If everyone is reborn, who will work for capital?

Chapter 165 Rabbit Map (6k)

In late June, Shanghai was already as hot as a stuffy can, and the sycamore leaves were a vibrant green.

Geng Zhi and Lü Sifeng, each riding a bicycle, slowly made their way to the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Computer Building.

"Brother Lü, the boss suddenly contacted me. Did he say what he wanted to talk to me about?" Geng Zhi held the handlebars with one hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the other.

"He didn't say," Lü Sifeng shook his head, "but I heard some of my junior brothers say that the boss's face has been as black as the bottom of a pot lately, and he's in a terrible mood. Nobody dares to get close to him."

"Oh? Why?" Geng Zhi quickly asked with concern, "Is there anything I can do for the boss?"

What Geng said was the truth.

After all, he knew in his heart that Lao Qi treated him very, very well and was happy to help Professor Qi solve his problems.

"The recent situation with Qi Jiajun has caused the boss a lot of trouble. It is said that the boss wants to take on a key project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, but suddenly he is short-handed." Lu Sifeng shook his head and sighed.

The "sudden shortage of manpower" that Lü Sifeng mentioned naturally refers to the fact that the students of the Qi Family Army, who were originally very united, have all broken away from Qi Chuqin's control.

Senior Brother Lü Sifeng was originally the most capable member, but for the past six months or so he has been working for Geng Zhi, almost completely ignoring Qi Chuqin's lab. Moreover, he even postponed his graduation by six months to work on Momo.

With Lü Sifeng absent, Wang Lei is the most capable person, but Wang Lei is about to graduate, and the doctoral students have lost another key member.

Originally, Zhao Dezhi went to Imperial College London for an exchange program and confidently promised to study for his doctorate under Qi Chuqin after returning to China. Qi Chuqin even reserved a doctoral student spot for him.

But Zhao Dezhi, that ingrate, got carried away in Europe, experienced the academic environment and lifestyle there, and wanted to stay in Europe to pursue further studies.

Qi Chuqin was so angry that he almost smashed his computer, because this not only prevented him from retaining Zhao Dezhi, but also wasted a doctoral spot, which made him very annoyed.

Needless to say, Song Qing and Huang Haitang are about to enter their third year of graduate school and have already fully committed themselves to Mingfan Technology Company. They are completely unreliable and their contribution to Qi Jiajun has become negative.

The fact that Song and Huang had slipped out of control was definitely Geng Zhi's fault. But unfortunately, Geng Zhi had indeed done a good job, so Qi Chuqin could only sigh in regret and secretly curse Geng Zhi in his heart.

What truly broke Qi Chuqin's defenses was that flamboyant student, Zhang Qinghua. Even more miraculously, he submitted a leave of absence from school and completely left Qi's team because he wanted to join some Ele.me (a food delivery platform) startup!

Even the straightforward boss didn't mention it, yet Zhang Qinghua dared to?

This was the first student to request a leave of absence since Qi started mentoring graduate students, and Qi Chuqin was so angry that he almost couldn't breathe.

Fortunately, Qi Chuqin believed that Zhang Qinghua's suspension of studies had nothing to do with Geng Zhi; otherwise, she would have cursed Geng Zhi even more in her heart.

With these students causing such a commotion, Qi Family Army's strength was reduced by half in an instant. How could Old Qi not be angry?

Anyone would be angry in that situation. Anyone would feel a tightness in their chest.

"Sigh, it seems the boss has been having a bit of bad luck these past six months," Geng Zhi sighed, as the car wheel rolled over a fallen leaf. "The boss has really had a tough time. I feel sorry for him for a million seconds."

Geng Zhi was a good student who respected his teachers and valued education. When he heard Lü Sifeng say that the boss was short-staffed, he immediately sighed to show his great sympathy for Professor Qi Chuqin.

Lu Sifeng gave his junior brother a meaningful look, opened his mouth, but did not comment.

After all, Geng Zhi is still his own company boss, so he couldn't very well say that his company boss was the root cause of the school boss's bad luck, right?

