“What? A blank check?!”
When I called Korea after the meeting, I heard General Manager Oh practically choking on the other end.
“You’re joking. Right? Tell me you’re joking.”
“I’m not joking. I’m serious.”
“You little—if it’s twenty million dollars, that’s enough to trigger a risk committee even if we were investing in a decent midsized American company, not a startup! I only gave you some covering fire because it was you, and now you need a blank check?”
“I’m sorry. But who could have known Teslan would jump in halfway through?”
“Forget it. Pull out. Twenty years ago, they were saying robots would replace humans, and people are still working just fine. No matter how I look at it, the age of robotics isn’t coming before I die.”
“I’m sorry the price suddenly got so big, sir. But this is still something we need to assess coldly.”
I clung to the phone with desperate hope.
“What more is there to assess? If they write down not twenty million but two hundred million dollars, are you still going to bow and hand it over?”
“At that level, it’d be cheap. Honestly, I’m bracing myself for up to four hundred million dollars.”
“You bastard, four hundred million dollars is six hundred billion won! Six hundred billion for a startup is cheap?”
“It’s not just a startup. It’s a startup Teslan is also aiming for.”
“...What?”
“To be honest, I’m upset too. If Teslan hadn’t suddenly stepped in, I think the acquisition talks would have been easy, but now an enormous competitor has appeared. But I’ve decided to think of it differently. If even the industry’s top experts have their eyes on this startup, isn’t it worth betting big money on?”
A long silence flowed from the other end of the phone.
Well, six hundred billion won was enough to rank fairly high in market cap even on the KOSPI. Right now, I was trying to persuade him to spend enough money to acquire a decent domestic company on a startup. It wasn’t that I couldn’t understand why General Manager Oh was jumping out of his skin.
“Team Leader Lee, innovation isn’t always right.”
After that long silence.
General Manager Oh spoke to me in a cold voice that was even scarier than when he was excited.
“Boston Automatic, which Asan acquired ten years ago—it was originally a company Goggle was raising. You know that, right?”
“Yes...”
“But even the great Goggle couldn’t endure the losses in the end and put it on the market. You know who the second buyer was too, don’t you?”
“SoBank...”
“That’s right. But even the great Son Jeong-ui couldn’t last three years.”
The acquisition history of Boston Auto, which had been acquired by Asan, was eventful.
It had been a promising talent. The kind who had never missed first place in the entire school since middle school, then gone on to Seoul National University’s law school... an elite student for whom passing the bar exam had seemed only a matter of time.
And yet, who could have imagined that supreme elite would become a civil-service-exam ronin...
Boston, which devoured development budgets like a bottomless pit, made even the most patient investors on Earth cut their losses in just three years.
“Doesn’t it seem strange? Son Jeong-ui, who endured ten years of Copang’s losses, and Goggle, which doesn’t mind losses in the hundreds of billions if it’s for future growth, both fell away after three years. Why do you think that was?”
There was only one reason. No matter how you looked at it, commercialization was impossible.
And just how wise SoBank and Goggle had been to cut their losses was being proven in real time.
Its final owner, Asan Motors, became the company that held Boston Automatic the longest, and even excluding the acquisition price, its accumulated losses were in the hundreds of billions.
“My mouth hurts trying to explain every little thing to a smart guy like you. You understand what this means, don’t you?”
I answered without hesitation.
“I’ll still do it. Just as AI has risen rapidly, physical AI will rise rapidly now too. In truth, the reason robotics has been sluggish until now ultimately came down to unit cost, and now I can see a clue to solving that problem.”
I had definitely seen it. An era when labor felt foreign to humans.
“Labor costs in manufacturing nations keep rising, and the production cost of robotics keeps falling. Then won’t there eventually be a singularity where the two reverse? I think it’s soon. Honestly, I want to wrap this matter up before the Automate Expo, no matter what.”
When I conveyed my firm resolve, a sigh came from the other end of the phone.
“That damned stubbornness of yours... Tsk. Then try to cut down the acquisition price as much as you can. Once the price is settled, we’ll discuss it again then.”
My face brightened.
“Thank you, sir!”
*
Chairman Choi Seongjin, who had hurriedly departed from Incheon Airport, could not calm his troubled heart throughout the flight.
It was because of the reports sent by his research teams in the United States.
ARG’s Speed 2 had received passing marks in every physical evaluation, and its software had also received a respectable grade of “good.” Its durability was as solid as the Terminator’s, and its software, including obstacle recognition and response, was by no means lagging behind.
[Production cost: $70,000]
More than anything, what troubled him was the unit cost.
With just one hundred million won in Korean money, they could make a robot that would run twenty-four hours a day without complaint. They would not form unions, nor would they negotiate wages. At last, a way had appeared to respond to BYD, which had recently begun another low-price offensive over the European market.
“Ten years... ten years... ten years.”
When his thoughts reached that point, the ten years of hardship he had endured flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
When Goggle sold Boston Auto... when SoBank, which had acquired it, put it back on the market after just three years... how much ridicule had Asan Motors suffered?
The most expensive robot on Earth had not only been expensive to acquire. After being acquired, it had sucked up vast sums of money like a parasite.
