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Thirty-five billion US dollars.
Even for Ryan, this was an astronomical figure.
He'd known his own AI research center was valuable, but he hadn't expected it to be valued this highly by others.
"Dad, where did this news come from?" Ryan asked.
His father settled his emotions. "The other side contacted an investment bank first, and then had the investment bank get in touch with us to convey their intention."
"They gave two options. One is to acquire Prism Sciences as a whole through a mixture of equity swap and cash. The other is to acquire our AI research center alone, purely with cash."
"For acquiring Prism Sciences as a whole, the valuation they gave was thirty-five billion dollars. For acquiring the AI center alone, they were willing to pay thirty billion in cash."
Hearing this, Ryan fell silent for a moment.
Acquiring all of Prism for thirty-five billion, versus acquiring the AI center alone for thirty billion.
It was easy to see from this where the other side's true intent lay.
What they truly wanted was the AI center.
Or to put it more precisely, what they wanted was the Argus Algorithm, and the technology behind it.
The extra five billion tacked on to acquire all of Prism was just meant to make things look better, sparing people the awkwardness.
"So how does the company's side see this matter?" Ryan asked.
His father said, "The company definitely won't sell. Not to mention that this is your hard work, son. Even setting that aside, the technology in our hands isn't the sort of thing that can just be sold off however one likes."
The Argus Algorithm's value went far beyond thirty-five billion. As long as they operated it properly, this algorithm could pull in a hundred billion, or several hundred billion, without any trouble at all.
More importantly, Argus, this AI, would be an industry that mattered in the years to come. Prism absolutely could not sell such a thing to an overseas company.
Ryan naturally understood all of this too, and simply said, "Then just reject them directly."
Selling was impossible. Not now, not ever.
Whether it was Argus or the various other technologies in his hands, none of them could be sold to that country.
Once these technologies were sold over there, they might very well end up used against him instead.
That country had always liked to wield the banner of technological superiority and go around sanctioning others everywhere, cutting off supply here and blockading there. It was practically a common occurrence.
If he really did sell the technology in his hands, then he'd just be raising up a wolf, and in the end there'd be endless trouble to deal with.
"All right, I know what to do now. I'll get someone to decline them," his father said.
Now that Ryan had a rough grasp of the situation, he handed the matter over to his father to deal with. This sort of thing shouldn't require his own involvement, though he was still a little curious about one point.
"Dad, since the other side wanted to acquire the AI center, how did they end up making an offer for the whole of Prism?"
Normally, if they wanted to acquire the AI center, they should have zeroed in on just the AI center.
His father explained, "The other side probably wanted to avoid being too conspicuous, so they raised the possibility of acquiring the whole company, and threw in some other conditions besides."
"For instance, retaining the current management, and bringing in funds and resources to help expand the company's other business lines."
To put it plainly, the other side had made a good show of it on the surface, wanting to slap on a fig leaf, sparing everyone the embarrassment.
Provided the company was willing to sell, that is.
Ryan understood now. "Got it. Then just reject them. As for what reason to give, you and the others can discuss it and decide."
The reason for the rejection had to be handled carefully, so as not to leak any information, and not to hand the other side any leverage. On this point, the people at the company would weigh it more thoroughly than he would.
"Mm, you don't need to worry, son. I'll definitely handle this properly." His father patted his chest in assurance.
The two of them exchanged a few more words before Ryan hung up.
After hanging up, he leaned back in his chair, sinking into thought.
He hadn't sold, but the news had brought him no small shock all the same.
Not because of the thirty-five billion, but because through this incident, he'd taken the measure, from a fresh angle, of just how great the value of the things in his own hands was.
In the past he'd thought of his advantage as merely producing technology.
But now he understood.
The technology he possessed, at critical moments, could become the very ballast that steadied the ship.
He was gradually, in silence, changing the industrial landscape and the technological terrain of the entire world.
Take the Argus Algorithm. In the beginning, everyone had been on the same starting line in the AI field. But once the Argus Algorithm appeared, others were left eating dust behind him.
And once artificial intelligence developed into a mature industry down the road, the accumulation of these small technological advantages, day by day, would become a chasm impossible to cross.
By that time, the advantage in his hands could be transformed into a genuine, real strategic advantage.
He wasn't the only one who understood this reasoning. Everyone did. Which was exactly why the other side had directly offered thirty billion, wanting to acquire the AI center that had only just been established.
Only Ryan understood better than anyone the value of the things he held.
The Argus Algorithm was but one of them.
He also had the black technology of the photoacoustic imaging scanner, the brain-machine interface represented by Triton, and the various other mech technologies.
The value of any single one of these, thrown out into the world, wouldn't be inferior to the Argus Algorithm in the slightest.
And what he needed to do was to keep transforming the technology in his hands into real productive force and strategic advantage, letting it protect this land and these people.
Thinking of this, Ryan's gaze grew resolute.
He was no longer merely making things to earn Summon Points.
He also hoped that these things could genuinely make some kind of change.
"Since even others place such a high value on artificial intelligence, then I have to make this AI properly, and make it stronger."
Ryan already had a rough plan taking shape in his mind.
The current Argus was still too weak. To fully realize the AI platform he envisioned, it needed enormous quantities of specialized AIs.
And relying on the research center alone to develop them one by one would clearly be too slow.
He needed a method that could rapidly expand the number of specialized AIs.
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