What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 369 Joining the gang
The Hesai trio encountered a cold reception in terms of financing for their laser radar project, which was something Yu Xing had expected but he did not expect it to be so cold. Li Yifan's interest in joining Carbon Silicon Group to do related research and development was even more unexpected.

But to simplify this matter, there are roughly three questions.

LiDAR, right? Yes.

Are they the right people? Yes.

Can we get money to give them? Yes.

Yu Xing simply thought about it and then gave a positive but restrained attitude, because, from the surprised expressions on the other two faces, it can be seen that Li Yifan's expression was not discussed beforehand and might have been just an impulse.

"You can talk tonight. You can get the money from Red Falcon Capital. Subsequent financing may be difficult, but I can help you find a solution. However, I am optimistic about the future commercialization of LiDAR. If you are willing to join Carbon Silicon Group, I am 100% welcome."

Yu Xing expressed his position right at the door of the hotel, hoping that the other party had made the decision after careful consideration.

All three of them expressed their gratitude to Mr. Yu. No matter what, this man had taken them to meet with four investment institutions in a row and really provided help, which was very grateful.

Yu Xing drove away.

Li Yifan, Xiang Shaoqing and Sun Kai stood at the hotel entrance and watched the car disappear into the night.

"Oh, Mr. Yu is a good person." Sun Kai sighed.

"Yes, I've heard that Mr. Yu is a warm-hearted person. This time, I met him and he is indeed very warm-hearted. But rumors are not always true." Li Yifan was a little depressed, but still said, "He is not sarcastic at all."

Xiang Shaoqing said objectively: "It may be that the competition from Penguin has forced Mr. Yu to the point where he has to be sarcastic."

Li Yifan nodded, and after chatting for a few more words about his impressions, he asked, "How do we choose this project now?"

Xiang Shaoqing and Sun Kai both fell silent. The attitude of the investors they met in the past two days was like a bucket of cold water poured on their entrepreneurial enthusiasm. Now they felt extremely chilled.

Even the angel funding from Red Falcon Capital seemed to be obtained with the help of Mr. Yu through his personal connections, but a bigger problem would be if follow-up funding could not be provided.

"Velodyne's LiDAR costs 80,000 to 90,000 US dollars, and it is not yet up to the automotive grade standard. There is a lot of room for improvement." Xiang Shaoqing reiterated the prospects of LiDAR products, and added, "Sun Kai's laser can also be directly optimized into the light source of automotive radar."

The three of them first considered making methane detection products because there was research on related technologies. For example, Sun Kai studied laser spectroscopy at Stanford University, while Xiang Shaoqing and Li Yifan both had experience in the field of mechanical control.

These technologies and experiences can be transferred to lidar, which has a much higher market potential than industrial inspection equipment.

However, the indifference of well-known investment institutions is too frustrating.

However, if he goes back to do methane testing... after all, he still has the support of Mr. Yu, and he can get the first round of funding.

Li Yifan looked at the night sky, thought for a moment and said, "It seems that Mr. Yu is very familiar with those investors. He also has a listed company. Institutions are unwilling to invest in us, but they are willing to invest in Carbon Silicon Group. In this case, as long as Carbon Silicon Group is willing to invest in us, it will all be the same."

The three people encountered ruthless pessimism from capital just as they came up with a business plan, and now they feel really confused.

Sun Kai sighed and said with a dull look, "Don't harm him. People invested money to let him build cars, not lidar. Xiang Shaoqing, you go back to Apple, Li Yifan, you go to Western Digital, and I'll go to Stanford. That's it."

After hearing what he said, Li Yifan shook his head helplessly and thought, "That's it."

Xiang Shaoqing hesitated for a moment and said, "I think we should listen to what Mr. Yu has to say tomorrow. He can complete such a big project, so he must have his own opinions."

Li Yifan and Sun Kai looked at each other and suddenly felt that it made sense. This matter still depended on Mr. Yu’s attitude.

The next afternoon, Lingang Office.

Yu Xing saw the three entrepreneurs who had dark circles under their eyes and looked visibly haggard.

After pouring the tea, the secretary left the office, leaving space for communication.

Li Yifan and his two companions had actually half expected to go back to their own homes during this trip. Instead, they were much more relaxed than the previous two days, so they did not talk much about lidar during the greetings. They were more curious about the progress of the electric car project of Carbon Silicon Group.

Yu Xing patiently introduced to them the progress of Carbon Silicon Group in various R&D and cooperation, and even shared his thoughts and adjustments on the organizational structure.

Compared with the first half of the year, Carbon Silicon Group set up cross-departmental committees after sorting out and integrating the R&D system. One is the change of the original executive committee to the product decision-making committee, and the other is the addition of a supply chain management office.

