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Chapter 305 Accelerated Development 3
🕑 Added 2023-07-07 02:56:06 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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"Twenty million dollars for 60% of Cybertron Technology's equity?"
Not only did Sun Cheng's pupils contract, but Wang Lu's expression also became unpleasant.
As the general manager of Cybertron Technology, hired by Sun Cheng as a professional manager, he naturally needed to justify his salary.
Without waiting for Sun Cheng's response, he had already stepped forward, sneering, "Mr. Chen keeps talking about coming to cooperate with us sincerely, but we haven't seen any sincerity! Have you really investigated our situation? Cybertron Technology is not lacking money..."
Indeed, Cybertron was not lacking money, at least that's how Wang Lu felt.
Since its establishment, although Sun Cheng had only deposited over 20 million national currency into the company's financial account, he had made substantial purchases of servers for the company, among other expenses like advertising, which were not paid by the company's finances but through special approval.
Considering this, Sun Cheng had invested at least 50 million national currency in Cybertron Technology. For a startup company, this was definitely not a small amount.
Furthermore, Wang Lu was well aware of the intricacies of Cybertron Technology and knew that Sun Cheng held many strong cards.
The recent influx of mobile hard drives confirmed Sun Cheng's possession of revolutionary new hard drive technology. Additionally, the successful acquisition of the supercomputing center's order confirmed Sun Cheng's excellent skills and the future potential of Cybertron Technology.
A mere 20 million US dollars, not to mention that Sun Cheng looked down on it; now it was difficult for even Wang Lu to consider it.
Upon being straightforwardly rejected, Chen Li's expression remained unchanged. Negotiations in business revolved around demanding a high price and settling for a reasonable amount. Chen Li was an experienced player in the business world, and Panda Security had acquired more than just one or two companies in the past, so he was naturally well-experienced.
Thinking that Wang Lu and the others were dissatisfied with the offer, he didn't rush to raise the price. He shook his head and said directly, "Manager Wang, Mr. Sun, we all know that the golden age of cloud storage has long passed. The domestic cloud storage market has already been divided among giants like Baibai Cloud and Panda Cloud. Therefore, in our view, your company's cloud storage products have no investment value. Under the suppression of these giants, you won't have a chance to compete with them. What we truly value is your Cybertron technical team!"
The implication was evident.
Wang Lu let out a disdainful hum, preparing to retort.
However, to his surprise, Sun Cheng lightly tapped the negotiating table in the conference room, interrupting him.
Wang Lu couldn't help but turn to look at Sun Cheng beside him. He was concerned that his young boss might fall into a negotiating trap due to his lack of experience.
But as soon as Sun Cheng spoke, Wang Lu realized he was mistaken.
"Cybertron Technology is priceless in my eyes. Moreover, at the beginning of my entrepreneurial journey, I contacted a highly reputable venture capital firm. The offer they gave me far surpasses your imagination. So, even if you had $20 million, you wouldn't be able to acquire Cybertron Technology. Even $200 million would be useless. The investment I secured is more than Mr. Chen could ever imagine!"
With a calm tone, Sun Cheng finished his statement, which wasn't entirely false. He then rested his chin on his hands, looking at Chen Li with great interest, a broad smile on his face.
"I also have a question, and I wonder if Mr. Chen would be willing to answer?"
A once-assured acquisition, which now seemed to have fallen through. Chen Li's expression couldn't help but darken.
Having spent many years in the business world, Chen Li quickly adjusted his mood after realizing the situation was unfavorable. He nodded slightly and responded, "Please go ahead, Mr. Sun. I will be completely open and honest!"
Sun Cheng smiled slightly. He wasn't intimidated by the fact that he was sitting across from an executive of Panda Communications, one of the top internet giants in China. Instead, he playfully imitated the executive's tone and asked directly, "Mr. Chen, we both know that with the advent of the mobile internet era, traditional internet has declined. Even behemoths like Microsoft couldn't escape it. So why has Panda suddenly shown interest in operating systems?"
"..."
Chen Li remained silent for a moment, then smiled wryly and shook his head before answering, "Mr. Sun, you're overthinking. Developing an operating system for the PC platform is a complex task, and Panda abandoned research in that area years ago!"
