RBCT Chapter 1399 Qualcomm Landing (4k)
Chapter 1399 Qualcomm Landing (4k)
Chapter 1399 Qualcomm Landing (4k)
After the Spring Festival, the holiday has not yet ended, and the competition between Yike and Alibaba has resurfaced due to the trends in the travel market.
After Alibaba's successful listing, it launched aggressive attacks on multiple businesses with high morale a few years ago. However, Yike seemed to have underestimated this and maintained a considerable degree of restraint, especially its e-commerce brand Yiguo.com.
On the second day of the Chinese New Year, Tmall, Alibaba's B2C brand, has ambitiously announced its own goals on the social media platform, planning to become the number one B2C brand in China within the next two years.
There is no doubt that Tmall has clearly set its sights on Yigoo and is determined to dominate the domestic e-commerce market.
As for the travel market outside of Alibaba's advantageous business, everyone is actually a little tired after the money-burning competition over the past year or so. Therefore, when the common shareholders of the three major brands proposed it, both Uber and Kuaidi were somewhat tempted and planned to take advantage of the opportunity to do Masayoshi Son a favor.
It’s not about having to merge, but about suspending subsidies on this scale and turning to a more moderate competition.
If any of the three brands, Kuaidi, Dada and Uber, is not strong enough, Masayoshi Son's proposal will not be considered and they will inevitably continue to be kicked out. However, the people behind these three companies are not easy to deal with, so the "New Year's Day" becomes a good opportunity.
Kuaidi and Uber both received calls from Masayoshi Son himself. According to him, Dada was already seriously considering it, and as a result, the two companies also expressed their intention to ease the situation.
However, unexpectedly, in less than two days, Dada officially rejected Masayoshi Son’s proposal, and more news leaked out soon after.
Dada’s founder Wei Zhe held a meeting with some investors in Shanghai. On the one hand, he summarized and reported on the development of the domestic travel market, and on the other hand, he expressed his plans for the company’s development.
At present, Dada’s first goal is still not to make a profit, but to continue to expand the market size, widen the gap with competitors, and continuously increase market share.
He made it clear that Dada will continue to provide travel subsidies to users.
Masayoshi Son is in China. The purpose of this trip is to try to promote a ceasefire among the three major brands, so he personally attended the meeting convened by Wei Zhe.
According to an anonymous participant, a fierce dispute broke out at the meeting. Masayoshi Son expressed great dissatisfaction on behalf of SoftBank. However, Xiong Xiaoge and Wang Fengyi, who are also important investors, expressed tit-for-tat support.
What is even more talked about is that Masayoshi Son left the scene angrily, and his last words before leaving were "I want to meet Mr. Fang." As to whether he met Mr. Fang later, it is unknown.
It is almost needless to speculate that the transition from serious consideration to determination must have been due to the will of Yi Ke, and even Mr. Fang himself might have been involved.
But no matter what, capital is unwilling to recede, and the war in travel is still raging.
Dada has not increased travel subsidies for the time being, but after the Spring Festival statutory holiday is over, it will have to continue to take action.
Such will from Dada and Yike made both Uber and Alibaba frown.
Uber is better off, but is hesitant due to the fierce competition in the Chinese market. Alibaba, on the other hand, has obtained more information and noticed the changes and goals of the Yike system.
At the meeting convened by Wei Zhe, he explicitly mentioned that he would continue to integrate resources, further open up the cooperation between MiTuan and Amap, and optimize the user experience of YiXin.
There is a natural fit between taking a taxi and maps, but independent map software often has to consider more possibilities of its own. Since being acquired by YiKe, even the advertisements that were not many to begin with have disappeared, and Amap has completely become a functional department of the YiKe system.
What are Yike’s requirements for AutoNavi?
Just make a good map.
As for profit...
Yi Ke: Gaode, just focus on your map. I have someone else to take care of the profit.
Yike has no need for AutoNavi's tiny profits. It only uses them to provide better services to users and make the Yike ecosystem more attractive. AutoNavi has lived up to this expectation and has provided continuous and in-depth technical services to companies such as Yike, Yiguo, Yixin, Mituan, and Dada.
When Alibaba was discussing the changes in the Yike system, it highly praised the role that AutoNavi is playing today.
