Chapter 24 Winner Takes All
Chapter 24 Winner Takes All
Flight 154 slowly took off from the provincial capital airport, its wings slicing through the sky toward the blue heavens.
Professor Su Xinghe sat by the window, but he had no interest in admiring the blue sky and white clouds. Instead, he opened a file bag filled with various data, materials, and a speech draft.
This speech draft had been almost entirely written by Su Yuanshan. Apart from the initial introduction of Yuanxin EDA's features, it focused mainly on analyzing the current state of the domestic and international semiconductor industries and predicting future trends.
In the speech, Su Yuanshan introduced the concept of "winner takes all" for the first time.
In the original timeline, "winner takes all" was formally proposed in 1995 by economists Robert Frank and Philip Cook in their book The Winner-Take-All Society. It was translated into Chinese three years later and became widely known in the 2010s.
Su Yuanshan began by using the rise of General Electric as an example, pointing out that in the semiconductor industry—and indeed in all frontier technology sectors—the nature of technology and patents would inevitably lead to monopolies, where the majority of profits and glory would go to the winners, much like champions in sports competitions.
To break monopolies, one had to subdivide industries—just like the Olympics, where to share the glory and the prizes, track and field was divided into long-distance, sprints, hurdles, relays, and so on. Likewise, due to the extreme specialization of advanced technology, the semiconductor industry had to subdivide itself. A top-tier chip, from design to packaging, represented the culmination of countless highly specialized industries, each asserting technical supremacy in their own fields.
According to the "barrel theory," as long as a player could control key technologies in certain critical segments of the production chain and achieve "technological hegemony," they could exert influence over the entire industry.
However, surveying the entire semiconductor industry, China lagged behind internationally across the board—except for Yuanxin EDA.
The speech further argued that EDA software, being essentially software development, was largely a competition of intellect, imagination, and market foresight. At this stage, it did not overly rely on industrial foundations, allowing Yuanxin EDA to emerge and overtake all competitors dramatically.
As long as Yuanxin EDA maintained its advantage and deeply cooperated with IC design companies and foundries, it would monopolize the market. Other firms would either struggle to survive or be forced to carve out niches, focusing on specialized tool development in areas Yuanxin couldn't fully cover.
That was Yuanxin's "winner takes all" strategy.
The speech also pointed out that the semiconductor industry represented the pinnacle of frontier technology. It was an industry of rapid iteration.
Given China's weak foundations, the only path forward was to import the most advanced technology and production lines as quickly as possible, while simultaneously concentrating support on domestic industries with existing technological accumulation. The goal was to establish technological barriers in a few key fields, or even in just one, laying the foundation for future competitiveness.
In summary: cast a wide net but fish selectively—and move fast.
Su Yuanshan had started writing this speech on the train to Jiangyin, and finalized it just two nights ago after long discussions deep into the night with his father.
After Su Xinghe submitted the final draft to the university leadership yesterday, UESTC's President Zhou Zhenzhong remained silent for a long time after reading it. Finally, he signed his name personally and decided to accompany Su Xinghe to Beijing for the report.
Su Xinghe narrowed his eyes slightly, reread the report one last time, then closed the file bag and leaned back to rest.
**
After seeing his father off, Su Yuanshan didn't return to the company immediately. He stayed at the airport, waiting. About an hour later, Pan Xiaojun, looking travel-worn, got off a plane carrying a backpack and dragging a large suitcase.
"Young President Su," Pan Xiaojun greeted quickly as he approached.
"No need for formalities," Su Yuanshan smiled, leading him to the parking lot and tossing him the keys to Uncle Zhang's car. "You'll drive my uncle's car for now."
"No problem. I drove for President Zhang down south too," Pan Xiaojun said. But when he saw the Crown sedan, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. "This car must have changed hands eight times already?"
"More or less," Su Yuanshan laughed. "But it still runs."
Returning to the company, Su Yuanshan introduced Pan Xiaojun to Xi Xiaoding and Li Mingliu before taking him into his office.
"One Penn Ph.D., one Tsinghua master's graduate—feeling the pressure?" Su Yuanshan asked with a smile, tossing him a not-yet-published Yuanxin EDA textbook.
Pan Xiaojun laughed as well, calmly replying, "President Zhang warned me before I came. In Yuanxin headquarters, a vocational school diploma is basically like being illiterate."
Su Yuanshan casually clicked his mouse, looking at Pan Xiaojun seriously. "Uncle's words might be crude, but they're true. If you want to keep up with Yuanxin's pace, I suggest you get a night-school or correspondence degree. UESTC still offers night classes. Get a diploma while you can—before the program gets canceled. If you really show your ability, I might even pull strings to get you into a master's program."
Pan Xiaojun fell silent for a long moment, unsure if Su Yuanshan was joking or serious—but his eyes gradually lit up.
"Today, just get familiar with the situation," Su Yuanshan continued. "Find a place to stay. You'll have one week to grasp the entire Yuanxin EDA design workflow. You don't need to master it immediately, but you must understand it."
"After one week, you'll be responsible for recruitment—targeting candidates with at least a vocational degree, preferably in semiconductors or software-related fields. By the end of the month at the latest, you'll lead a team to the southern semiconductor companies to promote our products."
"Right now, we haven't finalized product pricing..."
Pan Xiaojun, feeling the mounting pressure, suddenly froze. "You haven't finalized the prices?"
Su Yuanshan chuckled. "No. We were waiting for you. You used to be a software agent—you understand domestic needs better than anyone."
"In the coming days, study EDA carefully and think about pricing strategies. But here's a rough idea."
"Our EDA can be modularized. Many small and medium-sized companies only need PCB design functions. We can sell only the PCB module."
"For companies that can't afford it, or don't need it urgently, we can provide one-stop chip/PCB design services—handling everything from requirements to simulation, schematics, and even fabrication."
"In short, there's plenty of business. We are not just an EDA developer—we are also a chip design company."
"For companies that have demand but lack immediate funds, we can consider annual payment plans, and so on."
Su Yuanshan finished, "In short, every semiconductor-related enterprise should get tied to us. We'll charge based on the customer, maximizing profits where we can, but never pricing higher than competing products."
Pan Xiaojun stared at Su Yuanshan for a few seconds, making sure he had finished speaking, before letting out a wry smile. "Now I see why your uncle praises you so highly."
"Why?"
"Nothing. I used to think I was smart. In school, teachers said I was material for Tsinghua or Peking University." He glanced toward the workstations and smiled self-deprecatingly. "I never really believed in 'genius' before. Today, I do."
"You better believe it," Su Yuanshan grinned. "After all, Dr. Xi Xiaoding was called a prodigy from childhood. While other kids played with mud, he played with circuits."
"And you?"
Su Yuanshan smiled brightly. "Me too."
"..."
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Albino1