Li Yifan and his colleagues had no experience in business management, and they felt they only had a vague understanding of what Mr. Yu was saying.

"Mr. Yu, Carbon Silicon Group has a lot of research and development tasks to accomplish." Li Yifan finally turned the topic to the main business, "This laser radar..."

Yu Xing gave his thought-provoking answer without hesitation: "Carbon Silicon Group has no money now."

Although Li Yifan and the other two had expectations, they still felt a chill in their hearts.

"So, regarding the LiDAR you want to make, you can't get money from Carbon Silicon Group right now. The financing provided by IDG and Capital Today is based on our consideration of electric vehicles, not LiDAR." Yu Xing said, "Carbon Silicon Group will need financing in the future, so we need to pay attention to this aspect, but it doesn't matter. I have a sum of money in my hand that I can't use for the time being, so I can use it for research and development."

"As for this company, I think that once it makes some progress, I can inject it into Carbon Silicon Group as an asset, and I can get some shares back at a higher premium."

This plan was actually intended to be used to acquire Lotus Engineering, but for now it will be used on Hesai first.

Carbon Silicon Group cannot squeeze out money from either Lotus or Hesai now.

Sun Kai was stunned: "Will the institutions be unhappy?"

"Once I get the financing, it won't matter whether they are happy or not," Yu Xing said with a smile, "as long as the final result is good."

Sun Kai: “…”

Li Yifan didn't expect that Mr. Yu had already come up with a plan for implementation, and he didn't expect that the other party was not thinking about whether to invest or not, but about how to invest and operate.

He took a deep breath and then thought about the situation.

Yu Xing took a sip of tea, and after explaining his plan, he asked, "You guys discussed it carefully yesterday, right? What are your thoughts?"

The three people looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard such a question. They had been talking later and later yesterday and were getting more and more frustrated. But when they looked at Mr. Yu today, he seemed very confident, and it was not just his words but also his actual actions.

"Well, Mr. Yu, um... can I ask you a question?" Xiang Shaoqing asked after hesitating for a few seconds.

Yu Xing smiled and nodded: "Of course."

"Investors are not optimistic about LiDAR, why are you willing to invest in it?" Xiang Shaoqing looked at the founder of Silicon Carbon Group in front of him.

Yu Xing hesitated for a moment, but decided to simplify the discussion. He lit a cigarette and asked a question: "What do you think makes a company good?"

Li Yifan thought about it and gave his answer: "Good products and moats."

Yu Xing asked: "What is the essence of the moat?"

Li Yifan pondered for a moment and felt that the answer to this question was too complicated. It included both what was in books and the vague perception of various dragon heads in reality.

“I think if a company can sell something at a price that doesn’t drive users to switch to competing products, then it’s good,” Yu Xing said with a smile. “I think the future of lidar is one of the elements of this capability.”

That's pretty straightforward.

Li Yifan seemed to understand but not quite.

"BBA has brand value and its own niche positioning, while it is difficult for newly established car companies like us to compete with each other in terms of brand. The most direct manifestation is to widen the gap in technology. LiDAR has such potential, and I also think it can actually bring safety redundancy compared to current models, which is worth betting on." Yu Xing further said his considerations, "Moreover, compared to getting products from suppliers, it is undoubtedly more convenient to accumulate experience by integrating R&D. If LiDAR can also be widely used in the future, we can also more easily widen the gap."

Sun Kai hesitated and said, "I'm afraid we may not be able to succeed..."

"You really said the ugly words upfront, but this is also good." Yu Xing said with a smile, "Nothing is guaranteed to succeed. Regarding your direction, I have only one thing to say: if you don't do well, it's my fault."

——If it doesn’t go well, it’s my fault.

The trio's frustration and hesitation were swept away by these words!

Damn, Mr. Yu has already expressed his stance like this, is there anything else I dare not do?
Li Yifan licked his lips: "Mr. Yu, the scale of this research and development fund..."

"First, we need to squeeze out $500 million. Although we are setting up a new company, the site is ready-made, and some employees can be recruited with the funds of Carbon Silicon Group. This is a small amount of money, but it will also save the expenses of the new company." Yu Xing said seriously, "I originally wanted to use this money for another acquisition, but the negotiations are currently deadlocked, so I will allocate a part of it to use with you first."

He also promised: "Next year's R&D funding will not be less than 1000 million US dollars. Regardless of whether it is financing or my personal investment, I will be able to get this money. I also have a company listed on Nasdaq."

Listed companies are the best credit endorsement.

The trio showed obvious excitement on their faces and did not doubt Mr. Yu's promise.

