkswagen Group!]

Mike's words immediately triggered a flurry of flashbulbs from the audience.

Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Volkswagen are the main forces fighting against American cars, and each of them has a market value of over 40 billion euros.

And Enze Capital goes without saying; their Momo Group alone is comparable to the Mercedes-Benz Group, which has the highest market value.

The simultaneous appearance of the names of three German automotive giants at Enze Capital's press conference speaks volumes about their symbolic significance and the level of actual support they provide.

Mike continued, "This fund will primarily invest in the advancements of European semiconductor companies such as ARM, Infineon, and STMicroelectronics in automotive-grade chip design and cutting-edge process exploration. In addition, we have established special awards to encourage universities, research institutions, and startups across Europe to conduct innovative research and development in automotive-grade chip architecture, underlying IP, and advanced packaging technologies."

"Our goal," Mike said firmly, "is not just to solve the problem of having or not having them, but to ensure that European automotive-grade chips are globally competitive in terms of performance, power consumption, reliability, and cost. What we want to build is a healthy, prosperous, and self-reliant European automotive chip ecosystem!"

Mike's speech resonated deeply with the Europeans, and the audience erupted in prolonged applause.

The day after the fund was announced, even more surprising news came from the UK.

Enze Capital successfully acquired a 60% stake in UK-based Quantity Research Technology at a premium of nearly three times the current market valuation.

Liangyan Technology, a company that previously caused a sensation in a small circle for successfully developing a touch sensing chip, was suddenly thrust into the spotlight of the global technology and capital markets.

Many industry observers simply cannot understand why Enze Capital would spend so much money to acquire a company that seems to focus on touchscreen technology.

At this moment, in his office in Jingzhou, Cheng Yi looked at a detailed technical report and acquisition briefing on British Liangyan Technology in his hand, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

“Liangyan Technology…” he murmured to himself, his tone tinged with excitement, “You yourselves probably don’t even fully realize that what you hold in your hands is the key to unlocking One Piece.”

His thoughts raced, closely linking the core technology of Liangyan Technology—capacitive touch sensing—with the smartphone wave that was about to sweep the globe.

Automotive-grade is just a starting point, a training ground for them to hone their skills. The real stars and the sea are the small world that everyone will soon be able to hold in their hands.

Current mobile phones consist of cold buttons and nested menus, but capacitive touchscreens will completely change all of that.

When users can open apps with a simple touch of their fingertips, the concept of a mobile phone will be fundamentally redefined.

Currently, giants like Nokia and Motorola are still obsessed with durability and feel, while the Symbian system is too bloated and conservative, making it difficult to adapt to touch-first interaction logic.

They were like Kodak back in the day, clinging to film cameras, completely oblivious to the wave of digital imaging.

This is a short window of opportunity.

Currently, no more than three companies have discovered this window.

Aside from LG Group and Apple, it's just him.

The acquisition of Liangyan Technology at a three-fold premium may seem expensive, but it actually represents a strategic high ground in this future trillion-dollar market.

First, refine the technology in the most demanding automotive-grade field to establish a reputation for reliability and durability, and solve the stability issues in extreme environments.

He was eager to see if any consumer-grade phones could compete if they were made to automotive-grade standards.

This would be a devastating blow.

Cheng Yi chose automotive-grade batteries for an even more important reason: their phones were going to take a more difficult path than in their previous life.

If they want to follow the path they envision, the minimum standard is automotive-grade; ordinary consumer-grade mobile phone standards simply don't meet their needs.

His plan is to integrate the Starlink project from his previous life and restart Motorola's failed Iridium system before the 4G base stations are completed, so that anyone can truly chat online with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

This plan must be implemented before the global 4G base station network is fully built; otherwise, it will be extremely difficult to carry out.

The Starlink project in its previous life had matured technologically several years ago, but it was always hampered by opposition from the two global telecommunications giants, AT&T and Verizon.

Their reason for opposing it is simple: the plan would destroy the ground base stations they have spent decades building.

However, these are just Cheng Yi's plans. What he wants to do most now is to launch Mercedes-Benz and BMW in-car smartphones within six months.

(End of this chapter)