Rebirth: Starting from Lighting Up the Tech Tree

Chapter 221 Valuation Soar

In the second week after the eighth branch was activated, Goldman Sachs released its latest global technology company valuation report.

Han Lu printed out the report and placed it on Zuo Cheng's desk. The cover was marked "Confidential" in red. On the first page, the name of 402 Technology was highlighted in bold red and appeared at the beginning of the second part of the report.

Looking down from the left city.

402 Tech. Valuation: US$22 billion, approximately RMB 150 billion. Rating: Buy. Reason: Driven by both quantum computing and brain-computer interfaces, and with commercial aerospace and satellite internet developing in tandem.

He turned another page. The valuation logic was clearly outlined in detail. The brain-computer interface market would exceed one trillion yuan within five years, and quantum computing would reach ten trillion yuan within ten years; 402 was a global leader in both fields. Add to that its leading global market share in commercial spaceflight.

Zuo Cheng finished reading the report and closed it. "This is just one perspective from Goldman Sachs."

Han Lu said, "This is just the initial push." ​​She then pulled three more reports from her bag. "Morgan Stanley, $23 billion. UBS, $21.5 billion. CICC, $18 billion. None of the four top investment banks are below $18 billion."

"Their reasons are all the same." Han Lu flipped through the CICC report. "With quantum supremacy and the quantum cloud ecosystem locked in, Galaxy Cloud Quantum accumulated the world's largest amount of quantum usage data in less than a month since its launch. This data is the ticket to the quantum era, and they can't calculate how much that ticket is worth, so they gave a conservative estimate."

Zuo Cheng said, "A conservative estimate is 18 billion."

"Yes." Han Lu looked at him. "You guessed what I was going to say."

He thought for a moment. "Two hundred and twenty billion, where does that place China?"

Han Lu turned to the last page of the report. "Global Technology Company Market Capitalization Ranking." She circled three positions in red pen. "First, Tencent, valued at approximately 60 billion. Second, Alibaba, valued at approximately 40 billion. Third, 402 Technology, valued at 22 billion."

Zuo Cheng stared at the third person for a few seconds.

"There are more." Han Lu circled the fourth and fifth. "Baidu, 21 billion. JD.com, 18 billion. Xiaomi, approximately 8 billion."

In other words, 402's current valuation has surpassed that of Baidu, JD.com, and Xiaomi, and is second only to Tencent and Alibaba.

He placed the report on the table, stood up, and walked to the window. Outside, a panoramic view of Hangzhou's High-tech Zone unfolded, the exterior of the 402 headquarters building bathed in the afternoon sunlight.

"What was the last valuation?"

"A little over ten billion," Han Lu said. "Before quantum supremacy."

"That means the valuation has more than doubled in the last few months." Zuo Cheng turned around. "Does the media know?"

"It just came out this morning." Han Lu opened her phone and handed him the trending search page.

Third on the trending topics list: China's New Tech King. Seventh on the trending topics list: 402's valuation surpasses Baidu's. Eleventh on the trending topics list: Zuo Cheng's net worth exceeds 10 billion US dollars. Three of these trending topics appeared in the top ten simultaneously, and two more are climbing up.

Zuo Cheng scrolled down through the comments section. Some said 402 was the pride of Chinese technology, tackling tough challenges from quantum supremacy to brain-computer interfaces to commercial aerospace. Others said the valuation was inflated, questioning how it could surpass Baidu after only seven years. Some financial bloggers were even calculating Zuo Cheng's net worth, estimating that at a valuation of 22 billion, holding over 40% of the shares would bring him close to 10 billion US dollars.

Zuo Cheng turned off the comments. He returned the phone to Han Lu.

She took the phone and said, "It's not just the media now. The investment world is in an uproar. Zhou Bo from Ginkgo Capital called me at six in the morning, asking if we wanted to launch a Series C round. Sequoia Capital, Hillhouse Capital, and the aerospace industry fund are all asking."

"Make them wait."