"I have to say that the 'simple beauty' of the Yike ecosystem is really good. It is no longer a style, but has gradually evolved into the business logic of many of their businesses. Amap is very simple, and the functions it provides for the Yike system are also very simple and beautiful."
"While Dada is burning money, it seems to be constantly optimizing its experience in all aspects, which is worth noting."
"What's more important to note is that Lei Jun's rice group was also listed by Wei Zhe as a cooperative resource for mutual exchange. Some people also said that they had seen Lei Jun appear in Shencheng."
"We need to see the essence through the phenomenon. Why did Dada reject Masayoshi Son? This must not be what Wei Zhe meant. Otherwise, his reaction when he first received the call would definitely not be the same as Masayoshi Son's optimism. So, what does Yi Ke want to do?"
"Whether it's the taxi travel or group-buying market, Yike doesn't want anything else but just wants to ensure its 'easy payment' market."
As the person in charge of Alipay, Peng Lei expressed his views at the executive meeting that this matter was directed at Alipay.
She continued, "A duck knows when the river water warms in spring, and the current travel market is that duck. Mi Tuan is constantly expanding its business lines, and Lei Jun is doing O2O e-commerce, which has a greater impact on electronic payments than Dada. We cannot underestimate the competitive situation in payment this year."
Peng Lei is very perceptive.
Ma Dian agreed with this insight.
But he also expressed a certain degree of optimism, pointing out the situation facing Yike: "There is news from abroad that a corner of the Yike system may collapse. The ice core in Luzhou is likely to be in big trouble this time. This will be the beginning of a chain reaction."
All executives attending the meeting paid close attention.
"Is there any new and accurate information?" Lu Zhaoxi asked directly.
Ma Dian pointed to his head, then to his phone: "Read the news."
Lu Zhaoxi: “…”
Cai Zhongxin on the other side smiled and said, "In fact, we can make some guesses by looking at Mr. Fang's movements. Although he returned to China for the launch of the Mars phone, he has not gone abroad to participate in activities until now. It may be that domestic affairs are more important. However, Yi Ke has participated in many international activities in the past and it is his habit to go abroad."
For example, Yike has participated in the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona in the past few years, and Fang Zhuo sometimes goes in person, but it has been confirmed that Yike will not be present at this year's exhibition.
At the same time, Yu Hong, co-founder of Yike, who often handles affairs in the United States, has not changed her job title, but has returned to China.
In addition, there are some sporadic news from domestic suppliers, who are said to have received inspections and orders from Yike.
Actions like these, although there is no definite news from Washington, seem to indicate that a storm is about to hit.
"YiKe's goal this year should not be to compete with us. Its focus should most likely be on adjusting its own business. Otherwise, the competition in the mobile phone market will also be very fierce." Ma Dian pointed out possible problems with YiKe's strategy.
The atmosphere of this internal meeting at Alibaba became less serious as everyone started discussing.
Just as the meeting was ending, Ma Dian, Cai Zhongxin and others received the latest news from the United States, which was also related to Yi Ke, but it was good news for it.
The U.S. Supreme Court announced its final ruling on Qualcomm's antitrust case, determining that Qualcomm violated the FRAND licensing principle of standard essential patents, violated the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Act and the U.S. Sherman Antitrust Act, and determined that Qualcomm's behavior in chip sales and patent licensing over the years constituted a monopoly.
Although there was already a tendency in the trial before the New Year, the final judgment from the Supreme Court still caused Qualcomm's stock price to plummet, and its market value once again fell by US$800 billion, which was a historical low after it acquired Avago.
Qualcomm CEO Chen Fuyang responded quickly, expressing regret for the final result. He planned to actively communicate and implement with customers such as Apple, Yike, and Foxconn, and planned to reach a patent licensing framework that is more conducive to the development of the industry.
This almost means that Qualcomm has completely admitted defeat.
Correspondingly, companies such as Apple, iChem and Intel welcomed the result, and trade union organizations such as the Mobile Apps Industry Association and the Computer and Communications Industry Association were even more cheering.
The China Securities News quickly commented on this matter.
"Qualcomm's dominance in the chip field has ended!"
"Qualcomm has been using its first-mover advantage in the communications field for many years to aggressively and tyrannically use its patent cluster to gain huge unfair benefits."