Geng Zhi didn't want to talk about such a sad topic anymore, so he quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, senior, has your doctoral dissertation been submitted for review yet? Don't let Momo's matter delay your graduation."

"Don't worry, it will be submitted for review next month. The boss has basically approved it, and now it depends on the opinions of the external review experts." Lu Sifeng smiled.

"Senior, I feel really bad that you're postponing your graduation by half a year for Momo's sake." Geng Zhi expressed his apology.

"It's alright, it's alright. I should thank my junior brother for guiding me into this field. It's much better than working at the boss's company—" Lu Sifeng said hurriedly.

Upon hearing this, Geng Zhi felt even more sympathy for Qi, Chu, and Qin.

If Senior Brother Lü heard what Old Qi said, he'd probably have a heart attack from anger.

Inside Qi Chuqin's office in the computer building, the atmosphere was even more oppressive than the weather outside.

Qi Chuqin took off his glasses, rubbed his sore eyes with his fingertips, then picked up a newly printed application for a key project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China and began to stare blankly.

This is a key national project he applied for this year, with a budget approaching eight figures. If approved, it will be another peak in his academic career.

But he knew in his heart that the biggest challenge of this project was not the algorithm or the model, but the people doing the work and the massive amount of core data.

The people who do the work — sigh.

Qi Chuqin couldn't help but sigh again, the current miserable state of the Qi family army flashing through his mind, and his heart felt heavy.

He still remembers how pleasantly surprised he was when he first met Geng Zhi at the entrepreneurship competition last September—

The son is accomplished in both literature and martial arts, possessing both academic talent and business acumen.

At the time, he thought he had struck gold, and that this would be the proudest moment of his academic career, a brand new beginning.

But who could have imagined that this would be the beginning of his bad luck?

Before this kid had even officially joined his sect, half of the Qi Family Army, which he had built from scratch, had been quietly dismantled by him.

And academically, you can't count on him at all!

Qi Chuqin was angry, extremely angry, but when he thought about how straightforward and outstanding he was, the most outstanding person he had ever "led," he couldn't help but feel a little proud.

Teachers from other colleges praised it, college leaders praised it, and even the university president praised it; it made him feel incredibly proud.

Moreover, he sometimes praises himself.

At this moment, Qi Chuqin's application for the National Natural Science Foundation of China project requires real, large-scale user movement data with spatiotemporal trajectories.

The one with the best data is probably Geng Zhi, who is about to officially become his student.

Momo has real user data of 400 million users, and the data is constantly growing, which perfectly meets his needs.

Qi Chuqin shook his head helplessly, secretly sighing: "His honesty is both his strength and his weakness!"

Just as Qi Chuqin was sighing with a smile on his lips, a crisp knock on the door broke the silence of the office.

Qi Chuqin snapped out of his daze, suppressed the complex emotions in his heart, and said in a deep voice, "Come in."

The door was gently pushed open, and Geng Zhi and Lü Sifeng walked in one after the other, both wearing polite smiles and greeting him in unison, "Hello, Professor Qi!"

"Xiao Geng, Xiao Lü, sit down, sit down." Qi Chuqin smiled and pointed to the two chairs in front of the table.

Qi Chuqin originally intended to inquire about Lü Sifeng's doctoral dissertation first, but the words caught in her throat, and she subconsciously asked Geng Zhi first: "Xiao Geng, how's Mingfan Technology doing lately? Is business going smoothly?"

"Yes, thank you for your concern, Professor Qi. Everything is going smoothly and developing as expected, and the number of users is also increasing." Geng Zhi replied respectfully.

Qi Chuqin nodded and then politely asked, "That's good. Xiao Geng, if there's anything I can help you with, please don't hesitate to ask."

After thinking about it seriously, Geng Zhi said frankly, "Thank you for your concern, Professor Qi. There's nothing wrong with the company's business at the moment, but I really need Professor Qi's help with my personal career development."

"Xiao Geng, just say the word. Professor Qi will definitely help if he can," Professor Qi said.

"Well, it's not in a rush." ​​Geng Zhi thought for a moment, then said earnestly, "Professor Qi, I really hope to make further progress in my academic studies under your guidance."

