Automatic Robot Generation, abbreviated ARG.
This company, currently hard at work developing technology somewhere in Silicon Valley, would see its valuation soar through the roof three months later.
Because it had shown off tremendous technological prowess at the Automate Expo, known as the Olympics of robots.
In truth, there was no great difference in terms of functionality.
Specialized for logistics sorting services, Speed2 did not have particularly advanced software, nor was it capable of high-level control. It was simply a cute little robot that was good at sorting packages according to the categories on their shipping labels.
But it was cheap... extremely cheap!
At the time of Speed1’s IPO, CEO Sharma, who had been relentlessly criticized over pricing, had gritted his teeth and focused solely on innovating production costs.
As a result, Speed2’s production cost became a full 50% cheaper than the previous version. By minimizing software functions and focusing on hardware, it was reborn as a perfect Terminator that operated without issue even in extreme cold or heat.
“...”
The one who showed the greatest interest in this astonishing durability was Mustin’s Teslan.
Though it already had two robot subsidiaries of its own, neither could match ARG’s durability.
Recognizing its potential, he sent ARG an acquisition offer of twenty million dollars as soon as the Automate Expo ended, and when Sharma accepted, Teslan wrote yet another chapter in automotive history. Namely, beyond autonomous driving, a truly unmanned vehicle...
It unveiled the first unmanned system by a company that automated every process without putting in a single human being.
As if answering Mustin’s expectations, not long after the merger, ARG achieved innovation even in precision manufacturing. With the cheapest robot in the world, it made watches more perfect than those crafted by Swiss artisans, and wrote a legend of precision manufacturing by assembling cell phones all by itself.
“...”
And if my memory is correct, it was around then that Epple’s factory in China returned to Carrelton. As China’s economy entered a recovery phase, its GDP grew, but ironically, that meant labor costs rose as well.
Epple, which had been gradually reducing its Foxconn volume, slowly turned its eyes toward this perfect unmanned manufacturing system, and when there was no longer much difference between the cost of Chinese workers and ARG’s robots, it completely shut down the Foxconn factory.
In truth, the Foxconn factory had been a strategic plant that took even entry into the Chinese market into account, but even considering all of that, the cost innovation provided by unmanned manufacturing was impossible to refuse.
“Hello, Team Leader. It feels like it’s been a long time.”
As I was rummaging through the past over a cup of coffee, Choi Seongjin, chairman of Asan Group, greeted me with a pleased expression.
“Yes, hello, Chairman. It really has been a long time. How have you been these days?”
“I’ve barely managed to catch my breath.”
Over the past four years, Chairman Choi’s face had changed beyond recognition.
Because the bleeding competition with China had been settled to some extent, and they had entered a phase of technological competition.
Asan, which had poured every penny earned from internal combustion cars into electric vehicle R&D, had been able to reduce production costs to an astonishing degree, and thanks to the government defeating the taxi operators and permitting autonomous driving, it had been able to accumulate massive amounts of data as well.
And this technological innovation began showing results in market share.
Asan, which had once nearly lost its own backyard entirely, successfully blocked BYD’s low-price offensive in the domestic market. Beyond that, once its autonomous driving technology reached a certain level, it was also recovering its share in the European market.
“It truly feels as though the heavens helped us. If Toyota Group hadn’t gone bankrupt, we’d still be fighting a four-way battle in Europe.”
“Did that help a lot?”
“Of course. A competitor disappeared, after all. In truth, all of this is thanks to you, Team Leader.”
“What did I do...”
“You persuaded the government to loosen autonomous driving restrictions and even supported our initial R&D funding. Honestly, if you hadn’t helped us both materially and morally like this, I think it would have been Asan that went bankrupt, not Toyota.”
There was meaning in supporting companies while walking the line between life and death.
After about five years, the macroeconomy I knew had changed quite a bit.
If my memory is correct, Asan Motors went bankrupt before Toyota did, but five years of innovation had reversed that fate.
In truth, Japan’s end had been foretold.
Every prime minister elected turned internal dissatisfaction outward, while passing off the social reforms that were actually most necessary to their successors. How could the economy possibly improve that way?
The semiconductor technology that recently drove the KOSPI to 5,000 had originally been Japan’s rice bowl. Not just any rice bowl, but an iron rice bowl that held nearly 50% of global market share, one that even the United States had to concede to. If that technological hegemony had not been overturned, the economies of Korea and Japan would have been the complete opposite.
“Really?”
“Yes. Of course, really.”
“Chairman, then would you like to do something big with me?”
“...Something big?”
Without even giving him time to be flustered, I quickly handed over the documents.
“There’s a company our pension fund views favorably, and I wanted to hear the opinions of experts.”
“Automatic Robot... Isn’t this a robotics company?”
“Yes. Among domestic companies, I thought Asan Motors would be the closest fit. Please take a look.”
Chairman Choi buried his face in the documents with a conflicted expression.
But as the pages turned one by one, his expression fluctuated.
“Excuse me, Team Leader, but what is this? I’ve never heard of a company called AMG.”
“It’s a startup. It was founded by CEO Sharma, an Indian-American, and it hasn’t been around for many years.”
“No, then this is far too strange...? Twenty million dollars is thirty billion won in Korean money. How can we invest that in a company that doesn’t even have a name card?”
