Chapter 699: Phase One: 140 Billion, First to Receive 200 Million in 01 Special Project Funds! So I've Become the Horse Bones?

Meanwhile, the home appliance, game console, and automotive sectors remained untapped.

“President Chen, let me introduce you to a few new friends. These are all pillars of our industry.”

He Boting was extremely enthusiastic. After speaking, she led Chen Yansen further into the room.

Seeing this, the group of people didn’t dare to remain casually seated.

After all, Chen Yansen had just topped the Forbes list of the world’s wealthiest people. He also held cutting-edge technologies like the Orange Z1 instruction set, the Tianhe architecture, the Profound Core architecture, and the Hongyan baseband, so they didn’t dare to underestimate him.

One by one, they hurriedly stood up, smiles on their faces.

“This is President Zhang from Huahong Hongli. They’ve been in chip manufacturing for years, focusing on 8-inch wafer fabrication with a specialty in embedded memory and power devices.”

“Next to him is President Li of Beifang Hua Chuang. As a core supplier of semiconductor equipment in the country, their business is focused on etching and thin-film deposition equipment.”

He Boting explained as they walked.

“President Chen, I’ve heard so much about you!”

“President Zhang, President Li, a pleasure. I hope we’ll have opportunities to collaborate.”

Chen Yansen responded to each in turn.

He Boting was very complimentary in her introductions, making sure to highlight each person’s strengths.

Though she came from a technical background, she had been in management at Huawei and Hisilicon for over a decade. Even her once-sharp personality had long been polished to be smooth and tactful.

Liu Xunfeng, standing to one side, chimed in at the right moment. “And this is President Wang Chaixin of Changdian Technology. They’re real heavy-hitters in packaging and testing. Last year, they landed a huge order from Qualcomm, and their global market share is ranked sixth.”

As they spoke, Wang Chaixin was the first to extend his hand. “President Chen, you’re so young, yet you’ve made Tiangong Technology such a roaring success. The Celestial Craft A100 Chip, in particular, has been a huge boost to the prestige of Hua Country’s semiconductor industry.”

“You’re too kind, Chairman Wang.” Chen Yansen shook his hand and replied politely.

‘Changdian’s packaging technology really is top-notch in this country. Building a good relationship now will be beneficial for future collaboration.’

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Chen Yansen scanned the technical teams standing behind the executives out of the corner of his eye.

He discreetly committed a few faces to memory, the smile on his lips deepening.

‘Looks like this networking event isn’t just for gauging industry trends and landing some government subsidies,’ he thought. ‘I might even be able to poach some top talent for Tiangong’s new ventures.’

‘Talent is fluid,’ he mused. ‘What’s wrong with it flowing from other companies to Tiangong Technology?’

‘President Chen is a benevolent man. He can’t bear to see these people waste their lives. After all, only by following him can they have a bright future.’

At that moment, Chen Yansen was surrounded by a crowd of tycoons worth tens or even hundreds of billions, like the moon surrounded by stars.

Not until 9:50 AM did the representatives from the Industry and Information Technology Association and the Business Association slowly enter the venue.

The middle-aged man in the lead, dressed in a white shirt and a light-gray jacket, walked straight to the center of the head table and took a seat.

He was in his early fifties, with a medium build, a round face, and a pair of glasses perched on his nose.

“I am Dai Zhenyu of the Industry and Information Technology Association. I’ve invited you all here today to discuss the development plan for Hua Country’s integrated circuit industry.”

“Integrated circuits are the core of the information industry. Moreover, they are a foundational and strategic industry supporting our national economy and security.”

“In recent years, although our country’s integrated circuit industry has made significant progress, we still have obvious shortcomings in key technologies and in achieving a self-sufficient and controllable industry chain.”

“This is especially true in areas like advanced manufacturing processes, high-end equipment, and materials, where we still lag significantly behind the leading international standards.”

After a brief pause, Dai Zhenyu continued, “To accelerate the industry’s development, the state has decided to establish an integrated circuit industry investment fund. The first phase will raise 140 billion, which will be focused on supporting key sectors like chip manufacturing, design, equipment, and materials.”

One could tell at a glance that Dai Zhenyu was a seasoned veteran of the Central Bureau. Even his opening remarks were as precise as an official document, his tone consistently calm and measured.

Chen Yansen, sitting in the front row, automatically filtered out 99% of the information. The only thing his ears caught was the figure “140 billion.”

‘He came to Yanjing to get paid!’