Because of that, Asan had become the object of public ridicule, and even in the KOSPI 4000 era, Asan’s stock price had remained sluggish. Shareholders’ resentment had poured in as fiercely as that disparity.
But now, the end of that long time beneath the sea was visible.
“Commercialization... commercialization... commercialization.”
If that technology was truly real, then Asan too would now be proudly recognized as part of the leading group in the field of physical AI.
“Welcome, Chairman.”
“Oh my, Team Leader. You didn’t have to come all the way to the airport to greet me.”
“I was so restless I could hardly stay seated.”
“To tell you the truth, I was the same. I can’t tell you how many times I walked around the cabin on the plane. Haha...”
Chairman Choi, whom I met far across the ocean, wore an expression where tension and excitement coexisted.
Today, with half a month left until the Automate Expo, was an extremely important day. After we presented the blank check, CEO Sharma had invited us back to a meeting for the first time.
Once the brief greetings were over, he asked as we got into the car.
“I’ve heard enough from our technical team about the model. They said its durability is nearly perfect, and its autonomous control is capable of simple obstacle recognition and response.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“This really gives me a sense of shame. We at Asan tried so hard too, but a production cost of seventy thousand seemed absolutely impossible...”
He laughed bitterly, then asked.
“Ah, there’s the more important matter of money.”
“Yes. Did you hear from Senior Yu?”
“Yes. I heard they called their valuation up to three hundred million dollars.”
This time, I laughed bitterly. It had jumped to fifteen times our initial acquisition amount.
“Have you discussed that issue with the executives?”
“I couldn’t even bring it up. We acquired Boston Auto for one trillion won, and its accumulated losses so far are two hundred billion. If I say we should acquire another startup worth five hundred billion won, I can already tell how they’ll react without seeing it.”
“Then the acquisition price...?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve thought of a few ways to arrange it. First, after we talk with CEO Sharma, I’ll discuss it with you, Team Leader.”
I bit my lip lightly.
I had boldly presented a blank check, but I had also gone through countless price negotiations with him, directly and indirectly. That figure was three hundred million dollars. ARG was currently weighing Teslan against us, so it seemed Teslan’s side had probably drawn a hard line that they couldn’t do that amount.
When we entered ARG headquarters like that, CEO Sharma extended his hand and warmly welcomed the two of us.
“It’s good to meet you, CEO. I’m Choi Seongjin of Korea’s Asan Motors Group.”
“Yes, I’ve heard a great deal about you. Asan Motors is a company that ranks fourth in market share even in the United States, and is like an idol to us. It’s truly an honor to meet you.”
After brief greetings, the three of us busily gauged one another’s reactions.
“In truth, before coming here, I already heard an explanation of the ARG model from our technical team. But every one of them could not stop marveling and praised it as the finest technology.”
“You flatter us. Haha.”
“So throughout the flight here, I imagined this. If every process at Asan Motors were automated, how much cheaper could our cars become? Furthermore, if we built domestic manufacturing plants using this technology, how many companies could become our customers?”
As the topic of acquisition began, the two of them looked slightly tense.
“CEO Sharma, I’d like to speak frankly. I want to work together. Our two companies have many fields in which we can apply and integrate with each other. I believe the synergy would be tremendous.”
“Yes.”
“What do you think of our acquisition terms?”
CEO Sharma smiled faintly.
Was this the composure of a super vendor...? They said that in the recent AI industry, subcontractors had more power than the original contractors, and it seemed the physical AI industry was the same.
“Then, since you said you would speak frankly, Chairman, I will answer honestly as well.”
“Yes.”
“The finished automobile market is indeed the flower of manufacturing. However, as both an engineer and a businessman, I have a desire to play in as large a pond as possible.”
“Are you referring to Teslan?”
“Isn’t it every engineer’s dream? Of course, Asan Motors is also an outstanding company, but when considering various conditions... For now, I think it would be better to discuss the contract after the Automate Expo.”
I clenched my fist.
No. That expo would be the place where ARG’s production cost was revealed to the whole world, and not only Teslan but who knew what other companies might rush in.
“Then I’ll make one final offer. How does four hundred million dollars sound?”
At that moment, an amount I had not expected burst from Chairman Choi’s mouth.
“Yes, what?”
“I understand the amount currently under discussion is around three hundred million dollars. I’m saying we’ll add a premium on top of that. In exchange, there is a condition. Since we are offering twenty times more than our original proposal, hand over eighty percent of the company’s shares. Of course, our policy of supporting you without interfering remains unchanged.”
“I-Is that true? Is what you just said something you’ve also discussed with your internal executives?”
“Don’t worry. The additional acquisition funds will come from my personal assets. In fact, when we acquired Boston Auto, I bought half of it with my own private funds. If I do that, there’s no need to take it to a meeting.”
“My... The amount has suddenly become so large that I’m at a loss.”
“CEO Sharma, please remember just one thing. Our Boston Auto was something even leading companies like Goggle and SoBank couldn’t endure for three years, but after acquiring it, I endured for ten. That is how serious I am about the field of robotics.”
With a firm expression, Chairman Choi quietly slid a document forward.
“Personally, I’d like to settle this matter before the expo. Let’s do this together, CEO Sharma.”
The look on Sharma’s face as he tried hard to hide his smile said everything.
That it was far too much money to refuse.