Chapter 182 Those Guys at TI
"You're too sly,"
In the villa, when Chen Jing and Qin Si finished listening to Su Yuanshan recount his meeting with Andy Grove, they both spoke almost in unison.
"It's just about knowing yourself and your enemy. These old-school elites really care about saving face," Su Yuanshan said, stretching his legs onto the coffee table and enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.
During his meeting with Grove, Su Yuanshan hadn't just pitched the entire concept of the USB bus—he practically outlined all the technical specifications right then and there.
He backed Grove into a corner: either Intel reluctantly joined, or they would have to pretend they never heard of it.
If Intel tried to quietly form a side group with Microsoft—unless they found a completely different bus standard beyond USB and FireWire—no one would dare adopt a rogue version.
Even if it wasn't technically theft or infringement,
it would still be a scandal.
And in the tech world, scandals were deadly.
Su Yuanshan checked the time, stood up from the sofa, and said,
"Let's go, ladies. Let's have dinner at that Chinese restaurant Mr. Gates recommended!"
"Aren't we waiting for your sister-in-law?" Qin Si asked.
"They're too busy—Chen and Senior Brother are swamped. No need to bother them," Su Yuanshan said, stretching again.
"Today we can relax a bit—tomorrow will be crazy again."
Chen Jing and Qin Si exchanged a glance and both laughed.
Because Xinghai had established a strong base in Silicon Valley, every time a delegation from China visited the area—whether from government agencies or major corporations—they would inevitably swing by Xinghai for a tour.
It wasn't about freeloading.
Even though Xinghai was legally a Silicon Valley company with a Western CEO, in the eyes of Chinese visitors, Xinghai was "one of our own," founded by Su Yuanshan's dispatched team of local students.
And half of Xinghai's workforce was made up of Chinese immigrants and overseas students, meaning they could chat freely in Mandarin.
Xinghai always did its best to accommodate visitors, but...
hosting endless tours still got exhausting.
Chen Haoming and Yang Yiwen even joked that Xinghai had become China's "Silicon Valley Liaison Office."
...
The next day, Xinghai sent two large buses to the airport to welcome the Chinese delegation that had just finished attending the trade show.
These visitors included familiar faces like Qin Weimin, Jiang Wanchao, Qiu Bojun from Kingsoft, and Shi Dazhu from Giant Group—
all hoping to scout Silicon Valley for possible expansions.
Other companies like Zhongxin, Langchao, and Huawei were there too, along with officials from China's telecommunications and computer industries.
Even a few provincial science and technology bureau leaders had tagged along, hoping to recruit companies for their upcoming software expos.
It took nearly half an hour just to get everyone onto the buses after exchanging greetings.
Then came lunch, guided tours, endless handshakes...
By the time Su Yuanshan got back to the villa that evening, he felt more exhausted than if he'd pulled an all-nighter.
Fortunately, most visitors had clear goals—they only occupied Xinghai's time for one day before moving on to their proper meetings and site visits.
Finally, Su Yuanshan found time to meet privately with Shi Dazhu and Qiu Bojun at the villa.
Their interests this trip were different:
Qiu Bojun mainly wanted to explore the software market and scout for talent,
while Shi Dazhu was laser-focused on the gaming sector—he had come specifically for the PlayStation launch.
"Ken Kutaragi is ambitious and brave. He's capable of great things," Shi Dazhu said while admiring the villa's furnishings.
"But I still feel like he holds a subtle arrogance toward Chinese companies. Qiu, don't you get that vibe?"
Qiu Bojun, flipping through a computer magazine on the coffee table, shook his head.
"I don't think so. The guy's over forty and still bows and smiles all the time."
"That's the thing," Shi Dazhu laughed.
"To the Japanese, bowing is just a habit. Their backs may bend, but their hearts stay upright."
"I agree with Old Shi," Su Yuanshan chuckled.
"In semiconductors, Japan still needs China's market, so they act politely.
But in gaming... Japan and the West are the twin giants.
Their eyes are on Europe—they barely glance at China."
"So," Shi Dazhu sighed, "the road ahead is long."
"No rush," Su Yuanshan said.
"Plant our feet firmly first, then step by step. Xinghai's already developing a new graphics core.