"How long will it take?"

Zuo Cheng thought for a moment. "Let's wait until the trending topics die down and the market calms down before discussing it. Talking about price now will only lead to inflated prices due to emotions. What we need isn't the highest valuation, but a suitable partner."

Han Lu closed her notebook. She knew Zuo Cheng would react this way. A valuation of 22 billion would excite any founder to the point of sleeplessness. But Zuo Cheng only glanced at the report and said four words: "Wait."

That afternoon, more details came to light.

The China Entrepreneurs Association issued a public statement congratulating 402 on its valuation exceeding US$22 billion, making it the third largest technology company in China. The Securities Times' front-page headline read, "A Seven-Year-Old Tech Giant." The article traced its journey from incubator to quantum supremacy, from Tianqiong Phase IV to interstellar neural brain-computer interfaces, and from Tianyan to Xingheyun Quantum. The concluding sentence was widely shared.

Never before in the history of Chinese science and technology has a company achieved a technological leap from zero to the world's number one in just seven years.

On the third day, three international media outlets—The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Economist—published in-depth analyses almost simultaneously. The Wall Street Journal used a straightforward headline: "China's Google, Apple, and Microsoft Merge." The article listed 402's technological standing in seven areas, concluding that no single company in the world simultaneously holds the top position in the three most cutting-edge fields: commercial spaceflight, quantum computing, and brain-computer interfaces.

The Economist's analysis is even more sobering. The article points out that the valuation growth logic of 402 is not based on the user growth model of internet companies, but rather on a technology monopoly model. Quantum supremacy, brain-computer interfaces, and commercial spaceflight—each of these is backed by the world's largest patent pool and technological barriers. This valuation is not a bubble, but rather a reflection of technological gaps in market pricing.

On the afternoon of the fifth day, Han Lu convened the core team in the conference room.

Over a hundred formal Series C funding offers arrived from the investment community. She pulled out the top three from a stack of documents. Temasek was willing to lead a $500 million investment. The Qatar Investment Authority was willing to participate in the $300 million round. The Saudi Public Investment Fund was willing to participate in the $200 million round. These three firms had one thing in common: they didn't ask for control or board seats, only the right to participate in the follow-on investment.

Zuo Cheng said, "What I want isn't money."

"I know you're not after money." Han Lu flipped through Temasek's proposal. "They have something you might be interested in. Temasek owns controlling stakes in Singtel and Singapore Technologies Engineering, which correspond to our Sky Dome satellite system and autonomous driving business line, respectively. They're not here to invest; they're here to seek technological cooperation."

Zuo Cheng said, "Let them come to Hangzhou."

"When?"

"next week."

Han Lu drew a circle on the calendar. Then she leaned back in her chair and looked at the valuation figures and trending topics scrolling across the screen.

"What's wrong?" Zuo Cheng asked.

"It's nothing," she said. "Seven years ago, you were in that 40-square-meter incubator, crammed across two tables with Chen Hao, Liu Wei, and Fang Ze. Back then, you said, 'We're going to make 402 the most valuable tech company in China.' I thought it was just youthful bravado."

Zuo Cheng remained silent.

Han Lu stood up. "Currently, 402 is third in China. We're two units behind first."

"Not far," Zuo Cheng said.

Han Lu walked to the door, then turned back and said, "Today's valuation isn't the end. But occasionally, you can enjoy this a little."

Zuo Cheng watched her leave. The office fell silent. He sat back down at his computer, returned to his work interface, and continued to look at the backend data of Xinghe Cloud Quantum.

On the system panel, the eight leaves of the eighth branch of quantum technology quietly emitted a blue light. Points: 827; Technology boost: 1.5. After activating the eighth branch, he understood things even more clearly.

There are four more.

Outside the window, the evening sun sets over Hangzhou, casting its golden light on the Qiantang River.

Zuo Cheng switched the window to the next document. A title appeared on the screen.

Next-stage technology roadmap. Ninth branch.