Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies

193: Chapter 193 150 Billion InvestmentMarch 15th.

Huizhou Daya Bay, facing the South China Sea.

This place was originally a desolate coastline, with only fishing villages and scattered fish farms. But now, bulldozers, excavators, and pile drivers have arrived on-site, kicking up clouds of dust.

At 10:00 AM, Xinghuo Chip CEO Li Wanqing stood on the temporarily constructed podium. She was 42 years old, with short hair, wearing a suit skirt, and exuding a capable aura. She was once a senior director at TSMC and was recruited by Su Chen two years ago. The industry called her the ’Iron Lady’—strict in management, but fair in rewarding and punishing.

Today, behind her was a massive planning map.

The drone’s aerial camera slowly pulled back, rising from the podium to a high altitude, overlooking the entire planned area.

’Everyone, this is not just a factory,’ Li Wanqing began, her voice carrying across the site through the speakers. ’This is the Normandy landing site for China’s semiconductor industry.’

Below the stage, over five hundred people from the government, media, and the supply chain listened with bated breath.

’Project Name: Xinghuo Chip Daya Bay Base. Total Investment: 150 billion rmb. Goal: Annual production of 1 million 14nm chips, with future expansion to 7nm and 5nm.’

She switched the PPT to show the details:

Land area: 3.2 square kilometers, equivalent to 450 standard soccer fields

Construction area: 2.8 million square meters, the world’s largest single-unit chip factory

Power supply: Directly connected to the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant with dual-circuit security, with an estimated annual electricity consumption of 5 billion kWh (equivalent to a medium-sized city)

Water usage: Construction of a dedicated seawater desalination plant with a daily processing capacity of 200,000 tons

Logistics: Equipped with a dedicated pier capable of docking 100,000-ton cargo ships

’But the most important thing is this,’ Li Wanqing said, zooming in on a corner of the planning map.

The underground cross-section showed that the factory had three underground levels.

’Three levels of underground nuclear-proof bunkers, reinforced concrete structure, 3-meter thick walls, capable of withstanding a magnitude 7 earthquake and wartime bombing. Inside, there are independent power systems, water circulation systems, and air purification systems, capable of housing 5,000 people for three months of enclosed survival.’

The scene erupted in an uproar.

A reporter raised their hand: ’Ms. Li, isn’t this a bit exaggerated? Does a chip factory need to have this level of protection?’

Li Wanqing looked at him: ’In 1945, before Germany was defeated, what did the Allied forces bomb first? The industrial zones in the Ruhr area. In 1999, when NATO bombed Yugoslavia, what did they bomb first? Factories and infrastructure.’

She paused and scanned the audience.

’chips are the food of modern industry. If one day—and I’m just saying if—a conflict breaks out, this place will be the last bastion of China’s semiconductor industry. We must prepare for the worst to strive for the best results.’

Applause erupted.

It wasn’t polite applause; it was heartfelt.

Many people present had experienced the embargoes against China and knew what it felt like to have the chip supply choked off. Now, Xinghuo was not only going to make chips but also build an unbreakable chip base.

This was not just a commercial investment; it was a strategic declaration.

Below the podium, the engineering fleet had gathered.

Five hundred construction vehicles from China State Construction were arranged in a square formation, with red silk flowers hanging on their fronts.

Xingchen Heavy Industry’s giant gantry cranes were unloading cargo—the first batch of equipment shipped from Spark Industry, packed in special containers, each the size of a truck.

Li Wanqing concluded: ’Our plan: 6 months to complete the foundation, 3 months to top out, 3 months for equipment installation, and mass production in 2019. In one year, we will turn this wasteland into the world’s most advanced chip factory.’

She raised her right hand: ’For China’s chips, start construction!’

Firecrackers blared, and the construction vehicles honked.

The Daya Bay project had officially begun.

Silicon Valley time, March 15th, 3:00 AM.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich was woken up by an urgent call.