Lü Sifeng: "————"

Qi Chuqin: "???"

Qi Chuqin's heart skipped a beat. She quickly covered her left chest with her hand before slowly speaking, "Xiao Geng—please continue. Teacher Qi is listening."

"Yes." Geng Zhi nodded. "I want to pursue my doctorate under your guidance, a combined master's and doctoral program."

Lü Sifeng: "???"

Qi Chuqin: "!!!"

He almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

You're enrolling in my doctoral program, but you don't take research seriously, and you're wasting one of my doctoral student slots!

The office was silent for eight or nine seconds before Qi Chuqin recovered and said with a smile, "Xiao Geng, there's no rush, no rush."

You can only apply after your second year of graduate school starts.

"Oh, okay, thank you for your approval, Professor Qi!" Geng Zhi quickly stood up, gave a slight bow, and then sat down again.

Qi Chuqin: "————"

He didn't continue the topic, but instead inquired about Lü Sifeng's doctoral dissertation.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Qi Chuqin got down to business.

"Xiao Geng, um," Qi Chuqin carefully chose his words before continuing, "Teacher Qi has taken on a project that requires some real mobile internet big data. I wonder if Momo could provide some assistance?"

As Qi Chuqin spoke, he handed the application documents on the table to Geng Zhi and Lü Sifeng.

Geng came over directly and quickly scanned it.

The core of the research project is to use big data from the Internet to study the spatial structure, population flow patterns, and social network structure of large cities.

This data is what the Momo app possesses, and it is currently the best data source on the market.

"Professor Qi, the data is of course not a problem." Geng Zhi said with a straightforward smile, "From the very beginning when we started the Momo project, we said that it would serve our Qi family army."

He then added, "However, this data is all user privacy data and must be anonymized and desensitized before it can be given to Professor Qi in compliance with regulations."

Qi Chuqin was overjoyed and hurriedly said, "Desensitization is a must, absolutely necessary."

Hearing the student agree so readily, Qi Chuqin finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the troubled expression on his face instantly vanished.

Over the next few minutes, Qi Chuqin discussed the specific data requirements with Geng Zhi and Lü Sifeng in detail for more than ten minutes.

The three quickly reached an agreement in principle.

Geng Zhi not only promised to provide basic data, but also promised to send someone to help Qi Chuqin process the data further, and to provide assistance with patent licensing.

This greatly improved Qi Chuqin's efficiency in data processing, solving his major problem of manpower shortage.

Qi Chuqin's face, which had been gloomy for so long, finally blossomed into a rainbow-like smile.

"Xiao Geng, Professor Qi really has to thank you! Since school's about to start summer vacation, if you're free tonight, why don't you invite Song Qing, Haitang, and the others to Professor Qi's house for a casual dinner?"

Geng Zhi exchanged a glance with Lü Sifeng and quickly said, "Great! I've been here for so long, and I haven't been to Professor Qi's house yet!"

"I've been here for over four years and I still haven't been there," Lu Sifeng muttered to himself.

After finishing their conversation, Geng Zhi and Lü Sifeng said their goodbyes and left.

But just as he was about to reach the door, Geng Zhi suddenly turned back.

"Professor Qi, um, I'd like to take up a little more of your time to talk about the map industry."

"Oh?" Qi Chuqin paused for a moment, then leaned back on the desk with interest. "Go on."

After a moment's hesitation, Geng Zhi spoke directly: "Professor Qi, has your company considered doing ToC business? Or are you going to start your own business? I mean, the kind where you give up teaching at the university."

boom-!

Qi Chuqin was clearly stunned upon hearing this.

Lu Sifeng had heard Geng Zhi talk about this once before, so he wasn't too surprised this time. He just stared at Qi Chuqin expectantly, curious about his answer.

Qi Chuqin remained silent for a few seconds, not directly objecting, but calmly asking, "Xiao Geng, why do you suggest this?"

Upon hearing this, Geng Zhi saw a glimmer of hope and began to feel a little excited.

