Rebirth of Hong Kong Island, leading the technology war

Chapter 603 Boss Hu's words awaken the two heroes of Huayao, and the Pangu Grand Model strategy is upgraded.
The coolness of the phone screen still lingered on Hu Jiangshan's fingertips, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Just like Lu Shulei, I had met her a few times at industry summits in my previous life. Each time, I would just nod across the crowd and exchange no extra pleasantries. She was a stranger who was barely "familiar" to me. But now, Lu Shulei took the initiative to contact me and ask to have a conversation.

Since that's the case, then let's add her. She's a beautiful woman, I can't refuse her at all.

As soon as I looked up, I was met with Xu Zhijun's mischievous gaze.

Xu Zhijun rested his elbow on the edge of the table, twirling an empty coffee cup in his hand, and said with a smile, "Brother Hu, you're doing well! I saw you smiling at your phone earlier, and that girl seemed to be getting along quite well with you, right? I noticed the way she looked at you at the exhibition last time, and I knew something was off. She's interested in you!"

Hu Jiangshan was taken aback upon hearing this, and subconsciously straightened his shirt collar, a hint of embarrassment on his face: "Mr. Xu, what are you talking about? We're just discussing work. She wants to talk to us about materials cooperation. Don't make wild guesses."

"Just guessing?" Xu Zhijun slammed his coffee cup on the table, his voice brimming with certainty. "My judgment of people is renowned at Huayao! Don't believe me? Ask Lao Wang. Last time he was in the marketing department..."

Wang Chengdong, who was sitting across from me, was stirring his coffee with a small spoon. Hearing this, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, and the small spoon between his fingers wobbled slightly: "Don't use me as a shield. With your eyesight, last time you mistook the sales manager of a partner company for the technical director and even talked to him about chip design for half an hour. You still have the nerve to say you're accurate? I think you're just so-so, not that amazing."

"Oh my, Lao Wang, are you really going to pick a fight with me today?" Xu Zhijun deliberately dragged out his words, leaning closer to Wang Chengdong. "Normally in meetings you either don't say a word or you argue with me about the proposal. Why are you questioning my judgment of people today?"

Wang Chengdong put down his spoon and sighed helplessly: "When have I ever been quiet? When we're talking about serious matters, I can always talk a lot. It's you who always makes jokes about these trivial things."

"Then tell me, is what we're talking about now considered serious business?" Xu Zhijun raised an eyebrow and pressed on.

“Why not?” Wang Chengdong immediately sat up straight, turned his gaze to Hu Jiangshan, and his tone became serious. “Brother Hu, we’re here, and we’re talking about chips and production capacity. Isn’t that serious business? Do you think chatting with you is the only serious business?”

Hu Jiangshan sat to the side, watching the two older brothers of Huayao bicker like two children, and couldn't help but chuckle.

In fact, he had heard many rumors about the two of them in his previous life. They said that they could argue until they were red in the face at the board meeting over a technical solution. Once, they even slammed their fists on the table in the conference room over "whether or not to introduce foreign etching equipment." In the end, Xu Zhijun couldn't stand it and grabbed an ashtray from the table and threw it at Wang Chengdong. As a result, the president who was passing by saw it and joked that the two of them "argued even more than a young couple."

But rumors aside, Hu Jiangshan knew that both of them were people who were objective and didn't target individuals.

No matter how heated the argument gets at the meeting, after the meeting they can still go out arm in arm to eat at a street food stall, drink beer and chat about industry trends.

They are all veterans of Huayao, having worked with the company since it first started making communication equipment. They have watched Huayao grow from an OEM manufacturer to a company that develops its own chips. This bond forged through thick and thin cannot be easily broken by a few arguments.

"Gentlemen, stop arguing," Hu Jiangshan said with a smile, trying to smooth things over. "If you keep arguing, the coffee will get cold. Let's talk about business. Mr. Wang just said he has a new order to discuss with me?"

