America: My Time

Chapter 70 Semiconductors

Chapter Seventy Semiconductors

John was taking action, and Morgan's influence was accelerating. Warner Bros. had been putting constant pressure on Legendary Entertainment, but with Morgan's intervention, Warner Bros. had to back down. Morgan's move made it clear to the Wall Street bigwigs their intentions: at this crucial moment, they couldn't allow Warner Bros. to interfere with the game industry's financing or affect everyone's interests. Thus, Warner Bros. found itself in a predicament, facing pressure from all sides!
When Wall Street intervened in the battle between Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, the entire Hollywood was shocked and deeply felt the pressure from Wall Street. Legendary Pictures and Legendary Entertainment, though small, were considered more important by Wall Street, a fact evident in Warner Bros.' disastrous situation.

Under these circumstances, none of the Hollywood giants dared to make any rash moves, let alone try to stop Legendary Entertainment. Meanwhile, Universal's parent company was constantly being contacted by Morgan Stanley, and NBC was experiencing the same situation. All of this was to make Legendary Entertainment interested in acquiring them and accelerating the pace of the game world's IPO.

While Morgan and Wall Street were interfering in Hollywood, John used headhunting firms to establish a presence in Taiwan's semiconductor foundry industry. A medium-sized foundry was started in Taiwan, and it occupied a large area, clearly preparing for future expansion.

As Morgan and the forces of Wall Street continued to relay John's plans in Asia, the entire Wall Street community was shocked. They were all astonished by John's audacious expansion in Asia!
“Boss, John’s plans in Asia have far exceeded our expectations. We originally thought his target was only Japan, but now he has completed his layout in the power and communications sectors in Hong Kong. Although he has not yet fully controlled these two companies, he has already taken control. Perhaps it won’t be long before he completes the final acquisition. However, this acquisition has already aroused the dissatisfaction of HSBC, and there has been a conflict between the two sides. But I think there is something wrong with this. HSBC’s reaction is a bit too strong. It seems like someone is secretly plotting something.”

"HSBC is just a local bully in Hong Kong. They wouldn't dare to make any rash moves at this time, otherwise even the slightest disturbance could cause them huge losses. Your judgment is indeed very reasonable. John is not someone to be trifled with. I just don't know which bastard is behind this, daring to do this. I just don't know if he has noticed anything about all this! However, his investment in Hong Kong is indeed a bit unexpected. It's one thing if it's just entertainment, but his involvement in electricity and communications is probably not as simple as it seems!"

"Boss, not only in Hong Kong, but this kid has also invested in a semiconductor factory in Taiwan, mainly engaged in contract manufacturing. It seems he intends to develop in the semiconductor industry. Perhaps we need to reconsider our vision for Dream World!"

"No, Dream World is impossible. We must have overlooked something. We have already determined the development direction of Dream World, which is the development of software, minicomputers, and workstations. They don't need contract manufacturers now. Game World is also impossible. Game World is an important source of funding for them and cannot withstand any storms. Now they are about to conduct their first round of financing. They will not risk the future of Game World!"

"Oh! I see, it's Nvidia Semiconductor, the company that spun off from Dreamworld. Does that mean that spun-off company already has its own products? Otherwise, why would this kid suddenly invest in a foundry in Taiwan!"

"Nvidia Semiconductor? I've never heard of this company before. What's going on?" In an instant, Morgan's bigwig's face turned serious. His instincts told him that this semiconductor company was not simple.

"From what we understand, this semiconductor company originally wanted to take over all of Dream World's hardware R&D, with Dream World fully committed to software development. However, this was ultimately opposed by Dream World, and they only managed to separate a portion of the personnel responsible for GPU research. During the Atari controversy, they absorbed a significant number of their personnel!"

"That's right. It seems this kid has deeper ideas. He doesn't want to be controlled by personal computer companies like Apple. He wants to develop his own personal computer. Now he's accumulating strength, and Nvidia Semiconductor is his forerunner in the personal computer industry. If I'm not mistaken, the previous spin-off was to circumvent anti-monopoly and monopoly restrictions!"

"No way! If this kid is really interested in personal computer R&D, he can do it all on his own. There's no need for him to develop GPUs, which aren't in high demand. He can just buy chips from Motorola, Intel, or AMD. There's no need to waste time and energy developing a new chip. He can also choose IBM for the architecture!"