"Qualcomm's approach is to only produce chips. If the chip only sells for $10 and is used in a mobile phone, and the phone eventually sells for $600, then it needs to pay 5% of the entire phone as patent fees, even if the phone also includes other functions such as a screen, camera, memory, GPS, etc."
"A real joke widely circulated in the industry is that a certain operator executive met Qualcomm's global CEO on an occasion and complained to him, saying, 'I think the way you charge patent fees is unreasonable. In the future, cars will need communication modules to achieve the Internet of Vehicles. If BMW cars also use your Qualcomm chips, do I have to pay you 5% of the entire BMW sales price as patent fees?'"
"Jacob, the then global CEO of Qualcomm, thought for a moment, nodded, and gave his answer, 'In theory, that's the case.'"
"Today, Qualcomm no longer has such a strong dominant position."
"Qualcomm's original business consisted of chips and patent licensing, and the latter provided the vast majority of the company's profits. Now that it has acquired Avago, the patent licensing profit model has been overturned, which will inevitably bring great challenges to its future development."
"The case of YiKe Inc., Apple Inc. v. Qualcomm Inc. will inevitably become a benchmark in the global patent market and has enlightening significance!
In addition to media such as the China Securities News pointing out the significance of this matter, Yike Company, the party involved, also gave a somewhat unexpected formal response to the application of the law.
“We are pleased to see that the patent exhaustion principle is becoming clearer and more consistent around the world. Due to the differences and complexity of the development stages of different markets around the world, the patent exhaustion system has always been controversial.”
"The US market previously avoided issues such as 'international exhaustion' and 'absolute exhaustion' in patent exhaustion in Article 28 of the TRIPS Agreement."
"Our successful lawsuit against Qualcomm has promoted the application of these two basic principles of patent rights in the U.S. market, which will surely better promote industry development and product innovation."
"We will soon hold new consultations with Qualcomm on patent licensing and are willing to have healthy interactions with all partners inside and outside the industry on patent issues."
Many media outlets praised Yike's response and its efforts over the past year.
The New York Times used the title "YiKe Inc., Apple Inc. v. Qualcomm Inc." to explain the whole process of Qualcomm's establishment of monopoly hegemony and the end of its hegemony.
It believes that the circuitous process of the Qualcomm case, which went from the federal district court recognizing "absolute exhaustion" and denying "international exhaustion", to the circuit court of appeals denying both "absolute exhaustion" and "international exhaustion", to the Supreme Court recognizing both "absolute exhaustion" and "international exhaustion", has greatly boosted confidence in the U.S. market within and outside the industry.
Such a comprehensive voice including the media, trade unions, industry representatives, and the parties involved almost all accepted the end of Qualcomm's monopoly hegemony. However, former Qualcomm CEO Jacob was heartbroken about this.
"Chen Fuyang ruined Qualcomm!"
"Yi Ke destroyed Qualcomm!"
"Fang Zhuo directed a power grab and conspiracy against Qualcomm, and all the efforts and hard work of Qualcomm over the past 20 years have gone to waste!"
"Chen Fuyang is just a vicious Trojan horse that Fang Zhuo implanted into Qualcomm!"
"Intel is an accomplice, Huaxia Antitrust is an accomplice, Chen Fuyang is an accomplice, and those shareholder institutions are accomplices! Together, you destroyed Qualcomm!"
As the current CEO of Qualcomm, Chen Fuyang can accept the final ruling, accept media criticism, and accept internal dissatisfaction, but he cannot accept the accusations from Jacob.
He gave a strong response immediately.
"If Qualcomm had not acquired Avago, wouldn't the situation we are facing now be even worse?"
"Jacob is defaming Qualcomm's efforts to make this new situation a reality and is smearing me and others."
"According to his logic, since Yi Ke is the murderer, who decided the cooperation between Qualcomm and Yi Ke?"
"It's you, Mr. Jacob, it's you!"
"If Qualcomm is ruined according to your logic, then it is you who ruined Qualcomm!"
"However, the old Qualcomm has been destroyed, and the new Qualcomm will surely grow stronger with the efforts of the management and all employees!"
"I have confidence, and so do all Qualcomm employees!"
(End of this chapter)