Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 723 Pick up your weapons and prepare for battle.

The negotiations resumed in the afternoon.

With Cheng Yi's clear instructions, Sharif sat down again in front of Jobs and Sergei.

"Gentlemen," Sharif said bluntly, "after careful consideration, we acknowledge the necessity of an alliance. To counter Microsoft, we truly need the three of us to work together."

A glint of light flashed in both Jobs' and Sergei's eyes, but then Sharif changed the subject, saying, "However, regarding the cooperation model, I have a clearer proposal that can better leverage our respective strengths."

Sallyf's gaze swept over the two men, and he slowly said, "The three of us will integrate resources and technology, but we will not directly mix and develop the same mobile phone. We will jointly establish a new technology company, which we will temporarily call Dream Technology Company."

“Dream?” Sergei smiled with interest. “Nice name. We’re both people with dreams.”

“Yes, it is a dream.” Sharif nodded and said, “This company will serve as a neutral, top-tier technology research and development and supply platform. Enze Capital will provide alliance members with core licenses and technical support for state-of-the-art capacitive touchscreens, specific sensors, and the Android mobile operating system through Dream.

He looked at Jobs and said, "Apple, continue to focus on what you do best: industrial design and hardware integration. You can use the core technologies and components provided by Dream to create your ideal iPhone, with complete autonomy over hardware design. At the same time, Apple's expertise in chip design should also be contributed to other members of Dream to customize low-power processors that are more suitable for mobile devices."

“We are all emerging technology companies. In terms of chips, communications and components, we can’t compete with established giants like Qualcomm. In terms of user scale and market recognition, we can’t compete with Nokia and Motorola. In terms of influence and ecosystem, we certainly can’t compete with Microsoft.”

"Therefore, we can only make the best of each other's strengths and stick together for mutual support."

Then, he turned to Sergei and said, “Google provides the software ecosystem. Our mobile ecosystem is still lacking, and that is where Google excels. You can deeply optimize and integrate powerful services such as search, maps, Gmail, and YouTube into our mobile system ecosystem. You can also fully develop app stores based on our Android and Apple platforms to ensure that Google's services receive the highest priority access and promotion within the alliance.”

This plan avoids the most taboo aspect of mixed R&D among the three parties, elevating the cooperation to a higher level of technical standards alliance and ecosystem co-construction.

Apple retained the soul of hardware design, Google secured the gateway to its ecosystem, while Enze Capital, through its controlling stake in Dream, firmly grasped the dominant control over the supply of core components and the underlying operating system.

Jobs' tense expression eased slightly.

It is in their interest to have complete control over the design and manufacturing of the iPhone.

Although it requires sharing some chip technology, in return, he gains a stable supply of screens and ecosystem support, which can be considered a temporary solution to his urgent problem.

Sergei quickly began to make plans in his mind.

Google's goal is to extend its services to as many users as possible, but they have now encountered a bottleneck in the operating system field.

Going further ahead means an endless battle with Microsoft.

It's far more cost-effective to secure Dream's services as the default on mobile devices than to struggle with promoting a completely new mobile ecosystem yourself.

The ensuing negotiations mainly revolved around details such as Dream's equity structure, technology licensing fees, patent cross-licensing, and supply chain priorities, resulting in intense clashes.

Following Cheng Yi's instructions, Sharif fought for almost every inch of ground, especially taking an exceptionally tough stance on system dominance and long-term capacitive touchscreen supply agreements.

Finally, after several rounds of back-and-forth negotiations, a preliminary cooperation framework agreement was reached with great difficulty.

Enze Capital acquired a 45% stake in Dream, providing capacitive touchscreen technology, core Android operating system licenses, and some sensor technologies.

Apple will invest a 30% stake, provide some mobile chip design IP licenses, and promise to prioritize the use of Dream's platform technology and components in its three future flagship phones.

Google invested a 25% stake and pledged to deeply integrate its core application services with the Android system and prioritize the development of mobile internet applications based on the platform.

Dream is operated by a CEO appointed by Enze Capital, and major decisions require a two-thirds majority vote from the board of directors.

