Replay 07: Opening the Temple of Learning

Chapter 93 is a dimensionality reduction attack (please subscribe)

Lin Dong was sweating at this time.

Now is the most critical moment in the third round of financing negotiations between UC and Sequoia Capital, IDG Capital and Temasek.

Sequoia Capital should have reached an agreement, but IDG and Temasek are still waiting and watching.

Ke Xiaopeng’s goal is to get more than 2 million US dollars in the third round of financing!

This goal is not just boasting, but rather Ke Xiaopeng's grasp of the mobile Internet era.

He believes that the mobile Internet era will definitely replace the PC era.

The number of Internet users in the mobile Internet era will far exceed that in the PC era.

There are 1.3 billion people in Xiaguo now. If one-tenth of them are smartphone users, that would be million people.

If half of these 1.3 million people use UC Browser, that would be to million.

This base number is very scary!

If everyone makes a penny profit every day, that would be 70.

Ke Xiaopeng has been painting a rosy picture for Western capital by using Xiaguo's huge market as an excuse to obtain financing.

However, IDG and Temasek still want to wait and see, because they also feel that although UC Browser can seize the initiative and gain a firm foothold in the market first, UC's technology is not impossible to replicate.

So they want to wait and see for another year.

Why is the time set at one year, rather than half a year or other time?

Because these old foxes in the capital market know that this year is very critical - Android phones are about to come out and Apple's app store is about to go public.

In the era of mobile Internet, there is never a second place for products, and the winner takes all.

If UC can still monopolize the market one year later, then investors can continue to invest money with confidence.

Seeing that Lin Dong was in a hurry, Ke Xiaopeng whispered, "Let's talk about it tomorrow. Today I have to accompany the representatives of Sequoia Capital to visit some famous classics in Guangzhou."

Lin Dong felt that this matter was very important and it would be troublesome if it was too late.

Especially now that the number of users of Jiyue Browser is increasing and its coverage is getting wider and wider, it will sooner or later be discovered by some venture capital institutions.

Xia Country is a vast market. For capital, many areas are virgin lands yet to be explored. Many financial institutions are eyeing Xia Country's major emerging industries, ready to take a bite of meat at any time.

If venture capital institutions saw Jiyue, they would definitely have doubts about UC's prospects.

UC’s third round of financing is in jeopardy!

This matter must be told to Ke Xiaopeng immediately, without any delay.

Lin Dong said: "Boss Ke, I have something urgent to report to you."

Ke Xiaopeng said: "To make a long story short."

Lin Dong handed the analysis report to Ke Xiaopeng, "There is a browser called Jiyue on the market now, and the user experience is much better than ours."

“Although the number of users of this software is relatively small, I am worried that if it is seen by prominent institutions, it will affect our financing.”

Ke Xiaopeng was now anxious to accompany the guests. After receiving Lin Dong's report, he said, "Okay, I'll read the report first and we'll talk later."

In the car, Ke Xiaopeng was absent-minded, worried about what Lin Dong said.

The two have been friends for more than ten years.

If it wasn't an important issue, Lin Dong wouldn't be so anxious.

After accompanying the guest until the evening, drinking and singing, and also arranging a Dongguan-style massage for the guest, Ke Xiaopeng urgently returned to the company to read Lin Dong's report in detail.

An hour later, even though the air-conditioning in the office was only 23 degrees, Ke Xiaopeng still broke out in a cold sweat. He also downloaded Jiyue and used it for an hour, and this time he couldn't fall asleep at all.

He realized the seriousness of the matter!
Jiyue is more than just a product competitor.

If such a product is noticed by Sequoia, IDG or Temasek, the third round of financing will definitely be in doubt.

The only thing that made Ke Xiaopeng feel lucky was:

First, the software has not yet become a phenomenon, and its user base cannot be compared with UC.

Second, Lin Dong discovered the problem in a timely manner and reported it promptly. Judging from the analysis report, the owner of the software should be an individual rather than a company.

If it is software made by an individual, it is easier to handle.

Ke Xiaopeng called Lin Dong at two o'clock in the morning and asked Lin Dong to have the executives from the marketing, technology and financing departments hold a meeting in his office at nine o'clock the next morning.

Early the next morning, in Ke Xiaopeng's conference room.

After Lin Dong finished his detailed report on the relevant situation of Jiyue Browser, all the executives and technical personnel looked solemn.

Many technical personnel had already downloaded the Jiyue browser when Lin Dong reported the situation.

Ke Xiaopeng said earnestly: "Everyone, stop playing with your phones and talk."

"Do you have any opinions or ideas from the technical department?"

“Can you tell me what logic and algorithm this browser uses?”

Director Liu from the technical department said very seriously: "Please look at the application surface, you can't see anything."

"If we can get the underlying data, we can analyze it."

Upon hearing this, Ke Xiaopeng was furious: "If I had the underlying data, why would I ask you this?"

Minister Liu had no choice but to lower his head and touch his nose.

He really speaks the truth. If it is some ordinary small program, he can basically figure out the underlying data and design logic as soon as he sees how it is applied.

But the Jiyue browser is too complicated, especially the underlying algorithm logic. Just looking at the surface of the application, it is really hard to tell what it is.

Ke Xiaopeng was very upset and asked again: "Can your technical department imitate similar information push?"

The technical department said somewhat embarrassedly: "We can add an information column to push information, which is fine, but pushing information like this that is extremely precise for different users may be difficult and requires further research."

Ke Xiaopeng expressed his understanding. He was a technical person and of course knew that this kind of technology was difficult, otherwise he would not be so anxious.

Ke Xiaopeng then asked the marketing department: "Please tell us about this as well."

Last night, we received a call from Ke Xiaopeng about a meeting, so the marketing department analyzed the data overnight. Therefore, the marketing department had the data in hand when we had the meeting today.

Director Zheng, the head of the marketing department, said: "We found out that the Jiyue browser was launched a month ago."

"It was not very popular at first and didn't rank high. Later, it was made popular by a blogger named Tianya who was engaged in mobile Internet application evaluation."

"According to our existing market model, if this trend continues, it is very likely that Jiyue Browser will share the market with us by the end of this year at the earliest."

As soon as this was said, many senior executives whispered to each other. They found it unbelievable that UC, which had always been smooth sailing, would suddenly face such a big challenge, and was hit by a dimensionality reduction in terms of technology.

Ke Xiaopeng said irritably, "Have you found out the information from the developer?"

Minister Zheng said: "Through some information from Tianya and inquiries from many parties, we have just obtained the exact situation."

"The developer of the browser is called Lu Shan, a prospective student of Jiangzhou University. The project has received support from Jiangzhou University."

Ke Xiaopeng was very puzzled and asked, "What does prospective student mean?"

(End of this chapter)