sinovels Chapter 120 Crisis Strikes!
Chapter 120 Crisis Strikes!
March 25, 2020, Shenzhen.
It's been a week since the press conference.
Su Chen's life didn't become easier because of the huge success of the press conference. On the contrary, he was busier than before.
Production capacity bottlenecks are the first major headache.
The monthly production capacity of the Asuka S1 is capped at 12,300 units, but the cumulative pre-orders within a week have already exceeded 15,000 units. It continues to grow at a rate of 300 to 400 units per day.
In total, fulfilling the initial order alone will require more than a month of full production capacity. And new orders are still pouring in...
Su Chen sat in his office, staring at the production schedule on his desk for a long time.
The quickest solution in the short term is to partner with Xingyao Technology for contract manufacturing. He has already instructed Xu Lang and Han Shijie to initiate contract manufacturing negotiations, with the goal of starting production in October.
But October is too far away.
There are still more than two months until October, and the delivery delays of the Asuka S1 will become increasingly severe during this period.
However, while the production capacity issue is thorny, it is at least a "happy problem"—supply falling short of demand is better than not being able to sell anything.
however--
At the same time that Su Chen was fully engaged in capacity planning and preparations for the acquisition of Microchip Sensing—
Thousands of miles away, a storm is quietly brewing against Hongyuan.
……
That same evening, in Beijing.
He Zhiqiang's office at the headquarters of Hangxindatong Technology.
Xiaohan was under the light. The air conditioner was set very low, but the atmosphere inside the room was even colder than the air conditioner.
He Zhiqiang sat behind a huge mahogany desk, picking up a fountain pen in his hand, his gaze gloomy.
There were three documents on the table.
The first document is a detailed report brought back by Liu Boyuan from the Shenzhen press conference, including all the technical parameters of H-Link, pricing strategies, and all the details of the cooperation with Lianchuang Group.
The second document is the "Member Company Attrition Warning Report" compiled by the Secretary-General of the LDCL Standard Alliance. Within a week of the press conference, three LDCL member companies had privately inquired about the conditions for leaving the alliance.
The third document was a note written by He Zhiqiang himself—it only had three names on it:
Su Chen. H-Link. Hongyuan.
Each name was underlined with a thick horizontal line drawn in pen.
"President He."
The office door was gently pushed open, and Liu Boyuan walked in.
"The DJI team has arrived."
He Zhiqiang nodded slightly: "Please come in."
Liu Boyuan opened the door, and a lean, middle-aged man walked in.
Chen Jiaming, Senior Director of Corporate Strategy at DJI.
Yes, Chen Jiaming, who was visibly shaken by the data from the Flying Bird S1 at the press conference just seven days ago, is now sitting in the office of the president of Hangxindatong.
In the business world, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
He Zhiqiang didn't stand on ceremony and went straight to the point:
"Mr. Chen, it's been two years since we last met at the Low-Altitude Economy Summit. I never expected to meet again in this kind of setting."
Chen Jiaming smiled slightly, a hint of bitterness in his smile:
"Mr. He, you're too kind. However, there are some things we really need to sit down and discuss."
The two exchanged a glance, both reading the same meaning in each other's eyes—
Su Chen and his Hongyuan have become a threat to everyone.
"Let me go first," He Zhiqiang said, putting down his pen in a low voice.
"Within a week of Su Chen's H-Link launch, three member companies in our LDCL alliance are already considering withdrawing. If this trend continues, the LDCL alliance will be defunct within six months."
"The alliance contributes over 20 million yuan in licensing revenue to Hangxindatong annually—this is no small sum. But more importantly, the LDCL standard is Hangxindatong's core competitive advantage in the low-altitude communication field. Without its monopoly on the LDCL standard, Hangxindatong would lose its voice in the entire low-altitude economy industry chain."
He Zhiqiang's voice became even lower:
"This is something I cannot accept."
Chen Jiaming nodded slowly:
"DJI's situation isn't optimistic either. After the launch event, we urgently convened a technical review meeting, and the conclusion was that the FlightCore S1's flight control performance is at least one and a half to two years ahead of our FlightCore. Furthermore, the H-Link communication protocol surpasses our OcuSync in all three core metrics: latency, bandwidth, and interference resistance."