I scratched my head.
In truth, twenty million dollars wasn’t a figure I had calculated after weighing things. If my memory is correct, Mustin acquired it for that amount. That was why it was twenty million dollars.
“Is it that strange?”
“It’s very strange. Those supposedly high-flying startups in Silicon Valley? To put it bluntly, if they hand over equity for ten million dollars, they’re already called unicorns. So how could we spend this much money on a company that hasn’t even been verified?”
“It looks promising. Especially for the automotive industry, where labor costs can make or break you, automated manufacturing seems essential.”
Chairman Choi stared at me quietly, then asked.
“Are you suggesting that we acquire it?”
“Yes. In return, we’ll cover half. Please have Asan invest only the other half.”
“...I hope you won’t misunderstand me. I’ve always thought of you as someone ahead of the curve, Team Leader. If it’s such a promising company, why don’t you acquire all of it yourselves?”
“A company capable of applying this technology should acquire it. We can’t do that. In truth, our department head is conservative when it comes to investing in unlisted companies and startups. Well, it’s not as though he outright rejected it, but he doesn’t seem to find robotics very attractive.”
Chairman Choi quietly gauged my mood, then sighed.
“With all due respect, Team Leader, I think your department head is right. I, too, understand the importance of automated manufacturing and have invested in it for a long time... but this technology is not easy at all.”
“Is it because of Boston Automatic?”
“Yes. It hasn’t been easy.”
Chairman Choi, who was facing off against the strongest union in South Korea, had already been eyeing automated manufacturing since long ago.
If he could automate 50% of the current process—no, even just 25%—it would have been enough to withstand BYD’s low-price offensive.
But a machine capable of replacing humans could never be easy.
Boston Automatic, which he had acquired by pouring in a staggering 1.1 billion dollars, or one trillion won in Korean money, had recorded a deficit of 200 billion won over five years, with accumulated losses estimated so far reaching 1.2 trillion won.
“The Boston Auto we acquired was still a company that ranked first in the industry. And yet, even after acquiring a company like that, the deficit is already 200 billion. To be honest, these days our executives are leaning toward withdrawing from Automatic. Their calculation is that it would be much better to wait until the Big Tech companies succeed, then pay royalties and use their technology.”
I smiled bitterly.
In reality, many companies clung to robotics, but most raised the white flag and waited until Teslan succeeded in developing the technology. The robotics business was currently in deficit in the United States, Europe, and Korea alike. A deficit so large that even trillions of won seemed like a joke.
But I knew. When the market naturally hardened into a monopoly like that, just how much Teslan raked in through royalties.
“This isn’t like you, Chairman. Weren’t you a bold company that took shipbuilding orders before you even had a shipyard?”
“That was in my grandfather’s time... The robotics deficit we’ve incurred so far is 1.2 trillion won. We’re already in a position where withdrawing from the business we started wouldn’t be enough. A new business is too much. Team Leader, please consider my circumstances...”
Chairman Choi soon looked as though he was about to cry.
In truth, his position had grown quite precarious recently.
Back when Asan Motors lagged far behind the Big Three German automakers in performance, he had overcome everyone’s mockery and succeeded with a premium sedan, sending Asan’s brand reputation and global market share soaring. But recently, in the era of electric vehicles and autonomous driving, he had shown poor results and had his leadership questioned.
And understandably so, since there had been more than one failure in autonomous driving and electric vehicles.
It was only recently that he had recovered his reputation.
Now that he was finally beginning to have his leadership recognized again, it would not be easy to touch a new business.
“I understand. If that is your intention, Chairman.”
I took a step back and comforted him.
“Thank you. I’m truly sorry.”
“But Chairman. Who do you think will be next after Toyota?”
“...Pardon?”
“There are dozens of automobile brands across the world. Do you think it ends just because one Toyota went bankrupt?”
It was truly unfortunate, but this was only the beginning.
When one company went bankrupt, they would briefly share that company’s rice bowl, then have to run again. And when another company went bankrupt, they would catch their breath again, then run until they bled once more.
Just as Epple and Galaxy drove every cell phone company in the world into bankruptcy during the smartphone era, the fight in the automotive industry would not stop until hegemony was settled.
“I’m disappointed. It seems you’ve let your guard down a bit.”
“T-Team Leader.”
“The autonomous driving technology you’ve completed now has merely caught up to Teslan from five years ago. You haven’t surpassed them yet, have you? Once the Chinese authorities finish propping up real estate, they’ll pour massive R&D subsidies into electric vehicles again. How will you stop their low-price offensive then?”
“That’s not—”
“I can see it. I can see it very clearly. Volkswagen, the Big Three German automakers, and Asan Motors collapsing in order.”
“Isn’t that too much of a leap...”
“If you had told people twenty years ago that Motorola, Nokia, and Sony would fail, they would have laughed at you. Do you really think Asan Motors is different?”
Chairman Choi could not continue speaking.
“Of course I understand how you feel, Chairman. But that doesn’t mean you can give up on automated manufacturing. Saying you’ll pay royalties to Teslan and use their technology is foolish as well.”
“...”
“I’ll give you a few more days. Please consider it carefully and give me your answer.”