Upon arriving in San Francisco, I searched through my calendar before I even had time to unpack.
Forty days before the Automate Expo. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the fate of Korea’s robotics industry would be decided forty days from now.
“...”
As if possessed, I flipped through the documents.
I knew when Teslan would acquire ARG, and even how much they would pay for it, but I didn’t know the behind-the-scenes story that had taken place under the surface.
Damn it. I’d misread it.
As expected, something was off. I had thought Mustin, after attending the Automate Expo, had been impressed by ARG’s technology and acquired them. But that wasn’t it. The two sides had already been in contact before the expo even opened.
It seemed the robotics expo had merely been a formality for Mustin to make a final confirmation of ARG’s technological prowess. No wonder the merger and acquisition had proceeded at lightning speed...
“Phew...”
As I took out the MOU, my head grew complicated.
Now, twenty million dollars was meaningless. Even an investor like me knew the value of ARG’s robotics technology; there was no way the industry’s top experts would fail to recognize it.
But all else being equal, people choose the prettier dress. If Teslan and we offered the same amount of money, it was obvious whom they would choose.
Would a semiconductor parts company reject an acquisition offer from Hoam Electronics and want to be acquired by some company from, say, India?
That was the degree of difference between Teslan and Asan. If the same choice came to me, I felt like I’d run barefoot to Mustin myself.
—Riiip.
When my thoughts reached that point, I tore up the MOU I had prepared.
In the end, the most important things would be the environment in which they could conduct research and development, various conveniences, and money, wouldn’t they?
My hands trembled. Then how much, exactly, would we have to offer to satisfy them? Would we have to double it, or add another zero...?
“...”
Now that the amount was getting large, even I felt the burden.
But I decided to remember only one thing.
This was buying Envidi thirty years ago.
A company no one had recognized, a pearl buried in the mud... It was about digging that out. Hadn’t ARG’s potential for growth already been fully confirmed?
“...”
I had seen it clearly.
The era when machines replaced humans.
*
Yu Jeongjin, who had graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and earned his master’s and doctorate at MIT, had been unable to close his mouth for three hours now.
He was, in both name and reality, a top-tier engineer. Not only in Korea, but anywhere in the world, he had followed an elite path that would not fall behind anyone’s.
In the process, he had met dozens of geniuses and had his pride trampled hundreds of times, but none of it had ever been a shock like this.
“That will be enough explanation. Everyone here must be an expert as well. We’ll step out for a moment, so please enjoy examining our Speed2. Even if you break it for a durability test, we won’t hold it against you.”
“Haha.”
At first, he had wondered where that confidence came from.
They were really just tossing a robot to people who could test everything from reverse engineering to durability and then leaving. Even most startup CEOs would stand nearby worrying themselves sick to the very end when major capital and corporations showed up.
But it took less than thirty minutes for him to understand that confidence.
—Principal Researcher Park, what does this material look like to you?
—The frame definitely seems like steel or aluminum alloy.
—Right? But what is this? How is its durability harder than titanium? Principal Park, we brought our sample, didn’t we?
—Yes, we did. A titanium-based material.
—Compare them.
Yu Jeongjin and all the other researchers wore the same expression.
The development team carefully analyzed everything from head to toe, including not only durability but also weight reduction, sensors, and special functions.
But one thing was certain. It was harder and tougher than every humanoid Asan had brought as samples.
—Knock it over! This bastard won’t be able to get up. Yeah, the software is definitely going to be a mess.
Up it sprang!
—What the hell is this?! We put obstacles like packages on top of it to make it hard to stand, and it clears them away and gets up? Then this bastard recognized the obstacles with its sensors and automatically controlled itself?
—Th-that appears to be the case.
—Principal Park, then make it sort those boxes in order of size. That CEO Sharma said earlier that it lacked precision work. Let’s see how far it can go!
Swoosh!
—What the hell?! He said it lacked precision work, but it can do this much?
—It seems their standard for “lacking” is somewhat different from ours...
—This can’t be! Then have it thread a needle too! Try everything!
When the comprehensive three-hour test finally ended, not a single researcher from Asan Motors could speak.
It was a monster robot. It couldn’t quite thread a needle, but it passed basic precision processes with ease. Conversely, it passed every physical test the research team threw at it.
Of course, it wasn’t as if Asan had none of this level of technology. Asan’s Atlas also boasted cognitive ability at the level of a six- or seven-year-old child and solid durability.
If its production cost were not 140,000 dollars, it would be an excellent robot that would not fall behind anywhere.
—This is... seventy thousand dollars?
But as they looked at the Speed2, which had similar specs and half the price, a sense of futility washed over them.
—Yes... That’s right. They said it could go down even further with mass production...
—That’s impossible. It took us seven years to bring Atlas down to a unit cost of 140,000. Even in the industry, our price isn’t considered bad. But how... how does this unit cost come out like this?!
The research team thought of the K9 self-propelled howitzer, which had recently been selling like hotcakes in Europe.
