Chapter 181 Intel Is Not Pleased
Inside the Intel campus, in Andy Grove's office.
Unlike many Silicon Valley tech CEOs, Grove's office was notably tidy. It didn't look like a tech person's chaotic workspace at all—more like the office of a seasoned sales executive.
Well, Grove was Jewish, after all.
At the same time, he was also serving as a professor at Stanford Business School.
Back in the 1980s, when Intel was fighting off the invasion of the Japanese semiconductor industry, Grove had famously called on all Intel employees to voluntarily work two extra hours a day—the so-called "120% solution."
This year, Andy Grove had just turned 57. Although he once said he would retire at 57, when the day actually arrived, he was in his prime, leading Intel to the pinnacle of desktop processing—and how could he possibly retire?
Thus, Su Yuanshan found it hard to reconcile the somewhat stern old man before him with the more genial figure he remembered from his past life, when Grove had moved into a more honorary role.
But the moment of distraction passed quickly. Su Yuanshan composed himself, raised his hand in greeting from a distance, and approached.
Andy Grove rose from behind his desk, shook Su Yuanshan's hand, and led him to the seating area.
"Mr. Grove, how is your health these days?" Su Yuanshan asked with a friendly smile, opening the conversation in a very traditional Eastern way.
Grove clearly didn't understand the significance of the question at first and was momentarily stunned.
"When we meet respected elders, it's customary to ask about their health, as a gesture of care and blessing," Su Yuanshan explained.
Grove chuckled, answering with his thick Hungarian accent,
"Thank you for your concern. I'm in excellent health."
Su Yuanshan smiled. After a few more casual remarks, he smoothly transitioned to the real topic.
"Mr. Grove, it's an honor that you made time for this meeting."
"That's only because you never invited me before," Grove said, settling into a more relaxed posture.
Of course, Grove had done his homework on Xinghai and Yuanxin. He knew this young man had a reputation as a genius.
And like all true tech people, Grove admired geniuses.
But unlike Robert Noyce, Grove didn't let admiration cloud his principles.
The moment Su Yuanshan walked through the door, Grove had made up his mind:
This young man would be Intel's enemy.
Not a "rival"—because that implied mutual respect between equals.
No, an enemy was someone you simply needed to eliminate.
Su Yuanshan smiled calmly and said,
"I didn't invite you before because compared to Intel, we were too weak. I was afraid you'd refuse—and that would've been a heavy blow to my confidence."
Grove smiled again.
What an interesting young man.
"So, can I understand it this way: you're strong enough now?
With Yuanxin in the East, and Xinghai here in Silicon Valley—two companies that have risen like miracles, impossible to ignore," Grove said, staring intently at him.
Su Yuanshan shook his head.
"No. It's because something urgent has made it necessary for me to come."
Grove nodded slightly, signaling for him to continue.
"To advance external bus technology, one of our genius programmers came up with a brilliant idea:
a high-speed, universal, hot-swappable, plug-and-play serial bus."
"Technically, it's not hard to implement," Su Yuanshan continued.
"It just needs operating system and chipset support."
"For instance, we could establish a dedicated connection port..."
As Su Yuanshan laid out the technical standards and concepts, Grove's eyebrows immediately shot up.
Like any seasoned tech executive with relevant knowledge, Grove instantly understood—
This bus could solve many existing problems in computer development.
But almost as quickly, he also realized:
This kind of initiative should be coming from Intel, not Yuanxin or Xinghai.
Since Intel had been forced to abandon the memory business and focus on CPUs, Grove had fought tooth and nail to elevate Intel to the top of the chip industry.
And to maintain that dominance, Intel needed to lead in every major technology standard.
At that thought, Grove's eyes sharpened.
Yet Su Yuanshan met his gaze without flinching—his own eyes were warm, even smiling, but unwavering.
"I refuse," Grove said in a low voice.
"You can't refuse," Su Yuanshan said softly.
Grove's eyebrows arched like knives, his lips curling into a half-smile.
Can't refuse?
"The countless computer users out there don't want you to refuse," Su Yuanshan continued.
"I've been lobbying across the industry to establish this USB organization purely in the interest of technological progress."
Su Yuanshan smiled.
"Mr. Grove, this bus isn't about challenging Intel's dominance.
Its real opponent is FireWire..."
The moment Grove heard "FireWire," his expression hardened.
FireWire—proposed by Apple back in the 1980s—was reportedly about to be ratified as an IEEE industrial standard.
Grove scrutinized Su Yuanshan again, his interest piqued.
"Only for user needs?" Grove asked skeptically.
"Of course," Su Yuanshan nodded.
"And I believe the new bus should not impose licensing fees, in order to encourage widespread adoption across devices."
After a long pause, Grove exhaled lightly.
"You've already secured Microsoft's support, haven't you?"
"Yes. But Mr. Gates also deeply respects your opinion," Su Yuanshan said.
"Then I agree," Grove said briskly, nodding.
"Thank you," Su Yuanshan said, extending his hand.
"Thank you for your time."
As Su Yuanshan prepared to leave, Grove blinked and asked curiously,
"Aren't you going to ask about our settlement with Xinghai?"
"No," Su Yuanshan smiled.
"Because your decision wouldn't be influenced by any external factors.
Even if I begged you for a full license for Xinghai, you still wouldn't agree."
Grove laughed again—and silently raised his evaluation of the young man another notch.
After all, Intel's biggest mistake had been Robert Noyce's moment of soft-heartedness—sparing AMD, who later became a constant thorn in their side.
Grove had no such illusions now.
When it came to the "copycats," he believed in crushing them through lawsuits and legal warfare.
No room for mercy.
And after Cyrix's acquisition by Xinghai, instead of lying low, they had been aggressively expanding, recruiting talent across Silicon Valley...
It was clear that a storm was brewing.
Still, Grove also knew that a settlement with Xinghai was inevitable.
Cyrix was still focused on the low-end markets, and those regions weren't part of any major trade agreements. Legal action would be difficult there.
Dragging out the lawsuit would only create more variables.
Even so, seeing a once-promising tech company about to become a direct enemy made Grove feel distinctly unpleasant.
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