Once it's out, it'll be groundbreaking."
Shi Dazhu blinked. "That powerful?"
"Absolutely," Su Yuanshan nodded.
Rolling out a true GPU by 1995 or 1996 would be revolutionary.
At present, there were plenty of graphics card companies—maybe forty or so—but very few had real 3D chip design capabilities.
The biggest name remained SGI.
But SGI had the classic weakness of all monopolists—they only cared about maintaining their dominance, ignoring the distant rumblings of emerging competition.
In the past, players had a special affection for 3DFX's Voodoo cards, not because the company was so amazing,
but because without 3DFX, 3D gaming might have been delayed by years.
Now, with Xinghai's interference, Voodoo would debut a year earlier—and true GPUs would arrive three years earlier.
In the graphics field, there was no such thing as technology being too advanced for adoption.
If anything, it was the opposite:
Applications always outstripped the available hardware.
Another amusing tidbit—
NVIDIA had been founded earlier that year.
At the time, Qin Si, famous for her blind venture capital bets, had casually thrown a million dollars at the two engineers from Sun Microsystems who started NVIDIA.
Huang Renxun (Jensen Huang) had hesitated for a long time between joining Yuanxin and joining his friends' startup.
In the end, he chose to be a big fish in a small pond—becoming NVIDIA's president and CEO.
Su Yuanshan only noticed this later when flipping through one of Qin Si's midyear reports—and he found it hilarious.
But he wasn't too concerned about Huang's NVIDIA.
He already had the 3DFX team.
As long as they stayed on course, all enemies would be crushed under a tide of superior technology.
This was what technical dominance looked like.
Just like the current situation between the West and China—
sometimes, there simply was no easy answer.
...
On the 27th, Su Yuanshan and Chen Jing took turns seeing off the Chinese visitors before boarding a flight to Texas.
As the plane winged its way through the clouds, Su Yuanshan pulled his gaze from the window and glanced at the documents in Chen Jing's hands.
"Stop reading," he said. "Rest a bit.
When the time comes, just follow my lead."
"It's not just for the negotiation," Chen Jing said, scribbling notes without looking up.
"It's to make small talk with Zhang Rujin later."
She even slipped into a bit of a northeastern accent.
"What kind of person is Zhang Rujin?" she asked.
Su Yuanshan narrowed his eyes and thought for a few seconds.
Only when Chen Jing looked up at him did he reply softly,
"A man of ideals."
He glanced at her again and added,
"Just like you."
An Siying, sitting nearby, snickered and whispered,
"President Shan, your flattery is getting way too smooth."
Chen Jing bit her lip, glanced at Su Yuanshan, and tried to glare at him—but couldn't suppress a laugh.
"Heh heh..."
Su Yuanshan closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat, sighing lightly.
"I just hope those birds on TI's board have a little sense.
Otherwise..."
"Is it so tough you're not confident?" Chen Jing asked, frowning slightly.
Su Yuanshan shook his head.
"They keep trying to force us to make a choice.
But... choices are for children."
"In this world," he murmured,
"how could there be a perfect solution?
Why should I have to choose?"
Chen Jing and An Siying were both momentarily stunned—
then, ignoring the two white businessmen nearby, they both burst into laughter.
...
That evening, TI's president, Vincente, personally stood at the company's gate to welcome Su Yuanshan's delegation—a sign of deep respect for an important partner.
They held a small, private reception that night, where Su Yuanshan finally met Zhang Rujin, who had just returned to report to TI.
Kindred spirits need few words.
When Su Yuanshan introduced Chen Jing to Zhang Rujin, the two fellow provincials immediately began chatting in their hometown dialect.
Zhang, having lived abroad so long he even had a foreign passport, found himself needing Chen Jing's occasional "corrections."
Meanwhile, Su Yuanshan mingled with TI's board members—the very people he would debate with tomorrow.
Of course, being typical Westerners, they were all outwardly polite and warm that evening.
Even if there was no flattery or excessive praise, they still treated him as a "friend."
The next day, in TI's coffee lounge, the "negotiation meeting" chaired by Vincente kicked off in a peaceful atmosphere.
...
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