"What worries me most isn't the technological gap—that can be closed. What worries me most is that Su Chen is building an ecosystem."
Chen Jiaming's voice became serious:
"With over 370 ecosystem partners, strategic endorsement from Lianchuang Group, licensing agreements from Xingyao Technology, and three flight control companies immediately announcing their abandonment of self-development—he's rapidly establishing an industry-standard network effect with extremely low hardware prices. Once he forms an ecosystem barrier, it will be too late for us to turn the tables."
He Zhiqiang tapped the table lightly:
"So we share the same thought—we can't wait any longer."
Chen Jiaming nodded in agreement.
"But it's not enough for just the two of us," He Zhiqiang said. "Su Chen has the capital backing of Lianchuang Group. If we only compete with him head-on in the market, given the current gap, it will be difficult to stop him in the short term."
"What President He means is—"
"What I mean is, we need to start with the supply chain."
He Zhiqiang's gaze sharpened:
"Although Su Chen's Flying Bird S1 has self-developed core chips and algorithms, the MEMS gyroscope array in his OIS active vibration reduction system is outsourced—the supplier is Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. of Japan."
Chen Jiaming's eyes lit up slightly.
He has a technical background, so he knows all too well what this means.
The MEMS gyroscope is the core component of the Flybird S1's OIS active vibration damping system—without the MEMS gyroscope, the OIS system is just a pile of scrap metal. And without the OIS system, the performance of the Flybird S1 will be reduced by more than half—the terrifying data of "0.08-second correction response time" and "3-centimeter hovering offset" will no longer exist.
"Does Hangxindatong have a cooperative relationship with Murata?" Chen Jiaming asked.
He Zhiqiang smiled slightly:
"Hangxindatong's parent company is Beihang University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Beihang University has had an academic cooperation relationship with Tokyo Institute of Technology for more than 20 years, and the director professor of the microelectronics laboratory at Tokyo Institute of Technology is also an external technical consultant for Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd."
Chen Jiaming gradually understood.
"Of course, academic relationships alone aren't enough," He Zhiqiang added, "but if DJI could also exert some influence from a commercial perspective—"
"DJI purchases over $30 million worth of MEMS components from Murata every year," Chen Jiaming said calmly and confidently. "We are one of Murata's top three customers in China."
He Zhiqiang nodded in satisfaction.
"Besides Murata, I have another idea."
His gaze fell on the second document on the table:
"Su Chen's OEM partnership with Xingyao Technology is key to resolving his production capacity bottleneck. If this OEM partnership can be disrupted—"
Chen Jiaming frowned slightly: "Xingyao Technology is a Suzhou-based company with annual revenue of 1.2 billion. Direct pressure isn't realistic."
"There's no need to put direct pressure on Xingyao." He Zhiqiang's smile became meaningful. "Xingyao Technology's main business is OEM manufacturing of communication modules. Mr. Chen should know which company is their largest OEM customer, right?"
Chen Jiaming's eyes changed.
Starry Technology's largest OEM customer is DJI.
DJI's annual OEM orders with Xingyao exceed 300 million yuan, accounting for about a quarter of Xingyao's annual revenue.
If DJI uses the adjustment of its OEM order allocation as leverage, it may temporarily transfer some orders to other OEM manufacturers.
Han Shijie had to seriously consider whether it was worth offending his biggest client to cooperate with Hongyuan on OEM manufacturing.
"President He has thought this through very thoroughly." Chen Jiaming's tone held a hint of admiration.
"There's a third person." He Zhiqiang's voice lowered further:
"Xia Kanghao."
Chen Jiaming was slightly annoyed, clearly surprised by the name.
"Xia Kanghao of Haotai Capital?"
"That's right." He Zhiqiang nodded. "Haotai Capital has invested hundreds of millions in the low-altitude economy sector, with a deep presence. Su Chen's Flying Bird 2.0 launch event has disrupted many of Xia Kanghao's plans—several flight control and communication module companies invested in by Haotai are now rushing to shift towards the Flying Bird ecosystem."
