Rebirth 76: Industrial Internet Empire

"Are you Jeff Hawkins? You have a PhD in biophysics, why do you want to develop a handheld computer?" Yang Mo looked at the young man about his own age in front of him with interest and asked with a smile.

"My research in biophysics has fallen into a technical bottleneck and I have never been able to break through it, so I wanted to explore it from a different perspective..." Jeff Hawkins said calmly.

"Jeff, what do you think of the development prospects of computers?" Yang Mo asked very casually.

After Jeff Hawkins thought for a while, he said with some uncertainty: "I think personal computers in the future will most likely be dominated by handheld computers that are small enough to fit in your pocket, and the price will be between 500-1000 US dollars." In this time, portable computers that are lightweight, flexible and affordable will become mainstream..."

"$500?" According to Jeff Hawkins' description, the appearance of the first-generation pad flashed in Yang Mo's mind.

Jeff Hawkins nodded and said: "It's completely possible! As long as the sales volume reaches 100 million units, there is every hope that the production cost can be reduced to less than 500 US dollars!"

"The financing plan in your business plan is US$200 million?" Yang Mo asked casually.

Jeff Hawkins looked embarrassed and said a little sheepishly: "With $100 million, we can build up the company's technical team. If you think the budget is too high, $50 is fine?"

"Can you complete product development, design, and mass production with only US$50?" Yang Mo chuckled.

"It's a little less, but once we come up with a mature design plan and prototype, it will be much easier to go to the capital market for financing!" Jeff Hawkins said with a dodgey look.

"Jeff, did Dr. Andy tell you? Andy Venture Capital has holding requirements for investing in start-up companies..." Yang Mo asked casually.

"Mr. Yang, this is what I don't understand. If a startup company uses more than half of its equity financing in seed and angel rounds, it will be detrimental to future development. Not only will it not be sought after by the capital market, It also cannot mobilize the enthusiasm of the entrepreneurial team, and the project is likely to fail!" Jeff Hawkins said with concern.

Every founder team with ideas and ambitions is unwilling to get too much money in the seed round and angel round, not because the money is too hot, but because the equity value at this time is very low. Even if they take out 5% of the equity, I can’t get much money, so who’s money is blown away by the strong wind?

Yang Mo was just bluffing, striving for a dominant position in the negotiations. After pondering for a moment, he said: "Jeff, Andy Venture Capital can agree to your plan to raise US$30 million with 200% of the equity. In return, every round of financing for Palm in the future will , whether it is VC or PE, including IPO, every round of financing is led by Andy Venture Capital, unless you give up on your own initiative!"

Of course, Jeff Hawkins nodded and agreed to such a simple request without hesitation, and Yang Mo was not worried. Andy Ventures only needed to lead one round of investment to firmly hold the controlling rights in his hands.

Yang Mo doesn't know where Palm will eventually go, but he knows the value of Jeff Hawkins. If he can give some directional suggestions, there is a high probability that this technology madman can come up with something before Apple, which is constantly trapped in internal friction, The palmos system can even make smartphones available ahead of schedule based on the less successful first-generation pad. After all, Jeff Hawkins also holds the patent for the palmprint handwriting recognition system.

In the eyes of technology geeks like Jeff Hawkins and Andy Bettlesheim, Apple, like Microsoft, is not an invincible myth. The so-called epoch-making innovation actually draws on the technology and R&D direction of Sun and Palm in many aspects. .

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An independent three-story building next to the San Jose-Nimitz Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The headquarters of the San Jose Mercury News is located here. This is a newspaper with a long history. It was formed in 1851 by the merger of the "San Jose Courier" founded in 1883 and the "San Jose News" founded in 1983. It is one of the most important newspapers in the Bay Area. One of the most influential newspapers.

As the CEO of the San Jose Mercury News, Perez had a difficult time. He tried his best to set up an e-newsletter service against all opinions, but spent a lot of resources but achieved nothing. Perez received accountability from the board of directors.

Perez just did a very forward-looking thing at the wrong time, but the Internet at this time, even in Silicon Valley, was only a game for a few people.

"Chairman! Mr. Li Heping, Chairman of Qianhai Asset Management Company, and his wife Mie Kishida are here to visit!" The assistant knocked on the door gently and came in to report.

"Qianhai Asset Management Company? Qianhai Asset Management, which just acquired the shares of Cisco and Oracle not long ago?" Perez asked in surprise.

The assistant nodded and said: "Yes! I have already taken them to the reception room..."

Perez secretly thought that even if a large client like Qianhai Asset Management wanted to advertise in the San Jose Mercury News or do other business cooperation, just make a phone call and someone would come to meet them. The chairman and his wife actually came to the door in person. visit?Is Qianhai Asset Management planning to acquire San Siro Mercury News?How can this be?How could these wealthy Japanese consortiums value a newspaper with a market value of only US$2000 million?

Perez, who was already focused on his thoughts, no longer thought about it. After opening the door to the reception room and walking in, he said with a smile on his face: "Mr. Li, welcome to the headquarters of the San Jose Mercury News. I am CEO Pei Rez..."

Li Heping smiled and said: "Mr. Perez, I have long admired your name! Under your leadership, the San Jose Mercury News has become one of the most famous newspapers in the Bay Area!"

Mie Kishida also stood up and said with a smile: "Mr. Perez, President of Tokyo Mainichi Economic Express, Mie Kishida, please take care of me!"

After a while of polite greetings, Perez asked tentatively: "Mr. Li, you are now a very popular figure in the Silicon Valley capital circle. This time you and your wife made a special trip to San Jose. Is there anything we can do for you?"

Li Heping said straight to the point: "Mr. Perez, let me get it straight. Qianhai Asset Management will focus on Silicon Valley and Wall Street in the future. Qianhai Asset Management will next get involved in the media field and prepare to acquire some potential companies." Local American newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations and film and television film and entertainment companies have formed a cross-disciplinary media group..."