"Mr. Huang, our board of directors has discussed it. As long as you are willing to sell all your patents to us, we are willing to accept your offer of 8 million US dollars and sell you 10 units of 200nm lithography machines, with immediate delivery!" As soon as Kimura Makoto met Huang He that afternoon, he said.
This morning, after an emergency meeting between Kimura Makoto and the board of directors, it was decided that to obtain the more than 100 patents in Huang He's hands, the price of 8 million US dollars per unit was acceptable.
Nikon agreed very readily. Although it seemed like they would lose tens of millions of US dollars, with these patents in hand, Nikon could completely control ASML. At this time, if Nikon fully committed to the research and development of immersion lithography machines, they would definitely be able to release immersion lithography machines before ASML in the future. This would make Nikon the sole dominant player in the lithography machine industry.
Losing tens of millions of US dollars for such an effect was worth it!
In fact, the cost of a Nikon machine was only around 5 million US dollars. At a price of 8 million US dollars, Nikon could still earn 3 million US dollars. Wouldn't you say Nikon wasn't really losing money?
Hearing this outcome, Huang He finally showed a smile. "Mr. Kimura, your attitude greatly pleases me. However, these 200nm lithography machines will likely become obsolete in less than two years. This is just an emergency measure. I hope that in the future, when purchasing immersion lithography machines, our Jiangnan will still have some convenience. After all, these technologies are also from our Jiangnan Group!"
"This..." Kimura Makoto hesitated. "Mr. Huang, although I am very willing to sell you our first batch of immersion lithography machines, according to the agreement, I am not allowed to sell you the most advanced lithography equipment. Otherwise, this would be a violation of the agreement, and the United States would impose sanctions on us."
"Don't worry, I've already considered this!" Huang He smiled slightly. "You don't have to sell them to me directly. In the future, I will establish a chip manufacturing company in Southeast Asia. Then, I will purchase them from you through that company. Nominally, this company will have no relationship with our Jiangnan Group. We will only purchase chips from this company, so there's no need to worry about violating the Paris Agreement!"
"Even if the truth comes out in the future, it will only be because you were kept in the dark!" Huang He said with a smile.
"This..." Kimura Makoto was still somewhat hesitant. Although Huang He's plan could avoid the sanctions of the Paris Agreement, if the Americans got serious, they would also be in trouble.
"Don't worry, America is a land of freedom. As long as we don't have any legal loopholes, America will always be free. Don't you trust America's integrity?" Huang He asked with a smile.
"Okay!" Hearing Huang He's words, Kimura Makoto couldn't help but nod. After all, the world order was designed by Americans. It was unlikely that Americans would break their own designed trade order.
Over the next three days, Huang He continued to negotiate cooperation with Kimura Makoto. In the end, both parties agreed that Nikon would sell 10 lithography machines to Jiangnan Group at a price of 8 million US dollars per unit, with delivery to be completed within three months.
Concurrently, Jiangnan would sell over 100 patents in its possession to Nikon Group as a package deal for 10 million US dollars.
This was the agreement signed by both parties on the surface. However, in secret, Huang He also signed a secret agreement with Kimura Makoto, in which Nikon guaranteed to sell the first batch of immersion lithography machines to a foreign-funded enterprise designated by Huang He. Furthermore, in the future, Nikon and Jiangnan Group would maintain close cooperation and mutual exchange.
Of course, this was a secret agreement and had little binding force, as it could not be exposed. Whether it would be honored depended entirely on each party's credibility.
However, in terms of credibility, Japanese people were at least more reliable than Americans. Moreover, even setting aside credibility, Kimura Makoto could not afford to offend a major future client like Jiangnan Group. Therefore, Huang He was not worried about any execution issues with this secret agreement.
Furthermore, when Huang He revealed that he had encountered some difficulties in chip research and development, Kimura Makoto very generously stated that when the technicians were debugging the lithography machines, they would arrange for a few chip experts to go over. As for what these experts would do in Jiangnan, it was unknown, but they would certainly not leave without imparting some knowledge.
Thus, Huang He's mission in Japan was a complete success. It was just a pity that Huang He did not have time to stay in Japan any longer. As soon as the contract was signed, he immediately returned to China with Hu Jing.
"Chairman, I'm a bit unwilling to sell these patents that we worked so hard to develop to those Japanese," Hu Jing said somewhat reluctantly on the plane back.
"It's useless to be unwilling. Since we currently have no way to develop immersion lithography machines ourselves?" Huang He sighed. "If we could produce such lithography machines ourselves, I would never transfer these patents."
"But why didn't we cooperate with ASML?" Hu Jing asked in confusion. "Although ASML's attitude towards us was problematic before, they are after all a Dutch company, which is much better than cooperating with Japanese companies! I believe that if we offer these patents, ASML will immediately change its attitude and beg to cooperate with us!"