Dai Zhenyu took a breath and went on to explain the fund’s allocation plan: 60% would be used for equity investment, or strategic capital deployment.

Simply put, if a company was short on cash, the fund would directly invest in it, allowing the company to use the money to upgrade equipment, replace production lines, and attract top talent with high salaries.

The other 40% would be allocated to the ’01 Special Project’ fund pool, which aimed to drive R&D for key processes through non-repayable grants.

“Take Huaxin International, for example. If they can solve the yield rate problem for their 28-nanometer process, they will immediately receive a 500 million reward. This money requires no repayment; they only need to pass the technical verification.”

“Furthermore, the Big Fund will also provide a rebate on a certain percentage of a company’s hardware investments in things like chip manufacturing equipment and cleanroom construction.”

The bottom line was simple: if you had the capabilities, the state would throw money at you.

The entrepreneurs in the audience were buzzing with excitement.

140 billion!

Who wouldn’t want a piece of that pie?

But some also wondered privately: would the application process for these rewards actually be smooth?

Would they get bogged down by red tape?

As if reading their minds, Dai Zhenyu changed his tone. “Since its founding, Tiangong Technology has made remarkable achievements in chip design. Not only has it developed homegrown architectures for CPUs and GPUs, but it has also won back market share for China with its Celestial Craft T100 and Celestial Craft A100.”

“Therefore, we have decided to award them the first targeted, non-repayable grant in the amount of 200 million.”

‘200 million?’

Chen Yansen was stunned for a moment, then a smile spread across his face.

‘I haven’t even warmed my seat yet, and 200 million is already in the bag?’

It was a classic case of paying a fortune for horse bones to attract a prized steed. He had to admit, it was a very effective move.

The mood of the guests was instantly ignited.

Chen Yansen gave a wry smile, thinking, ‘So I’m the poster boy now?’

He was no stranger to this tactic.

Whether with FoxTao or in the early days of Pinbei, he had used similar tactics. First, you create a classic success story to make merchants across the country understand one simple truth: Come and get your easy money!

And Dai Zhenyu’s thinking was much the same: give Tiangong Technology a 200 million cash reward to leverage more companies into investing additional capital in the semiconductor market.

“The development of integrated circuits depends on the collective efforts of everyone present. The Industry and Information Technology Association will work in close collaboration with the Business Association and the Huake Science Association to provide companies with comprehensive support, including policy, funding, and talent.”

Dai Zhenyu’s speech quickly concluded.

Afterward, a representative from the Business Association took the floor and detailed the scope of the subsidies and the methods of distribution.

By the time they both finished, it was already 10:30 AM.

Next was the Q&A session, where entrepreneurs who were unclear about the Big Fund’s operational model could ask questions.

Chen Yansen’s mind was elsewhere as he secretly pondered, ‘Ten million Celestial Craft A100 Chips a year… what kind of impact will that really have on Qualcomm’s and MediaTek’s business?’

‘If Qualcomm makes a move and forces TSMC to cut off their production supply to Tiangong Technology, which foundry could I turn to?’

‘Mountain Star?’

‘They’re better than Huaxin International, but their process technology still can’t compare to TSMC.’

‘As for Huaxin International, they weren’t even on my radar for now.’

‘Their yield rate is too low. Either Huaxin International would have to lose money on the deal, or Tiangong Technology would have to pay more than three times the cost.’

His thoughts were much the same as He Boting’s: he wanted to support them, but was simply unable to.

An hour later, the morning session paused, and staff brought in over a hundred executive boxed lunches.

There was no formal luncheon arranged.

Chen Yansen took a boxed lunch. It felt heavy. When he opened it, he found a dazzling and surprisingly sumptuous spread of food.

The beef stew with potatoes and daikon radish seemed like a simple, home-style dish, but the ingredients were cut into perfect squares and cooked with great refinement.

In addition, there was stir-fried seasonal vegetables, steamed egg custard, celery with shrimp, buttered matsutake mushrooms, black pepper fish fillets, Sanhuang chicken, and segments of corn.

Not counting the rice, there were eight side dishes in total.

Though it was called a boxed lunch, a meal of this standard would likely cost more than 200 yuan.

Chen Yansen had never been afraid of roughing it. A boxed lunch was just a boxed lunch; making do for one meal was no big deal.

At two in the afternoon, just as he was about to go find Chairman Wang Chaixin of Changdian Technology for a quick chat, he saw Dai Zhenyu beckoning to him.