I was reborn and stayed in school to lie down. I really don’t want to roll anymore!

"If we want to complete this project and surpass the intelligence level and obstacle avoidance capabilities of products on the market, how big is the funding gap?"

"If we want a very mature intelligent system, we have to work hard on the software system, and the cost will go up. I think it will cost at least five million."

Software really becomes more mature the larger the budget.

For such an ongoing project, the company still needs to have its own top software development team.

The price certainly won’t be lower, but before the product is developed and launched on the market, three million should be the maximum.

However, the trouble with this kind of software is that it requires constant iteration, and the algorithm also needs constant research and improvement.

There is no upper limit to subsequent investment, and there is no upper limit to the areas that can be optimized. It all depends on the amount of funds and time provided.

Apart from the three million, the remaining two million will be used for trial production testing including subsequent operations. Jiang Hao shook his head silently, as the money still seemed tight.

However, it would not be appropriate to invest any more. As an investor, he naturally hopes to invest as little as possible.

And for entrepreneurial teams, it is especially important for projects like this one that involve some real business.

Jiang Hao clearly knew that it was unrealistic to expect to meet market expectations and be recognized by the market in one generation.

We still have to wait for the next few rounds of financing and iterations until a certain generation of products is really sought after by the market.

Therefore, the goal of their angel round is to develop the first generation of products.

Make it competitive in the market and allow investors in subsequent rounds to see the potential of this product.

After thinking about it, Jiang Hao skipped the funding issue and discussed the specific product research and development focus with Professor Duan first.

"I suggest that the initial focus of the product should still be on the laser radar and the obstacle avoidance of the sweeper. The supporting function modules of the software can be few, but they must be refined."

"The first generation of the product as a whole must not be used like a moron."

"We also need to work hard on the design of the product. Appearance is actually the key to many consumers' purchase."

It was clearly a conversation between four people, but there was no room for Pang Yi, the company's future main manager and operator, to interrupt.

This also caused the coffee in his cup to be empty first, and then he stared blankly at the discussion of the three people.

"Teacher Jiang, do you mean that the main selling points of the product are beauty and intelligence?"

After all, Professor Zheng is an investor, so he understands it immediately.

It is clear that it is simply a fantasy to expect the first and second generations of smart home products to be achieved in one step and realize the design goals.

If you really want to do it, you have to wait for continuous iterations, including the improvement of the overall chip and the successive replacement of software and hardware.

As angel investors, their important task is to support the company in developing its first generation of products.

And to determine the selling point of this product, it is more like selling it to the next round of investors rather than selling it to the market.

"That's right. We want to make robots that are different from those currently on the market."

"Other products can even be called traditional sweepers when they come out, but ours is the real smart and modern sweeper."

"So the software support for chips and radar scanning is particularly important. It doesn't require too high a cleaning intensity. This thing is easy to improve, and the focus is on intelligence."

"Well, I agree with your point of view. This can achieve this goal, and it will also be convenient to find the next round of investors."

At this point, Professor Zheng no longer paid attention to some of Professor Duan’s previous answers that could not be guaranteed.

The feasibility of this project has already been weighed in my mind.

From his point of view, as long as the project can be carried out according to plan, it will not be difficult to find the next round of buyers.

Moreover, in the field of artificial intelligence, especially smart home, sweeping robots are definitely an area that cannot be avoided, so just think of it as a plan in advance.

"If we calculate it based on five million, Professor Duan, how much equity are you prepared to give up?"

When Professor Zheng talked about this crucial point, Professor Duan's face showed surprise and hesitation.

At the same time, he looked at Jiang Hao, as if asking for help, and spoke tentatively.

"I personally invested one million, and I also invested in the hardware technology, including radar patents."

"My requirement is that I can control the company, or that Pang Yi and I can control the company."

After saying this, Professor Zheng's face looked a little strange.

He turned his head and looked at Jiang Hao, looking as if he didn't know how to continue speaking.

Even Jiang Hao himself found it a bit funny. It seemed like this professor had never started a business before!

And their appetite is even smaller than his. The founding team invested money and technology, and their final requirement in the angel round was just a controlling stake.

Fortunately, he found Jiang Hao in advance. If he had found someone else, he might have encountered some shameless or black-hearted capitalists.

It is estimated that professors have become workers in the latter part of Round A, and if they develop well in the later rounds, they may even be kicked out easily.

"Professor Zheng, Professor Duan is starting a business for the first time after all, so he may not have much knowledge about shares and corporate financing development."

"How about we discuss it between the two of us? I'm going to invest one million so that we can divide the shares a little bit. How about we both take 20% together?"

Although Professor Duan can release 49% of the shares, Jiang Hao is not so shameless as to take so much.

This is an angel round, and taking so much may not necessarily be a good thing for the angel investors.

What if the company really picks up, after the A or B round, the founding team leaves directly because they think the shares are too small?

If you start a similar competing company yourself, your money would be wasted.

Generally, the most suitable shareholding for an angel round is 15%-20%. Taking more shares will be detrimental to the rapid development of the company or the founding team.

Unless it is a traditional industry or a separate store business, the gameplay in this field of artificial intelligence is actually very similar to that of the Internet.

Hearing what Jiang Hao said, Professor Duan opposite him couldn't help but straighten up in his chair.

There was a look of surprise on his face and eyes. The proposal of only holding 400% ​​of the shares, which was a major investment of 20 million yuan by both parties, was obviously unexpected.

Pang Yi on the side reacted even more violently, and he picked up the coffee that he had already finished.

After I put it to my lips and took a sip of air, I realized that he had already finished the coffee.

He hurriedly put the empty cup back on the table and smiled at Jiang Hao with a somewhat awkward look on his face.

"300 million, 15%?"

Professor Zheng murmured, as if he was thinking about something.

Compared with the financing of Jiang Hao's Totoro Live, the 300 million yuan should not be a big deal for Professor Zheng. Even the watch he received cost more than 20 yuan.

Is he not satisfied with this share? Want to get more? Jiang Hao couldn't help but guess.

Not only him, but also Professor Duan and Pang Yi looked straight at Professor Zheng, waiting for the final answer.

"This amount is not large, I will invest it myself."

After waiting for a long time, I finally got a reply from Professor Zheng.

It turns out that he is considering whether the company should pay for it or he should pay for it himself. No wonder he is hesitant.

That’s right. Professor Zheng is only the vice president of Yifan Investment, which means there must be one or more other investors above him who have more funds, resources and connections than him.

While using a company name reduces risks, profits will also be spread out.

I guess three million is just a joke for Professor Zheng, so I thought I could invest it myself.

Even so, Professor Duan and Junior Brother Pang who were sitting opposite him breathed a sigh of relief.

Even Professor Duan has worked on scientific research projects with funding of several million yuan, and he has even worked with Professor Zou on projects worth tens of millions.

But scientific research projects are scientific research projects, and the money applied for is mainly used for scientific research.

This time, the sweeping robot is his own, and he paid for it with real money, one million yuan from his many years of income.

The mentality of using other people's money and your own money to carry out a project is indeed different.

After several people have reached a complete agreement, their angel people’s shares will be based on what they have just agreed upon.

However, in the entrepreneurial team, Professor Duan was generous enough to give 10% of the shares to his student Pang Yi.

After all, it is a teacher-student entrepreneurial team, and it can be seen that Professor Shangduan still has feelings for them.

Otherwise, Pang Yi had neither actual technical contribution nor actual investment.

He is just one of the earliest founders or a member of the founding team, which is equivalent to a professional manager.

Professor Duan was indeed generous to be able to obtain this share.