Xu Zhijun and Wang Chengdong exchanged a glance and smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

Xu Zhijun gestured to the waiter, his voice cheerful: "Three more Americanos, no sugar, no milk, please hurry!"

After the waiter left, Xu Zhijun turned to Hu Jiangshan, his tone softening: "I was just joking with you earlier, don't take it to heart, I really have something important to discuss."

Wang Chengdong nodded in agreement, tapping his fingers lightly on the table: "Brother Hu, actually, we've been wanting to talk to you since last week. Huayao has been busy with Alibaba's mobile chip orders and rushing to complete the iterative testing of the Ascend 910, working overtime until midnight every day, and hasn't had a moment to spare. Now that we can finally catch our breath, we thought we'd have a good chat with you. How about we find a restaurant tonight, order some hearty dishes, and talk over drinks?"

Hu Jiangshan laughed upon hearing this, picked up the glass of water on the table and took a sip: "President Wang, you changed the subject too quickly. One second you were talking about serious business, and the next you're talking about drinking?"

“You don’t understand, do you?” Xu Zhijun immediately chimed in, his eyes gleaming. “Sometimes things are clearer when you’re talking over drinks! Last time, Lao Wang and I had a huge argument about production line priorities. After a couple of drinks, he said that chips should be prioritized for mobile phones, and artificial intelligence could be delayed for half a month. I thought he was right, and we made the decision on the spot. It was much more effective than arguing in a meeting room all afternoon!”

Hu Jiangshan deliberately dragged out his words: "Oh? So, Mr. Xu and Mr. Wang are using the drinking table negotiation method?"

"Absolutely!" Xu Zhijun slammed his hand on the table. "Sometimes when we can't reach an agreement, we settle things with drinks. After a few drinks, our minds clear up, and things become much easier to handle."

"Goodness, this isn't business, it's a drinking contest!" Hu Jiangshan laughed out loud, but in his heart he felt that the way these two got along was quite genuine—no beating around the bush, just saying what they meant, much more comfortable than those empty business socializing sessions.

Wang Chengdong and Xu Zhijun laughed along, their earlier bickering gone.

When the waiter brought over three steaming Americanos, Wang Chengdong picked up his glass, took a sip, and his tone instantly became serious: "Brother Hu, I have something important to tell you. I was just chatting with someone from Alibaba, and you said that Jiangshan Group's production capacity is not a problem. Can this be approved? We are about to launch an artificial intelligence chip project, which requires a large number of chips. We also need to ensure the speed of supply and can't afford any mishaps."

Hu Jiangshan put down his water glass, traced a few lines on the edge of the table with his finger, and said confidently, “President Wang, don’t worry, there’s absolutely no problem with production capacity. It won’t delay the supply of mobile phone chips. We upgraded the production line three months ago, modifying half of the original process equipment. Now we can produce an additional 300,000 chips per month. That means we still have about 40% of our capacity available, ready to take new orders at any time.”

"Forty percent? That much?" Wang Chengdong paused, his eyes filled with surprise.

Xu Zhijun also came over, his voice filled with disbelief: "Brother Hu, your Jiangshan Group must have invested a lot this time, right? I heard that our competitors spent more than 20 billion yuan just on equipment to upgrade a 14-nanometer production line. You must have invested a lot to free up so much capacity!"

Hu Jiangshan scratched the back of his head, chuckled twice, and didn't reply directly.

He knew in his heart that this upgrade actually didn't cost much money, only two or three hundred million in total.

If this gets out, people in the industry will be shocked. After all, a standard semiconductor production line, just by buying a few lithography machines and etching machines, costs billions of dollars, not counting the cost of factory buildings, labor, and R&D. Some foreign companies even spend billions of dollars.

Of course, this cannot be said to Wang Chengdong and Xu Zhijun.

Firstly, they certainly wouldn't believe him and would think he was joking.