Indeed, there were media reports a few years ago about Panda's foray into operating systems, but Panda never officially responded to those gossipy news pieces, leaving their authenticity in doubt.
Sun Cheng didn't expect to hear this hidden history from Chen Li's own mouth.
He carefully pondered Chen Li's words and looked at him with a half-smile, saying, "Panda Communications isn't interested in operating systems? That's a shame! I happen to have a highly advanced mobile-oriented operating system at hand. I was actually considering the possibility of collaboration with Panda."
"What?"
Chen Li's spirit was stirred by Sun Cheng's words, and he almost couldn't help but shout, "That's impossible!"
It wasn't because Chen Li lacked composure, but Sun Cheng's sudden statement caught him off guard.
Just as doubts were starting to arise in his mind, he unexpectedly thought of the "Pure Version XP" developed by his own technical team, which they believed was a complete recoding of all the software. The questioning words were about to slip out, but he managed to suppress them.
Quickly regaining his composure, Chen Li stared at Sun Cheng with sharp eyes and asked cautiously, "Mr. Sun, did I hear you correctly? You have a highly advanced mobile operating system?"
Sun Cheng's face twitched involuntarily in response to Chen Li's enthusiastic gaze.
After a moment of contemplation, as if organizing his thoughts, Sun Cheng nodded firmly and said, "The completion rate is close to 95%. Although we haven't conducted hardware compatibility testing yet, I believe there won't be any major issues. Similar to the 'Pure Version XP,' this operating system is also the creation of our 'Cybertron Studio.' We don't mind sharing it and collaborating with others, as long as you can solve a small problem and agree to a request..."
Chen Li was so excited that his body was trembling. He quickly asked, "What's the small issue?"
As soon as he heard that it was indeed the work of the "Cybertron Studio," Chen Li immediately believed it to a great extent.
Panda Security Protection Company itself was one of the largest internet information security providers in the country. They not only had a team of hundreds of senior computer engineers, but also a large number of network hackers that were unknown to the outside world.
The "Pure Version XP" produced by the "Cybertron Studio" was discovered by a senior engineer of Panda Security Protection Company. After conducting a simple test and finding its remarkable features, he immediately reported it to the company's higher-ups. Subsequently, Chen Li mobilized almost half of the company's technical experts to conduct various compatibility and vulnerability tests on it, but all attempts ended in failure.
It can only be said that the "Pure Version XP" was truly outstanding. Otherwise, Chen Li would not have been so invested in it. He even went as far as holding a high-level meeting in the company, attempting to acquire Cybertron Technology at a considerable cost.
Sun Cheng maintained his posture of supporting his chin with both hands and spoke in a deep and magnetic voice, "This mobile operating system, which I named Uimi, is a deep optimization and code reprogramming based on Marshmallow. Its performance has surpassed the Marshmallow version released last year and is more in line with the usage habits of us Chinese people. However, obtaining authorization for Android is not something an ordinary person can do..."
"..."
Chen Li fell silent too. Marshmallow was the codename for the latest Android 6.0 operating system released by Android in May of the previous year. Upon hearing "Marshmallow," he already understood what Sun Cheng meant.
The other party was willing to make a deal with them, offering a brand-new operating system that had been deeply optimized based on the Android 6.0 version, and was confident that it would undoubtedly surpass Marshmallow. Their intentions were nothing less than accomplishing two things that were impossible for the other party alone.
"Android authorization?"
Chen Li silently pondered. In reality, dealing with Android Studio was not difficult. Since its inception, its performance had been noticeably inferior to Apple's iOS. As a result, the official had tacitly allowed external parties to carry out various optimization attempts on its foundation.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that many of the new features and improvements in Android's subsequent upgraded versions were the result of incorporating others' wisdom.
However, tacit approval did not imply that the other party could easily obtain their authorization.
Chen Li reviewed in his mind the developers who had obtained Android authorization and were allowed to conduct deep optimization on its basis. However, he discovered that those developers were either non-mainstream mobile platforms, such as leaders in the fields of televisions, gaming consoles, and digital cameras, or they were simply part of the "Open Handheld Devices Alliance." Even though Panda Communications' scale was not inferior to Google behind Android, the other party might not necessarily grant them any favors.
After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "What about your other request?"
"Panda Cloud Disk... I want it, the half-dead cloud disk business under Panda Communications..."
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