The three parties agreed that their respective terminal products developed based on the Dream platform would have independent brands and independent marketing, forming healthy competition while sharing core technologies.

The next day, the tripartite agreement was quickly signed. Although it was only a framework agreement, it marked the official establishment of the fourth iron triangle alliance in the global IT industry.

The Dream Alliance has become the fourth largest alliance organization after the Wintel Alliance, the IBM Alliance, and the GSM Alliance.

Although the news was initially kept strictly confidential, nothing stays secret forever.

In particular, when Apple, Google, and Enze Capital, three companies with very different styles but all highly topical, suddenly started to frequently contact each other and registered a new entity called Dream Technology, it immediately attracted close attention from European and American technology media and capital markets.

Soon, thanks to leaks from some insiders and in-depth investigations by the media, the news that Enze Capital, Apple, and Google had formed a new ecosystem mobile phone alliance and jointly established Dream Technology Company quickly attracted widespread media attention.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to ignite public opinion.

The headline boldly proclaimed: "[A Handshake of New Forces: Enze Capital, Apple, and Google Form the Dream Alliance, Aiming to Disrupt the Mobile Phone Market.]"

The Financial Times followed up with a commentary: [Challenging Nokia and Motorola? A dream alliance forged by capital, hardware, and software services.]

Silicon Valley tech blogs have even used alarmist headlines like "The old gods are dead, the new kings are rising."

The report provides a detailed analysis of the advantages of all three parties.

Enze Capital's mysterious and substantial technological reserves, Apple's disruptive product design capabilities, and Google's continuous acquisition of applications over the past two years all contribute to this.

Almost all analyses suggest that this alliance was aimed directly at the then-dominant three mobile phone giants.

Motorola, Nokia, and Ericsson.

"This is a very promising combination," a senior industry analyst commented on a national television program. "To use a game I really like, it's like Enz Capital provides the materials, Apple polishes the materials into a weapon, and Google adds magic to that weapon. Their goal is clear: to wrest the definition of the mobile phone from Motorola and Nokia."

At this point, public opinion was in an uproar.

Enze Capital's sudden alliance with two major American companies has been described by many media outlets as a handshake between emerging forces in Europe and the United States.

Just as this news was spreading like wildfire, at Qualcomm's headquarters in California...

Chairman Irving Jacobs stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window in his office, gazing at the bright sunlight outside, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

He held a recent market analysis report in his hand, which clearly showed Qualcomm's continued decline in market share in mobile communication chips.

“We have the best CDMA technology, so why can’t we make a breakthrough?” Irving muttered to himself.

Their CDMA technology theoretically had higher spectrum efficiency and call quality than the mainstream GSM technology at the time, but they struggled to promote it commercially.

In the early days, they did almost everything to prove the feasibility of CDMA technology, from technology research and development and chip design to even manufacturing their own mobile phones and base station equipment.

This full-industry chain model did indeed quickly validate the technology in the early stages, but it also sowed the seeds of huge hidden dangers.

When Qualcomm attempted to roll out its CDMA system globally, mobile phone manufacturers and telecom operators began to feel uneasy.

To these partners, a company that not only possesses core patents and designs key chips but also manufactures its own terminal devices is no different from a referee who both sets the rules and plays in the game.

Who would be willing to collaborate deeply with such a partner?
Who can guarantee that Qualcomm won't use its monopoly position to strangle them at a critical moment?

This widespread distrust has greatly hindered the expansion of their CDMA technology ecosystem.

Despite Qualcomm's continuous technological iterations that have proven the superiority of CDMA, it has consistently been unable to break through the encirclement of the GSM Alliance in the market.

Forced by circumstances, a few years ago they made a painful decision: to amputate their arm in order to survive.

They sold their mobile phone business to Kyocera of Japan and their base station systems business to Ericsson, gaining favor with the GSM Alliance.

They then completely transformed their business, focusing on technology research and development, patent licensing, and semiconductor chip design.

Irving had hoped that surrendering their weapons would earn them the trust of the GSM alliance, but reality dealt him a heavy blow.

