World Domination through Planet Development - Chapter 17
Only Noblemtl
Episode 17. The Hand of Daehyun Group
The investment deal went quite smoothly.
$10 billion for a 17% stake.
It was decided that no other investments will be received for the next two years, and that if additional investments are received, priority will be given to Nanosoft.
It was also a condition for installing Sara AI into Nanosoft’s document writing software at a very low cost.
Not receiving investment meant that the current shareholding structure would not be renewed in any way, but it was not a loss at all because the company had no intention of receiving other investors from the beginning.
Nanosoft was quick to respond just seven days after Sarah AI was released to the world, but most companies, of course, were unaware of this.
And since most of them are showing interest in Sarah AI, Daehyun Group is not left out.
Jang Woo-sun, the current chairman of Daehyun Automobile Group.
He was in his office, holding his smartphone horizontally, his eyes half-open, looking at something.
This was a recent video from tech YouTuber ITGil.
Knock knock knock.
The office door opened with four knocks.
The person who eventually appeared was Choi Myeong-seop, the CEO of Daehyun Autoware, a software development company of Daehyun Group.
He walked forward with a nervous expression and stood politely in front of Jang Woo-seon.
“Did you call, Chairman?”
CEO Choi Myeong-seop greeted him politely and waited for Jang Woo-seon’s answer.
Jang Woo-seon, who had been concentrating on the video for a while, showed him his smartphone screen instead of answering.
“Have you seen this?”
Although it was a video by YouTuber ITGil, it was clear what it meant specifically.
“You’re talking about the recent AI craze. Yes, I know about it.”
“Ah~ You know? You know. How about this?”
Choi Myeong-seop guessed that he was going to hear something unpleasant from the chairman’s tone of voice that responded indifferently.
“I thought it was a product that would be well-received, as public opinion said.”
Choi Myeong-seop tried to give a somewhat neutral answer while keeping an eye on the chairman’s reaction, but any answer would have been unpleasant to the chairman who was already uncomfortable.
“Pfft. Pretty well received?”
Chairman Jang Woo-seon sneered.
“… … .”
“I see that this AI is really good at parking. It’s incredibly good at parallel parking.”
Choi Myeong-seop recalled the time when the chairman observed the last autonomous driving test.
At the time, Daehyun’s autonomous driving software had difficulty parallel parking.
That’s what I’m talking about.
“In a prepared environment, our autonomous driving AI also has a success rate close to 100%.”
“Really? Wasn’t it a prepared environment last time?”
“At that time, the recognition sensor malfunctioned….”
Chairman Jang Woo-seon frowned at Choi Myeong-seop’s continued excuses and cut him off.
“CEO Choi.”
“…yes.”
“This is not self-driving AI.”
“… … .”
That’s right. From the beginning, it was a voice conversational AI, not a self-driving AI.
Continuing to compare and make excuses is an act of self-destruction.
“How many employees does Autoware have?”
“A little over 4,000 people.”
“What is the average annual salary?”
“I think it would be around 70 million won.”
“4,000 people earning 70 million won a year can’t beat 3 startup employees?”
“… … .”
Honestly, there’s no excuse for that part.
But isn’t it a bit too much to exaggerate it as if we were the only ones who couldn’t beat an opponent that even the world’s leading companies couldn’t beat?
At that level, the opponent is no different from a human being who can be called a genius.
I’m not a genius!
I protested to myself, but unfortunately the chairman was one step ahead of me.
“We don’t have any talent? Then shouldn’t we think about hiring someone? That’s your job. Isn’t it? And this company is located in Korea?”
That’s right.
He only brings out things that are difficult to refute word for word.
“…you’re right.”
“I’ve made up my mind. I’ll give you 20 billion won, so design a merger and acquisition plan. Since it’s a relatively new startup, I think that should be enough, right?”
What an ignorant kid!
I don’t know much about the ways of the world. …
Calling him in and asking him to come up with a 20 billion won M&A plan means that the work is being done unofficially.
While formally planning a business plan for an acquisition within the company may cost more, not doing so means making it entirely your own achievement.
And of course, to do so, the limit of capital would be to invest in the surplus funds of affiliates that are purely in line with the chairman’s line and his own personal expenses.
The amount of 20 billion won raised so that it could be legally moved between affiliates.
Most small and medium-sized enterprises in the domestic manufacturing industry make a living by taking on subcontracts for large corporations like our Daehyun.
So, if you want to swallow up these related companies, you can easily do it with that amount of money.
Because it’s a threat.
But this company is a standalone IT company.
It also stands out as a globally promising company.
Only 20 billion? Even if we spend 200 billion, it won’t be enough.
But Choi Myeong-seop knows.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Chairman Jang Woo-sun was determined to spend 20 billion won. It must have been a truly generous amount of money from his perspective.
I think the value of a company with only three employees is just like that.
That person is Jang Woo-seon.
“…All right.”
* * *
[User. Daehyun Group is planning to acquire your company. 20 billion won has been allocated as acquisition funds.]
What? You want to acquire our company, which received an investment of 10 billion won, for 20 billion won?!
Does Daehyun Group spend that much money?
Ah! Ahhh… 20 billion won? Not 20 billion dollars?
It’s the usual Daehyun group. I’m not surprised at all.
It is true that the perpetrator has no memory of the atrocities he committed.
Even if you knew who I was, would you still be able to think like that?
No, if you think about it, it seems like it might be possible.
Because it’s Daehyun.
[It looks like they want to use me in real-world autonomous driving.]
Oh, really? Hmm… autonomous driving… is it possible?
Sarah recently heard that someone on YouTube had achieved success, but she said that was a case of building a body, and software is a different story.
That doesn’t seem like a bad idea for a next business idea.
[Autonomous driving is basically AI that recognizes the surrounding environment and reacts according to the driver’s purpose. In terms of structural design, it cannot help but have a direct or indirect relationship with automobile hardware. Therefore, collaboration with the relevant automobile manufacturer is essential during the development process. It will be quite difficult for users to communicate.]
Well, it feels like something is hitting me, but it’s a fact. I can’t be angry.
Why can’t you just sell your guts?
Anyway, you’re the one who’s actually driving the car, Sarah. Honestly, you don’t need cameras or sensors or anything like that.
People will be surprised, of course.
Self-driving without cameras? Without sensors? No, how can you drive when you can’t see ahead?!
But what can I do? It works.
Such gutsy business. You could try it, right?
[Of course, it is possible to do so. However, if there is a change in the vehicle manufacturer’s test driver interface, it will still have to go through a consultation process. As for the bold move you mentioned, I think it will not be too late to do it behind the curtain of North Korea.]
Ah~ Test driver interface?
I know what that is. It’s a computer term.
Yeah, that shouldn’t be a problem.
Let’s do it next time.
[…You will hear from Daehyun shortly.]
Oh, really? That’s fast momentum.
I need to make something clear to the director.
Jeongwoo picked up the receiver in front of him and pressed a button.
“Sir, if we receive any investment inquiries, please tell them that we do not plan on accepting them for the time being, so please tell them that we absolutely cannot have a meeting. Even if Oh Seong comes.”
A reply came over the phone that said, “I understand.”
“Yes, please help me out~”