Korea’s self-propelled howitzers were not selling well because their performance was vastly superior to Europe’s or because their technology was cutting-edge. They were selling because, for similar specs, they were up to four times cheaper, so no one could stop Poland’s defense shopping spree.
It was obvious what would happen if a similar competition unfolded in the robotics industry. All else being equal, people choose the prettier dress; if the dress is equally pretty, they choose the cheaper one. In the end, the market share would be seized by the company with better price competitiveness.
“Are we done?”
After a long silence, Yu Jeongjin opened his mouth.
Since he had watched his research team fall into panic in real time, no further explanation was necessary.
—Yes... We’re done.
“The comparison is almost meaningless. Similar specs to our Atlas, but half the price. Correct?”
—It’s not completely similar. Still, our Atlas can thread a needle.
“Good. In exchange for being able to thread a needle, the price is twice as high. Correct?”
No one could continue.
“Team Leader Choi, since it’s just us here, let’s be honest. If you were a business owner, and you had our Atlas and the Speed2 in front of you, which do you think you’d choose?”
—I’m sorry. Although our Atlas is slightly ahead in terms of software, it is not enough to overcome the price advantage.
“I appreciate your honesty. Same here. I would buy the half-price robot too.”
Yu Jeongjin let out a deep sigh.
Now the most important issue remained.
“Team Leader Choi, do you think we need to acquire this company?”
Team Leader Choi’s expression turned resolute. It was a question whose answer had already been decided.
—Now that we have confirmed the technology, acquiring them for twenty million dollars seems like getting them for free. With specs like this, we must acquire them at all costs, even if we have to persuade the chairman directly.
“Unfortunately, it’s not twenty million.”
—Pardon?
“The price has gone up a bit in the meantime. I can’t even guess how high it will soar.”
Yu Jeongjin told the researchers about the behind-the-scenes acquisition battle he had heard about from Sejun.
The research team’s faces grew even darker. Teslan, the best in the robotics industry, had already caught the scent. If they waged an acquisition battle against them, no one knew how high the price would rise.
—S-Senior, then what happens now?
“Our homework has increased by one more assignment. Evaluate ARG’s technology objectively and estimate how much we can spend to acquire it.”
—But aren’t our executives already skeptical about acquiring a robotics company? As far as I know, they’re still wavering over whether or not to spend even twenty million dollars...
“Don’t worry. Before I left for America, the president gave me a separate word. He told me that if it seemed like a technology we absolutely needed, I should make sure to tell him directly.”
President Kim was Chairman Choi’s closest aide, the person he trusted most.
Securing such a person as an ally was at least a fortunate thing.
“And Team Leader Lee from the Pension Fund said he would help as much as possible too.”
—With all due respect... will that be enough? We have twenty executives, and aside from those two, all of them are opposed.
—That’s right. Honestly, if the acquisition price were to rise two or three times, we could try to persuade them too. But if this becomes a matter of adding another zero at the end, the story changes. If we’re going up against Teslan in an acquisition battle, we’ll have to be prepared for that much, won’t we...?
Yu Jeongjin spoke with a firm expression.
“I’ll try to handle that, so don’t worry. You just bring me an objective estimate. How much time and money would our Atlas need to match Speed2’s production cost? If it’s going to take too long to reach through research and development, then we’ll just buy it with money instead.”
*
After finishing the model inspection, Yu Jeongjin met me with a rather complicated expression and laid out the technical details.
His face looked like he was about to cry, but his voice was full of excitement. The fact that an American startup had lower production costs than Korea’s top engineers was enough to drive them to despair, but the opportunity to acquire it was an innovation by another name.
“...And so, after our researchers assessed it objectively, we concluded that this company must be acquired even if we have to pay ten times the amount.”
“That’s a relief. I knew Korea’s top researchers would recognize it.”
“Yes, it was overwhelmingly impressive.”
“Then in the end, the issue is the acquisition price?”
Yu Jeongjin’s face darkened.
“Yes... The technology team is all in agreement, but I cannot guarantee how the executives will react. They are already conservative about the robotics industry, and on top of that, the opponent is Teslan. How could they dare consider an acquisition battle?”
“An acquisition battle isn’t fought with company names, is it? It’s fought with money.”
“Teslan is probably better funded than we are in every respect. Honestly, I don’t know. We’d have to add a much larger premium than whatever price Teslan offers... and I have no idea how much that will be.”
As if consoling this pitiful engineer, I said,
“Then a mere ten times won’t be enough. How about preparing for up to twenty times?”
“Y-yes? The current estimate is twenty million, so you’re telling me to prepare for up to four hundred million dollars?”
I slid a document toward him.
“We were lucky. It feels like heaven gave us an opportunity. From what I’ve heard, ARG seems to have been just about to sign an MOU with Teslan, but I stopped it for now at my request.”
“Is that really true?”
“Yes. If we’ve torn up that contract, then we need to make them stamp ours now. Not an MOU—I’m thinking of going straight to an MOA. Before the Automate Expo.”
“Haah...”
I said to him, who had already become swept up in excitement.
“The promise still stands. The Pension Fund will put up half the stake. In return, can you persuade the executives at Asan Motors?”