"You are mistaken!" Huang He shook his head. "ASML is already cooperating with TSMC, and TSMC is currently the world's largest chip manufacturer. Therefore, ASML's first batch of immersion lithography machines will definitely be sold to TSMC. Even if we provide patents, when it comes to actual delivery, they will still prioritize TSMC."
"Why?"
"Because TSMC is a dog of the United States, and we are not!" Huang He said lightly. "If we give them our patents but still can't get the latest equipment, wouldn't we be the biggest fools in the world?"
"Furthermore, if we also support ASML, ASML will definitely dominate the market, controlling all the supply of immersion lithography machines. At that time, we would have to pay whatever price they want. Do you still think that's good for the company?"
"I understand, but I feel uncomfortable seeing the little Japanese profit," Hu Jing sighed.
"It's alright. The little Japanese might profit this time, but they won't gain much. Because the United States' attitude and determination to suppress Japan's semiconductor industry are very firm. Nikon's early release of immersion lithography machines will instead draw stronger suppression from the United States, and their days will not be easy!"
"Therefore, at that time, they will need us as customers even more. Americans won't buy their equipment, nor will they allow their dogs to buy Nikon's equipment. Then Nikon can only sell these machines to us, and they won't dare to charge high prices, otherwise they will lose their few remaining customers."
"So, we need to stir up this pond. The more manufacturers there are selling lithography machines in the world, the fiercer the competition will be. We will have more opportunities and technology in the future. When we have the technical strength to produce our own lithography machines, it will be a completely different situation!" Huang He smiled slightly, and Hu Jing, who was by his side, finally understood Huang He's grand vision and showed an expression of admiration.
—————
"Everyone prepare, pressurize the container, and increase the pressure to 5,000 units!" In a fully enclosed, dust-free laboratory, a group of people wearing protective suits were nervously operating the equipment.
And in the very center of this laboratory, there was another container that was isolated and protected layer by layer, with countless pipelines connected to it. The entire scene was like a science fiction novel.
Well, this was indeed one of the most sci-fi places in the world, and it was a world-class materials laboratory built by Boss Huang with all his might.
It was a pity that due to insufficient funds, this laboratory was not yet the most top-tier laboratory, but it was definitely the most top-tier laboratory in the country.
"Director, the container is still stable. We can continue to pressurize!"
"Very good, add another 1,000 units!"
"Still stable."
"Continue pressurizing, this time directly to 8,000 units!"
"No, the container is showing some anomalies. It might not be able to withstand it."
"Directly increase it to ten thousand!"
"Director, this is too dangerous. There is a risk of the equipment being destroyed."
"But the pressure of 8,000 units before resulted in incomplete fusion. I have a feeling that if we continue to pressurize, we will get a gift from the Jade Emperor!" The director licked his lips. "Never mind, you guys continue pressurizing. If it breaks, we'll just buy another one!"
"Yes!" The laboratory technicians said helplessly, and then continued to increase the pressure as required.
As a result, when the pressure gauge reached around 11,200 units, the entire container suddenly trembled violently. Although the director immediately gave the order to stop pressurizing, it was too late. The entire container exploded, and the powerful debris bombarded the high-strength glass on the outer perimeter of the laboratory. As a result, the entire glass instantly shattered.
Then, these fragments all smashed onto the second layer of glass, and the result was also complete shattering.
In this way, the originally designed 5 layers of glass were shattered one by one, and finally, the outermost layer of glass was also smashed. Several laboratory technicians nearby let out screams on the spot, their bodies pierced by glass shards.
And the exploded container directly hit the laboratory wall. Fortunately, the wall was reinforced with alloy armor, so the wall was intact, but it was also dented, and a nearby piece of equipment was smashed.
"What happened? What's going on?" Other staff members outside the laboratory quickly rushed in and saw the tragic scene inside the laboratory.
There were originally 6 staff members in the laboratory. Now 4 of them were lying on the ground covered in blood, their bodies pierced by various glass shards. If they were not wearing protective clothing and the impact force had not been largely dissipated by the 5 layers of protection, their bodies would have been directly pierced.
"Save them! Hurry and save them!" The rushing staff immediately rescued the injured technicians. The only two people in the laboratory who were not injured slowly stood up.
"Director, let's go first. It's too dangerous here!" one person said fearfully. But the director suddenly ignored them. He actually rushed directly into the core area of the explosion, passed through the shattered glass shards, and then at the very center, where the container was originally placed, he began to desperately search for something.
"Director, it's too dangerous. If the chief engineer finds out you're hurt, then our Jiangnan's future will be gone!" several staff members said nervously.
"Found it, I found it!" Suddenly, the director took off his gloves and carefully picked up a small, fingernail-sized black fragment from the ground.
It was a crystal as bright as black glazed glass.
[PS: Cough cough, this is not about opening black technology, just about opening luck points]