"I understand Xia Kanghao's personality—he won't sit idly by and wait for his doom."
Chen Jiaming nodded slightly.
He knew Xia Kanghao well—the methods he used to acquire Tianying back then were enough to prove everything. With Su Chen disrupting Haotai Capital's plans in the low-altitude airspace, Xia Kanghao would definitely not stand idly by.
"So—" Chen Jiaming slowly began, "Does President He mean for the three of us to join forces?"
A cold smile curled at the corner of He Zhiqiang's lips:
"It's not called joining forces. It's called—each doing their own thing."
"I'll be responsible for cutting off Su Chen's MEMS supply chain. DJI will be responsible for creating obstacles in Xingyao's OEM partnerships. As for Xia Kanghao—he'll handle it himself."
Chen Jiaming remained silent for a while.
As someone with a technical background, he didn't agree with this kind of supply chain suppression. But as the head of DJI's corporate strategy department, he knew all too well that if he didn't put the brakes on now, Hongyuan's ecosystem would completely form a barrier in six months, and DJI's position in the low-altitude economy would change from "leader" to "follower".
This is something he cannot accept.
"Okay." Chen Jiaming finally nodded. "I'll report to General Manager Wang when I get back."
He Zhiqiang stood up and extended his hand.
Chen Jiaming also stood up and shook his hand.
The moment their hands clasped together, both of them knew clearly—
From this moment on, Hangxindatong and DJI, two giants that were originally unrelated, came together because of a common enemy.
……
Meanwhile, in Shanghai.
The headquarters of Haotai Capital, Xia Kanghao's office.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows is the night view of Lujiazui, with lights shining like a silver river.
Xia Kanghao sat in a huge swivel chair, holding an internal investment report in his hand.
The report is titled: "Impact Assessment of Haotai's Low-Altitude Investment Portfolio Following the Launch of Hongyuan Flying Bird 2.0".
The report's conclusions are shocking—
"Of Haotai's six core investments in the low-altitude economy sector, four have been directly impacted by Hongyuan Flying Bird 2.0. Two of the invested companies have explicitly stated their intention to shift towards Flying Bird Ecosystem. The overall return on these six investments is expected to decrease from the anticipated 180% to 55%-70% by the end of the year."
"Estimated total losses: 2.1 million - 3.4 million."
Xia Kanghao's face remained expressionless.
But the knuckles of his fingers, which were gripping the report, had turned white.
Losses ranging from 2.1 million to 3.4 million.
For a giant fund like Haotai Capital, this figure wouldn't be crippling. But for Xia Kanghao personally—it's a serious blow to his judgment.
His carefully managed low-altitude economic investment portfolio was shattered by a 26-year-old with just one press conference.
How ironic.
Xia Kanghao put down the report and picked up the phone.
"Help me arrange a meeting with He Zhiqiang. Tell him I'm very interested in the future development of low-altitude communication standards and would like to exchange views with him."
He paused for a moment, then added:
"Also, please provide me with a list of our partners in Japan, especially those related to SanSan Shokai and Murata Manufacturing."
In the darkness, Xia Kanghao's eyes became exceptionally sharp under the lights of Lujiazui.
At the last press conference, he once considered joining the fight if he couldn't win.
But after reading the report, he quickly dismissed the idea.
Join Su Chen?
ridiculous.
If Su Chen's ecosystem is truly established, Haotai's entire layout in the low-altitude field will become worthless.
If you can't beat them, join them?
No.
If you can't beat them, demolish them.
……
And so, without Su Chen's knowledge, three forces were quietly gathering together.
Hangxindatong aims to maintain its monopoly on the LDCL standard.
DJI aims to prevent the S1 drone from forming an ecological barrier.
Haotai Capital is trying to salvage its hundreds of millions of yuan investment in the low-altitude airspace sector.
Each of the three parties has its own objectives and methods, but they all point to the same goal—
Su Chen, and his Hongyuan Intelligent.
The storm has taken shape.
Meanwhile, Su Chen was in his office in Shenzhen, planning to visit Dr. Li Wei of Microchip Sensing in Suzhou.
He had no idea how fierce the approaching storm would be.