He quickly pulled the whiteboard from the office to Qi Chuqin's desk, picked up a black marker, and began to write two lines of names on it:

Domestic: NavInfo, Amap, Baidu Maps, SOSO Maps.

International: Navteq, OviMaps, Waze, Google Maps.

After finishing writing this, Geng Zhi first asked, "Professor Qi, do you agree that the future trend of the Internet will shift from PCs to mobile devices?"

Qi Chuqin nodded.

Although he doesn't know what the future of mobile devices will look like or whether they can replace PCs and the Internet, he acknowledges that this is the trend, as it is increasingly becoming an industry consensus.

Seeing that Qi, Chu, and Qin had agreed to the general premise, Geng Zhi began to analyze things one by one.

He pointed to the first word in order: "NavInfo has a Class A surveying and mapping qualification, but they are just a basic data provider. They don't realize the value of upper-level map applications, or rather, they have no plans to do this."

Next is the second word.

"Gaode Maps was founded in 2002, starting with in-car navigation. It also has a Class A surveying and mapping qualification and a solid data foundation. However, their focus is still on the automotive OEM market. They are still observing the mobile market."

"Thirdly, Baidu Maps, which launched its web version in 2005, still operates on the PC platform and is still under the search department, not as a separate department. The map team only has a few dozen people."

Regarding the fourth point, Geng Zhi simply stated in one sentence: "Tencent doesn't even realize the value of the SOS0 map right now; internally, things are in complete chaos, so they're just ignoring it."

After stating this frankly, he concluded: "In short, no company in China has yet started to seriously develop mobile maps."

He didn't give the two a chance to ask questions and immediately began analyzing the international situation.

"And there's the international situation as well."

Pointing directly to Navteq, Geng Zhi explained, "Two years ago, Nokia spent $81 billion to acquire Navteq, a leading global digital map provider. Why?"

He answered his own question: "Because the mobile phone market is becoming saturated, Nokia urgently needs to expand into new revenue streams. Map-based car navigation..."

Local search and location services are considered among the fastest-growing sectors.

"7

"Moreover, autonomous driving, connected vehicles, and smart cities—these are the most crucial sectors for the next decade or so—all rely on maps."

Geng Zhi didn't realize that his last sentence was still in its early stages, and the two people in front of him, who were unfamiliar with the forefront of the industry, could not yet appreciate its value.

Without observing their reactions, he pointed to OviMaps and continued his analysis: "OviMaps is also from Nokia, and it's creating powerful data synergy with Navteg, building a very deep moat. The good news is that they are currently still mainly focused on the automotive sector."

Qi Chuqin and Lü Sifeng both nodded.

Geng Zhi didn't explain much and continued talking about Waze: "This is a newly emerging map product. It's a social map and it uses a very smart crowdsourcing model. It's growing very fast now."

"They raised $1200 million when they only had a few thousand users. Now they're reportedly in talks for another round of funding, potentially up to $2500 million."

The company is seeking $10 million in funding, and BlueRun Ventures, Vertex Ventures, and Qualcomm Ventures are likely to invest. It may also relocate to the United States.

"Rumor has it that Apple and Google are both interested. The good news is, it's only regional; it hasn't come to Asia yet. Brother Lü, am I right?"

Lü Sifeng nodded hurriedly.

Ever since I spoke frankly to him last time, he has seriously studied Waze and is continuing to follow it closely.

Geng Zhi pointed to the last product name: "The only one that is globally global and most powerful on mobile is Google Maps."

""

He then smiled slightly: "Last month, the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping just released the 'Professional Standards for Internet Map Services.' The state is tightening its control over geographic information data. Following Google's withdrawal from the mainland, Google Maps also failed to obtain the qualification, which basically sealed its fate in China."

At this point, Geng Zhi finally stopped his long-winded explanation and looked seriously at the two of them: "Professor Qi, Senior Brother Lü, what does this mean?"

Lu Sifeng, who already had a strong business sense, knew the answer, but he didn't say it and politely waited for his mentor Qi Chuqin's reply.

Qi Chuqin asked thoughtfully, "Xiao Geng, are you saying this is the window of opportunity?"