"Hmph, ignorant and foolish, that's just your own opinion. This kid is a prodigy, naturally with grand ambitions. Who holds the largest stake in Intel? It's IBM. Do you think John wants to be controlled by others? Motorola chips are good, but is chip business Motorola's core business? They don't make personal computers. As for AMD, it's even less likely. Such important things as chips cannot be controlled by others! Keep an eye on Nvidia Semiconductor. I need to know everything about it. It seems we've all underestimated this kid. He's not just aiming for comprehensive development in entertainment, but also in personal computers. Software and minicomputer development in the gaming world, chip R&D at Nvidia Semiconductor, semiconductor manufacturing in Taiwan—this is a series of investments. He's trying to control the entire supply chain. When everything is complete, a new personal computer company will emerge. Good kid, good calculation. Everyone's attention is drawn to his investments in entertainment; no one has noticed his investment in personal computers. We need to keep a close eye on all of this and prepare for financing."

"Fundraising? Boss, that's impossible. Even the game world doesn't raise funds. How could this kid let Dream World raise funds? Besides, he's not short of money. Dream World is self-sufficient. They have a monopoly on office software; they have no competitors. Even if we wanted to invest, we couldn't. There are many things we can't do when facing such a rich bastard!"

Indeed, Dream World is not short of money right now, and it is difficult for outsiders to get involved. However, this is not absolute. Companies need to develop, and high-tech companies like Dream World need huge amounts of capital to develop rapidly!

"Idiot, is your head full of water? We can't invest in Dream World, but we can invest in Nvidia Semiconductor, we can invest in his semiconductor factory in Taiwan, we can help him with R&D. Motorola doesn't intend to give up on semiconductors, we can totally recommend it to this kid!"

"Motorola Semiconductor? That's probably unlikely. Let alone Motorola, the entire US semiconductor industry isn't making money. Why would this kid acquire it?"

"Foolish! You still haven't figured out John's plan. He has no intention of building factories in the US. The semiconductor factories in Taiwan are the real production enterprises. The US only has R&D departments. We don't need to recommend the entire Motorola semiconductor factory to him, just the R&D institutions! If we can deepen our relationship with this kid, once these companies mature, the IPO business will naturally fall into our hands. Can you imagine how much profit that is!"

"Cunning and shrewd" was the word Morgan used to describe his subordinate Jimmy in an instant. He dared not show it, however, as this was his boss, holding the power of life and death over him! This also made him understand why he was an employee while the person before him was the boss; his own perspective was too short-sighted. He saw the entire company, while his boss saw the shortcomings and how to address them, making the most suitable recommendation for the other party.

"What are you still standing there for? Get moving! Get this done before the other investment banks react. Are you going to wait for me to do it all myself? Also, keep an eye on HSBC. I want to know who's behind this!" Looking at his foolish subordinate, the Morgan boss couldn't help but shake his head!

During this period, Wall Street investment banks were aware that many companies across the United States were relocating overseas. This wasn't solely due to the influence of Wall Street or US policy; it was largely caused by the broader US environment. The root cause lay with those fanatical labor unions. While many companies could manage on labor costs alone, and companies value their reputation, the presence of these unions forced them to relocate. They couldn't afford the constant trouble these unions created, with frequent large-scale strikes!

In the United States, the most fanatical union is the United Auto Workers (UAW). The reason why the American auto market is dominated by Japanese and German cars is because of the UAW. They are always eyeing their bosses' pockets. Once the auto company makes money, they demand higher wages, or they strike. Even worse, they damage the quality of their own cars! AMC, the American auto company, was destroyed by them. Because of the workers' madness, they gradually ruined the auto company.

The reason AMC was able to be acquired by foreign capital was largely due to the crazy workers. No company in the United States would dare to acquire it; no one could accept those crazy workers! Nobody knew what these lunatics would do, and nobody was willing to risk their money!

"Semiconductors, media and entertainment—this kid has a lot on his mind. Given time, he might actually surpass IBM. To make such a brilliant plan at such a young age is remarkable! If the opportunity arises, perhaps Bell Labs could let him take over. Judging from his plans, communications are also part of his strategy; otherwise, he wouldn't have acquired a telecommunications company in Hong Kong! To be so shrewd at such a young age, no one in the younger generation can compare to him."

(End of this chapter)