’Brian, sorry to bother you at this hour.’ The CTO’s voice was trembling. ’Xinghuo... they have released the test data for their 14nm process.’

Krzanich sat up and opened the tablet on his nightstand. Attached to the email was a technical brief: Xinghuo 14nm process, yield 92.3%, defect density 0.08 defects/cm², transistor performance parameters...

He stared at the screen for a full minute.

’Check the data again,’ he said, his voice dry.

’We have checked it three times,’ the CTO said. ’The data comes from third-party testing agencies SGS and BV, with high credibility. And... they also showcased the test results of their self-developed 16nm lithography machine.’

Krzanich got out of bed and walked to the window.

Outside was the night view of Silicon Valley, sparkling with lights. This place gathered the world’s brightest minds, the most abundant capital, and the most advanced technology.

But tonight, he felt a chill run up his spine.

Six months. From 16nm to 14nm, it only took six months.

Intel took four years to go from 22nm to 14nm.

’They skipped 10nm,’ Krzanich muttered. ’What if they go straight for 7nm?’

There was silence on the other end of the line.

’Convene an emergency board meeting,’ Krzanich said. ’Tomorrow—no, 8:00 AM today.’

The same scene played out all over the world:

Brussels, an emergency meeting of the European Union Semiconductor Committee.

The German representative looked grim: ’Xinghuo’s 14nm yield has already exceeded our expectations. If they master 7nm before 2020, Europe’s chip industry will completely lose its competitiveness.’

The French representative: ’We should accelerate cooperation with Xinghuo. The Electronic Design Automation tool is just the beginning; we need to establish an alliance in the manufacturing sector as well.’

The Dutch representative hesitated: ’But what about the sanctions from America...’

’America?’ The German representative sneered. ’They even sanction their own allies. Europe must have its own choices.’

Tokyo, headquarters of a certain materials giant.

President Yamada Ichiro wiped sweat during a press conference: ’We... we still have a technological advantage. Photoresist, silicon wafers, specialty gases... China’s production volume and price for these key materials still cannot compare to ours.’

But the reporters below were relentless: ’Xinghuo has announced plans to build a materials factory in Daya Bay to achieve full supply chain autonomy. Your company’s stock price plummeted 8% at the opening today. What is your take on this?’

Yamada Ichiro couldn’t say a word.

The most shocking impact was on the China A-shares market.

March 10th, Monday, 9:30 AM market opening.

Spark Technology’s stock price started at 4000 rmb and shot up like a rocket.

9:45, broke through 4200 rmb.

10:00, broke through 4400 rmb, hitting the daily limit.

The sell-side order book at the limit price exceeded 50 billion—this meant that 50 billion in capital wanted to buy, but couldn’t.

Over the next five days, Spark Technology hit the daily limit continuously.

March 11th: 4840 rmb.

March 12th: 5324 rmb.

March 13th: 5856 rmb.

March 14th: 6442 rmb.

March 15th closing: 6128 rmb (with some retracement that day), market capitalization 6.74 trillion rmb.

Surpassing Moutai to become number one in the A-shares market.

Jokes flew in the stock forums:

’It used to be ”Sauce-Aroma Technology,” now it’s ”Spark Technology.”’

’Moutai has been rising for twenty years, Spark has been rising for 3 years.’

’I sold all the Moutai stock my grandfather left me and exchanged it for Spark. Will my grandfather beat me if he finds out?’

’To the person above, if your grandfather knew what Spark does, not only would he not beat you, he would praise you for having a good eye.’

The more profound impact was in the industry.

The Spark concept stocks soared across the board:

chip materials concept: 45% increase

chip equipment concept: 38% increase

Mobile manufacturing sector (Xinghuo Chip customers): 25% increase

The entire technology sector was driven up, and the ChiNext Index rose by more than 20% in a single week.

An analyst wrote: ’Spark reaching the top of the A-shares market marks the shift of China’s capital market from ”consumer-led” to ”technology-led.” This is a historic turning point.’