Judging from public information, what Mr. Yu said is still very valuable. He even distributed the WeChat options to employees as promised, and that amount of money is a huge sum of money.

"As for your salary, although Li Yifan said he is willing to join Carbon Silicon Group, after comprehensive consideration, the options plus salary of the new company are more suitable. If it is merged into Carbon Silicon Group in the future, it can be converted into the group's options according to the value. Carbon Silicon Group's future goal is also to go public, and its valuation is bound to be better than that of a single LiDAR company." Yu Xing said all the considerations. "The specific number of options is different from doing your own project. I will study it further, and you also need to think about this expectation."

Li Yifan said at this time: "Mr. Yu, just tell me directly, how much do you think is appropriate?"

Sun Kai smiled and said what he really thought before: "Yes, Mr. Yu, you tell me, let's discuss it today, otherwise, we will all divide our luggage and disband."

Yu Xing was somewhat surprised at the possibility of their "breakup". Although they had encountered difficulties in financing, such things were not uncommon. Why would they end up breaking up?
He pondered and said, "Normally, a new company would set aside 10% of the option pool for key employees, but considering your roles, roughly 10% of the options will be given to each person. As for the salary, it will be based on the industry's top standards."

Since someone is taking the money and someone is taking the risk, this project is completely different from starting your own business. You don't even have to rush to pursue the revenue from bringing the product to market. If you can really make the project a success, you can get additional salary and benefits later.

Li Yifan thought about it for a few seconds and felt that he could accept such an option.

He didn't speak immediately. He turned his head slightly and found that Xiang Shaoqing and Sun Kai's faces clearly showed their agreement.

Li Yifan did not bargain any more and said directly: "Mr. Yu, I can accept it."

Although the company was not established, the person who was originally planned to serve as CEO made such a statement, which directly led Xiang Shaoqing and Sun Kai to agree.

Seeing that they agreed, Yu Xing couldn't help but stand up and shake hands with them one by one, saying with a smile: "I think the name Hesai is quite nice, so let's continue to use it. What was the meaning behind your previous idea of ​​naming it this way?"

Li Yifan said a little embarrassedly: "This is San Jose in Silicon Valley. We originally planned to start a company in the United States, so we used the homophony of 'Hesai'. Well, now... we can use 'Lin Gang'."

Yu Xing was stunned for a moment, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "It depends on what you like. I can do anything. If you have any needs later, you can directly send me a WeChat message or call Zhang Yangxu."

The three of them nodded solemnly. Compared to the frustration of breaking up, they were now filled with excitement.

Yu Xing chatted with the trio for a while again, this time listening to them talk about the performance of lidar products in the current global market.

After seeing off the obviously excited Hesai team, he took care of the work at hand and then drove to find Liu Wanying who had crossed the mountain to inspect the situation of the Mitsubishi project.

"Well, there is a high probability that Mitsubishi has falsified the standards. It did not use Japan's own industry standards, but the American ones." Liu Wanying has been working on Mitsubishi's research report for some time.

Yu Xing took the document handed over by Xiaoying and looked at it carefully.

Liu Wanying did not continue to talk about Mitsubishi, but asked slowly: "Tell me, if a pharmaceutical company acquires a drug from another pharmaceutical company and then immediately raises the price of the drug by 7 times, is it illegal?"

Yu Xing casually replied: "The Market Supervision Bureau will definitely intervene."

Liu Wanying nodded: "If it is not a domestic company and the procedures are not illegal, will there be any problems with this model?"

Yu Xing shifted his gaze from the research report to Xiaoying's face and asked, "What kind of company is so awesome?"

"I found a piece of information in my mailbox that a Canadian pharmaceutical company called Valencia acquired a dermatology drug company called Dow in 09, and immediately raised the prices of the acquired drugs."

“Doxycycline for acne has gone from $15 a bottle to $150.”

"Clindamycin gel went from $10 a tube to $40, and pine cream went from $8 a tube to $35."

Liu Wanying briefly described the situation.

Yu Xing was stunned. He was stunned for a long time before he sighed, "Is it so awesome? Is it true?"

"Really? They acquired the company first and then raised the price. They paid a premium to acquire a drug that already had a certain monopoly position. That was the acquisition in 09. Last year, they acquired a company in Lithuania and expanded this business to Europe." Liu Wanying said seriously, "How is this business model?"

Yu Xing: “…”

He had a strong feeling that he was still very immature. This was the model for selling at a low price without letting consumers switch to competing products.

Yu Xing exhaled: "You know, I studied medicine."

Liu Wanying nodded: "Yes, I know, you studied medicine and have good knife skills."

Yu Xing was silent for a moment, then gave his evaluation: "I wish I could get rid of him as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)