kvmb Chapter 269 Bill Gates' Invitation
Chapter 269 Bill Gates' Invitation
At 4 p.m., the investor team left one after another. Only Ling Yun, Carly, Fiona, and a few key assistants remained in the conference room.
The champagne glasses have been taken away, and the writing on the whiteboard has been erased.
"We did it." Carly sat in her chair, her voice filled with exhaustion and relief.
But Lingyun knew the celebration was short-lived. Signing the Term Sheet was only the first step; there was still due diligence, formal agreement negotiations, and fund transfer to follow. Moreover, securing the money was just the beginning; the real challenge lay in how to spend it wisely and how to deliver on the promised growth.
"Yes." Ling Yun sat down as well. "But things will get even busier from here on out. The due diligence team will be moving in next week, and we need to prepare all the necessary documents. The legal department will also need to start drafting the formal agreement."
"Understood." Fiona tidied the documents. "Also, we need to determine the second director for the management team as soon as possible. Carly is one, but who's the other?"
Lingyun pondered that among the current senior management team, David, the product manager of Xingyu, Eric, the technology manager, and Carly, the operations manager, were all qualified, but a board seat required strategic vision and the ability to balance different situations.
"Get David on the board," he said. "A product perspective is important, and he knows how to balance technology and business."
"Okay." Carly made a note in her notebook. "Also, we need to build a corporate sales team and a developer relations team as soon as possible. We need to get results from the $1.7 million within eighteen months."
"Draft a budget," Ling Yun said. "We'll have a meeting to discuss it tomorrow morning."
Outside the window, the afternoon in Silicon Valley was turning into evening. The sky was pale purple, and the clouds were edged with gold by the setting sun.
Ling Yun stood up and walked to the window. Below, the traffic on the street began to pick up. In the distance, the Stanford University clock tower appeared in the twilight.
He thought of Jinan. At this time, An Shiyu should be preparing dinner or watching TV. He wanted to call her, but knew he couldn't—there were too many things to take care of.
His phone vibrated. He took it out and saw a text message from An Shiyu: "Did it go smoothly?"
He typed: "Successfully. Just finished."
"That's good. Remember to eat dinner tonight."
"The same to you."
A simple conversation. He stared at the screen for a few seconds, then put his phone away.
"Mr. Ling," an assistant knocked and entered, "Mr. Ni Guangnan called from China to ask when you would be available to speak."
Ling Yun glanced at his watch—it was a little past seven in the morning in China, and Ni Guangnan had gotten up very early.
"Take it."
The assistant left, and a few minutes later, the phone on the desk rang.
"Lingyun?" Ni Guangnan's voice was somewhat urgent. "Has the financing been finalized?"
"It's settled. $1.7 million."
There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone. "Okay, okay. With this money, the project can be accelerated."
Have you contacted that operating system team?
"We've made contact," Ni Guangnan said. "The team consists of nine people, led by Wang Jianguo, who is in his fifties and has worked at the Chinese Academy of Sciences for over twenty years. Their project is called 'Huaxia System,' which is a domestically developed version of Linux, but they lack funding and market experience. I've looked at the code; the foundation is good, but the interface and usability are poor."
"What do they want?"
"We want to survive," Ni Guangnan said. "The Institute of Computing Technology is short of funds, and their projects are far down the list. If they don't receive external funding within three months, the team will have to disband. They hope we will invest or acquire them."
"Acquisition," Ling Yun said. "Acquisition of the entire team, but the intellectual property rights remain with the company. Give them competitive salaries and autonomy in research and development. Arrange for them to come to Jinan; I'll fly back the day after tomorrow to meet them."
"Okay." Ni Guangnan paused for a moment, "Also, there's something else. I've learned through connections that the government is preparing a 'Domestic Operating System Support Plan,' which may be released in the next year or two. If we make arrangements now, we might have an opportunity then."
"That's exactly what we're going to do," Ling Yun said. "Not just the operating system, but the entire industry chain—chips, systems, software, and ecosystem."
"You have big ambitions."
"Now that you have money, you should have bigger ambitions," Ling Yun said. "That's all for now, I still have some things to take care of. See you in Jinan the day after tomorrow."
After hanging up the phone, he was left alone in the conference room.
He sat back down in his chair, opened his laptop, and found dozens of new emails piling up in his inbox.
The first letter came from Zhao Weiguo, reporting the latest progress in the expansion of internet cafes in China—three more cities have signed letters of intent.
The second email came from Xingyu's technical team, reporting the latest test data for the Windows version.
A third letter from Goldman Sachs' legal department confirmed that the final version of the Term Sheet had been sent.
The fourth letter... He stopped.
Subject: Congratulations and Invitations
The email was very short:
Mr. Ling,
Congratulations to Xingyu on successfully completing its financing round.
I've been thinking about the future landscape of the internet lately, and I'd like to share some of my thoughts with you.
If you have time, we can arrange an informal meeting next week.
Best wishes, Bill.
Ling Yun stared at the screen, his fingers hovering above the keyboard. Night had completely fallen outside the window, and his face and the light from the computer screen were reflected in the glass.
He typed slowly:
Mr. Gates,
Thank you for your letter.
Next week is quite busy; I need to go back to China, but I can arrange a 30-minute conference call.
Please coordinate the specific time with my assistant, Carly.
Best wishes, Lingyun
send.
Then he closed his email and shut down his laptop.
The conference room was completely dark, with only the light from the corridor seeping in through the crack in the door. He sat motionless in the darkness.
The financing round is complete: $1.7 million for a 20% equity stake. With ample funds, Xingyu can expand at full speed.
But the pressure was also greater: investors wanted returns, the market wanted growth, and competitors were eyeing the market closely. Bill Gates of Microsoft personally sent an email, which was both an endorsement and a warning.
There is no turning back; we can only move forward.
He stood up and straightened his shirt. The fabric was wrinkled from sitting for so long.
As he walked out of the conference room, the hallway lights made him squint. Several programmers were still working overtime in the office area, the light from their screens reflecting on their young faces.
"President Ling." Someone greeted him.
"Get some rest," he said.
"I'll finish writing this module and then leave."
He nodded and walked toward the elevator.
In the parking lot, Zhao Hu waited in his car. When he saw Ling Yun come out, he got out and opened the car door.
"Back to the apartment?" Zhao Hu asked.
"Okay." Ling Yun got into the back seat. "Then... let's find a place to eat. It's on me."
The car drove out of the parking lot and merged into the nighttime traffic.