Even after they divested their terminal and equipment businesses, their situation did not fundamentally improve.

The GSM Alliance primarily uses chips from Texas Instruments and the Symbian system, which is dominated by Nokia. Both of these are so powerful that the GSM ecosystem they have built has become the global mainstream.

Carriers were used to GSM, users were used to Nokia phones, and developers focused on the Symbian system.

CDMA is like a more advanced tributary that has been excluded from the mainstream, struggling to survive only in parts of South Korea and North America.

Texas Instruments, in particular, has thrived in the GSM chip field thanks to the backing of the GSM Alliance, and its market share is far ahead of others.

In contrast, Qualcomm, despite possessing CDMA, seems to be wielding its power alone on a battlefield that doesn't belong to it, possessing sharpness but unable to strike at the opponent's vitals.

Moreover, if you wave it around too proudly, you'll be ganged up on and beaten by a group of GSM Alliance members.

Frustrated, aggrieved, regretful.

Irving put down the report and rubbed his throbbing temples.

The report clearly states that their chip costs remain high due to their inability to scale up, further weakening their market competitiveness.

This is a vicious cycle.

If they can't find a breakthrough, they're really doomed.

Just as Irving was deep in distress, there was a knock on his office door.

His assistant strode in, carrying a freshly printed report, a rare hint of excitement on his face.

"Chairman, the Dream technology alliance you were previously interested in has just been finalized. Enze Capital, Apple and Google have indeed formed a mobile technology alliance."

Irving quickly turned around, grabbed the report, and skimmed through its contents, his heart pounding faster and faster as he read.

Enze Capital's component technology, Apple's design capabilities, Google's ecosystem services...

This combination of three companies is really here to stir things up!
"They, they're going to establish the Fourth Alliance!" Owen exclaimed excitedly, clutching the report and pacing back and forth in his office, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

“What if Qualcomm…” A bold idea took shape in Irving’s mind, and he murmured, “What if Qualcomm could join such an alliance, or cooperate with such an alliance?”

Qualcomm's dilemma is that it has advanced CDMA technology, but lacks a strong terminal ecosystem willing to embrace the new technology to support it.

The Nokia alliance, clinging to GSM, would not accept it.

They compromised and bowed their heads repeatedly, but gained nothing in return.

This newly emerged Dream Alliance is challenging the old order, and they are likely to be more open in their choice of communication technologies.

"Pick up your weapons and prepare for battle!" Owen gripped the report tightly, his eyes gleaming.

Without hesitation, Irving immediately convened the core technical team for an emergency meeting that would determine the company's future.

He slammed the report about the Dream Alliance onto the table and said, "Gentlemen, the turning point we've been waiting for has finally arrived!"

Irving said, "This Dream Alliance will definitely be besieged by the GSM Alliance, which is a golden opportunity for us CDMA, which is excluded from the GSM standard."

"But Chairman, the Dream Alliance itself is still very fragile, and whether they can succeed is still unknown..."

"Yes, they are all newcomers to the mobile phone industry..."

Qualcomm has always valued speaking one's mind, so everyone expressed their opinions, and there was a general lack of optimism about the Dream Alliance.

Enze Capital, an investment and news company, is known for being unreliable and the type of firm that runs away when things look bad.

Apple, once Microsoft's adoptive father, still had some strength in the 90s, with its computer business thriving. However, since their alliance was defeated by Microsoft, Apple has been tethered by Microsoft, and even now, Apple computers cannot play online games.

If a computer can't play online games, is it even a computer? It's a learning machine!
As for Google... well...

Aside from being able to buy things really fast and big, it seems they haven't made any significant achievements in the technology field, except for their online advertising business, which is doing quite well.

These three oddballs think they can fight against the GSM alliance?

Just as Irving was about to explain, a young-looking man with glasses adjusted his glasses and said, "This alliance has huge hidden dangers and is not stable. Apple will not allow Enze Capital's Android system to continue to develop. I suspect that Apple has other motives."

(End of this chapter)