Secondly, this is a core secret of Jiangshan Group, and revealing it could easily cause trouble.

Fortunately, both of them were well-mannered and knew that business secrets should not be questioned indiscriminately. Seeing that Hu Jiangshan did not elaborate, they did not press further, but exchanged a glance with a hint of admiration in their eyes.

Hu Jiangshan quickly changed the subject: "President Wang, President Xu, you're not just asking about production capacity, are you? Do you have any new chips to order? If so, send me the specifications so I can have the technical department adapt them in advance."

Wang Chengdong nodded and pulled a folder from his briefcase: "We do need to place a new order. It's quite a coincidence, really. Our next-generation AI chip design is complete, and we're currently doing performance testing. If everything goes well, we'll prepare for tape-out next month." Xu Zhijun leaned in to add: "However, there's a problem. This chip's manufacturing process is quite advanced, roughly equivalent to 5.5 nanometers, a level higher than the previous Ascend 910. Brother Hu, can your production line manufacture it?"

"5.5 nanometers?" Hu Jiangshan's heart skipped a beat, and he tapped his fingertips lightly on the table.

Jiangshan Group's production line has just been upgraded to the third generation, which can theoretically make chips of about 5 nanometers. However, he knows that semiconductor production is not something that can be done by "inputting parameters". The wavelength of photolithography must be adjusted according to the circuit design of the chip, the etching depth must be optimized, and even the temperature of the wafer must be precisely controlled. If it is slightly off, it may produce scrap.

Although he felt that with Jiangshan Group's technology, handling these matters wouldn't be a problem, he couldn't make any definitive statements.

If we make promises now and things go wrong, it will not only delay Huayao's project, but also damage Jiangshan Group's reputation.

Hu Jiangshan considered for a moment, then said sincerely, "President Wang, President Xu, I can't guarantee this, but it's most likely to work out. However, our technical department needs to take a look at the IC design of the chip and do some compatibility testing for a few days. I'll give you a definite answer once the test results are out."

Wang Chengdong smiled upon hearing this, picked up his coffee cup and clinked it with Hu Jiangshan's: "Great! We're relieved to hear that. I'll have the technical department send you the complete set of design drawings later. You can test them as soon as possible, and contact us anytime if you encounter any problems."

"No problem!" Hu Jiangshan nodded in agreement.

He knew that Wang Chengdong and Xu Zhijun trusted him so much not only because they got along well, but also because of their cooperation during this period. Last time, when Huayao temporarily added an order for 10 mobile phone chips, Jiangshan Group managed to compress the delivery time from 20 days to 15 days, and not a single defective product was produced.

When chip raw material prices rose, Hu Jiangshan did not raise prices accordingly, only saying that it was a long-term cooperation and that they should not take advantage of the situation.

This reliability is the foundation of their trust.

After discussing production capacity, Hu Jiangshan couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Wang, Mr. Xu, is your AI chip this time an upgraded version of the Ascend 910? Is it called the Ascend 910B?"

Wang Chengdong shook his head, a hint of pride in his eyes: "It's not the 910B, it's temporarily called the Ascend 920. This upgrade went even more smoothly than we expected, and the performance has improved a lot."

"Ascend 920?" Hu Jiangshan's heart skipped a beat. The change from "910" to "920" was not a simple minor modification, but a major upgrade. It seemed that Huayao had put a lot of effort into artificial intelligence chips.

Xu Zhijun continued, "That's right! This chip's inference performance is more than twice as fast as the 910. If it can be mass-produced, our artificial intelligence project can take a big step forward."

Hu Jiangshan held his coffee cup, his mind drifting back to his past life.

In its previous life, Huayao also worked on the Pangu large model, but at that time the chip supply was cut off and the Ascend 910 could not be manufactured. The large model could only use other people's chips. The computing power was insufficient, so it could only focus on vertical fields such as weather forecasting and mining, and make some small models.