"Professor Qi is right!" Geng Zhi nodded hurriedly. "This is the best window of opportunity for policy and entrepreneurship. The domestic mobile map market will definitely be dominated by local companies."

He then added, "And the window of opportunity won't be too long. I estimate it will be at most one or two years before Gaode and Baidu realize this and start developing mobile versions. As for Tencent and NavInfo, it's hard to say."

Geng Zhi didn't dare to be too precise in his words, and could only speak in a guessing tone.

"Professor Qi, the LBS algorithm, GIS data processing, and route planning technologies you possess are absolutely top-tier in China. What you lack is not technology, but an opportunity to productize it."

"If Professor Qi can leverage your company and team to launch a mobile map app by the end of this year, you will have the opportunity to seize the initiative and become the industry leader in the future."

"Maps will undoubtedly become one of the most important infrastructures in the 3G era, and even in the future 4G and 5G eras! I've already thought of a name for the map: [Rabbit Map]!"

The office fell silent.

Lu Sifeng's eyes gradually brightened.

Having studied geographic information systems for so many years, and having recently started a business with Geng Zhi, he is now very clear about the future value of mobile maps.

He looked at his mentor with anticipation.

Qi Chuqin pondered for a long time before slowly speaking: "Xiao Geng, in terms of commercialization, I certainly don't know as much as you do. But I've studied Geographic Information Systems for half my life. Map making involves a wide range of things and is by no means an easy task."

"Professor Qi, could you elaborate on where the main difficulties lie?" Geng Zhi asked.

Qi Chuqin flipped the whiteboard over and began to write on the board while explaining: "To create a mobile map, you need to handle data acquisition, data cleaning, map tile services, route planning, network transmission optimization, multi-source data fusion, terminal performance optimization, and cross-platform adaptation, among other things."

"POI (Point of Interest) data can be acquired through commercial purchases, open-source channels, and self-collection. However, open-source channels have incomplete data and poor quality. Commercial purchases and self-collection are extremely costly, and the data is static and updates slowly."

"Other challenging aspects include multi-source data fusion and terminal performance optimization."

Geng Zhi nodded: "Professor Qi is right, but there is a solution for each one."

"Regarding the POI issue, initially we can purchase a small portion of basic data from NavInfo and AutoNavi, and then gradually supplement it later. Money is not an issue."

"OpenStreetMap is an open-source database that is completely free and updates relatively quickly, making it a good supplement to other data sources."

"In the long run, the best solution is to adopt a crowdsourcing model similar to Waze, building a check-in and points system to encourage users to contribute voluntarily: drivers automatically upload traffic information while navigating, users provide POIs when searching for locations, and users report errors —"

"Once the platform grows bigger and raises more money, we'll start doing our own data collection."

Every point Geng Zhi makes is not just a concept, but a real and mature solution.

After rambling on and on, Geng Zhi concluded, "Professor Qi, you see, it's technically feasible, cost-effective, timely, and has competitive advantages. What do you think?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Qi Chuqin.

Qi Chuqin was once again deeply shocked by Geng Zhi's thorough preparation, looking at his student as if he were a monster.

While he was supposed to be an academic, he devoted all his energy to entrepreneurship.

While some might say he only focuses on business, his academic expertise in the field of mapping seems to surpass that of Lü Sifeng, and he even outperforms Lü Sifeng in the integration of industry, academia, and research.

After a long while, Qi Chuqin slowly walked back to his desk and sat down, his expression complicated.

He picked up the application form on the table, flipped through two pages, and then put it down.

Qi Chuqin glanced at Lü Sifeng, then looked at Geng Zhi: "Xiao Geng, I have to admit, you've convinced me. I don't know as much about business as you do, but I have a feeling your proposal is worth a try."

Upon hearing this, Geng Zhi and Lü Sifeng's faces lit up with obvious joy.

But Qi Chuqin then added a twist: "But Xiao Geng, I'm part of the system. A professor at Jiaotong University, head of a national key laboratory, and a recipient of the National Natural Science Foundation of China—"

He listed a bunch of titles, and finally said, "My identity dictates that I can't start my own business."

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