When chip supply was restored, the market for general-purpose large-scale models had already been taken over by foreign companies, and the Pangu large-scale models gradually faded into obscurity.

But this life is different. With Jiangshan Group supplying chips, Huayao's artificial intelligence projects have never stopped. If we can make a general-purpose large model in advance, we might be able to seize the initiative.

Thinking of this, Hu Jiangshan put down his coffee cup and said seriously, "President Wang, President Xu, I have a small suggestion about your artificial intelligence project, but I don't know if I should say it."

Wang Chengdong immediately sat up straight, his eyes shining: "Brother Hu, just say what you have to say, don't be shy! You understand both technology and the market, your advice will definitely be useful."

Xu Zhijun nodded in agreement: "Yes, don't hide anything, we're listening."

Hu Jiangshan organized his thoughts and slowly began to speak: "I think the Pangu Big Model doesn't need to just make small models for vertical fields. Why not try a general big model? For example, we can first build a basic framework that can understand text, calculate data, and reason logically. Then we can add data for different industries. For example, for logistics, we can add logistics routes and warehousing data, and for healthcare, we can add medical records and drug data. This way, we don't have to redevelop the model every time, which saves time and costs."

He paused, then gave another example: "For instance, if a user asks how to transport a batch of goods from Shanghai to Beijing at the lowest cost, the general model can not only tell you whether to take the highway or the rail, but also calculate the fuel cost, toll fees, and even coordinate with warehouses to see if it can be shared with other goods. This is the advantage of the general model, which is much more practical than making a separate small logistics model."

Hu Jiangshan spoke with increasing confidence: "Moreover, the general model can be iterated. This time it can process text, next time image data is added, it can identify cargo packaging, and the time after that video data is added, it can monitor the status of cargo during transportation. As long as there is enough computing power, there are many things it can do."

Wang Chengdong and Xu Zhijun remained silent, exchanging a thoughtful glance.

After a long while, Wang Chengdong finally spoke: "The general-purpose model you mentioned, is it somewhat similar to a search engine? It can directly provide answers, and it can also solve problems and make inferences?"

"Yes, that's roughly the idea." Hu Jiangshan nodded. "And it's more flexible than a search engine. Search engines can only find existing information, while general models can analyze, calculate, and even generate new things themselves, such as writing reports and drawing design diagrams based on user needs. If the computing power is sufficient, it's even possible to generate videos."

Wang Chengdong turned to Xu Zhijun: "Mr. Xu, what do you think?"

Xu Zhijun frowned and thought for a long time before slowly speaking: "I think this idea is feasible. Artificial intelligence is still in its infancy. Nobody knows what the future will be like. It is better to make a prototype of a general model first and iterate slowly than to keep making small models."

“Making a general-purpose model must require a lot of computing power, right?” Wang Chengdong frowned again. “Just training the model will require a lot of chips, so the cost is probably not low.”

Hu Jiangshan had already thought of this, and said calmly, "The cost is indeed not low, but Huayao has an advantage. You can make your own chips, instead of spending money to buy them like foreign companies do. This will reduce costs significantly. Moreover, if we don't do it now, we will be even more passive when foreign companies make them later."

"A foreign company?" Xu Zhijun was taken aback. "You mean a company from the United States?"

“Yes.” Hu Jiangshan nodded. “I have a friend who works at OpenAI. I heard they are working on a general-purpose large model. If we don’t hurry, the market will be taken over once their model comes out.”

Wang Chengdong and Xu Zhijun exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with a sense of urgency.

Wang Chengdong clenched his fist: "I think this project is feasible! Mr. Xu, let's bring it up at the next meeting and talk to the board of directors to try and get the budget approved."

Xu Zhijun nodded: "Okay! The Ascend 920 is coming out soon, and its computing power is enough to support model training. Let's hurry up and maybe we can get ahead of the foreigners."

Seeing how energetic the two were, Hu Jiangshan breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)