My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 576 - 375 Undermining Foundations

Chapter 576: Chapter 375 Undermining Foundations

Shanghai, Digital Convention Center.

"President Hu, hello, hello!"

"I’ve long admired you!"

"Nice to meet you!"

"I’m very pleased to meet you!"

"Hello and welcome!"

Hu Yifei greeted the various industry elites with a reserved yet polite smile, overwhelmed with greetings.

Among them were well-known IT industry tycoons who often appear in the media, and digital industry executives from famous companies.

There were blond and blue-eyed Europeans, and respectfully dressed East Asian businessmen in suits.

All kinds of people were there: some to size things up, others to get acquainted, and some to explore potential collaborations...

As the dark horse who ranked first in the preliminaries with a flawless record of victory, leading the second place with a large score of 5:0 and entering the final, the Cretaceous Company’s "Star Array" undoubtedly became the most eye-catching presence at the event!

Everyone wanted to know how this little-known small company managed to stand out in the Go AI competition, packed with big factories, and even beat several seeded players into utter defeat.

The area where Hu Yifei’s team was located became the center of attention.

One after another, billionaires who Hu could only look up to before eagerly presented their business cards with warm faces.

Several cameras were almost shoved in the faces of Cretaceous’s team for close-ups.

All of this left Hu Yifei feeling as if he were in a dream.

"Yifei, your smile is becoming stiff; relax a little."

As his girlfriend accompanied him during his moment in the spotlight, Nature teased Hu Yifei, suggesting he adjust his emotions a bit.

"It’s not like I’ve never seen a big event before..."

"Sigh! The guy that just gave me his business card is Mr. Xie, the Vice President of Strategic Investment at Ali, one of the eighteen Arhats that surround Mr. Ma.

And the Mr. Wang I spoke with earlier is the Chief Technical Officer at Baidu...

You don’t know the status these people have in the industry. If you throw a stone, you’re likely to hit someone who’s been on the cover of a magazine..."

"Ah? It’s that exaggerated?"

Hu Yifei smiled wryly.

Companies that develop Go AI might not be well-known, but they usually have intricate connections with the IT industry giants.

Nowadays, those with the finances and ambition to get a piece of the AI pie are mostly powerful and well-backed.

If you’re not joined by big capital like BAT, "Blueshire," "Gao Ling," "Winsoft," and similar entities, you might feel bashful to call yourself a high-tech startup.

Aside from the contestants’ affiliated companies, as an important arena in the AI field, this kind of global Go AI competition also attracts the attention of various IT giants, the intelligence industry, and investors.

So, the attendees included not only the competing teams but also many representatives of capital from home and abroad who came to sniff out business opportunities.

Honestly, even with some expectations, Hu Yifei did not foresee that the mere 25% stake he exchanged would turn out to be such a "Dugu Qiubai."

Not only had they made it to the final round, but they also did so with a lead so formidable that all competitors were left behind...

When he saw the preliminary results, Hu Yifei was stunned.

With such results, not to mention the finals, "Star Array" might very well take the championship today without any accidents.

Among the teams supported by giants and large capital, they had unexpectedly become the brightest star on the street...

Normally, startup companies like Cretaceous would at best be also-rans in the finals.

Even so, as long as they made it on the list and showed their face, plenty of venture capital would be willing to pour money into speculation, and doubling the company’s valuation wouldn’t be a problem.

This time, both "Yi Xiaotian" and "Chess Spirit" were among those fortunate ones who made the list.

That was the treatment for also-rans; for a situation like Cretaceous with a technological lead... how many times their value would multiply was up for debate...

"President Hu! Hello!"

At that moment, a middle-aged man wearing black-framed glasses and dressed in a suit approached.

"I’m the head of Tencent AI lab and the representative of the competing team ’Jueyi.’ My name is Liu."

Director Liu forged a smile and reached out his hand proactively.

"Uh... Mr. Liu, hello, hello, I’ve long admired you!" Hu Yifei quickly reached out his hand.

Even though the opponent was a defeated rival, with such a status, he naturally did not dare to neglect him.

"President Hu is so young, yet you’ve led such an excellent team and created such a remarkable product as ’Star Array,’ it’s truly astonishing!" Director Liu noted with emotion.

Although he was almost driven to high blood pressure by a barrage of trash talk, the more he understood about the product, the less angry he felt...

No matter how they adjusted the model and made targeted changes, trash talk was incessant and ever-present!

After countless attempts, their ’Jueyi’ was still hopelessly winless.

Director Liu and his team had to admit that "Star Array’s" lead was not by chance, but an overall technical overpowering...

In terms of algorithms and models, "Star Array" was at least several versions ahead of "Jueyi."

The technological gap between them was at least three years or more.

And even if they had another five years, they might not be able to develop a Go AI at the same level.

Embarrassingly, the 5:0 score in the preliminaries was soon plastered all over the internet, adding some traffic to the topic of "Star Array."

"Jueyi" also became a topic of conversation and gained some traffic, but the effect was quite opposite to what Director Liu had hoped.

"Star Array’s" reputation soared further, stepping on "Jueyi" as a stepping stone to become the heartthrob in the Go AI community that was both good-looking and powerful!

Realizing the gap between them, they had almost given up hope for winning the championship today.

But Director Liu, accepting his inferiority, was ready to face the loss...

After exchanging pleasantries and business cards, he finally stated his purpose.

"President Hu, I was wondering if ’Star Array’s’ technical leader is here? Could you introduce me?"

I can’t beat you, but I can poach from your team!

As they say, water flows uphill, how can such talent be buried in an obscure little company like a pearl covered in dust?

"Uh..." Hu Yifei tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He wasn’t stupid, how could he not see what the other was thinking?

But still, he immediately pulled over the still clueless "technical manager" beside him.

"This is Chief Engineer Wang, our chief CTO! The strongest in our company’s technology department!"

"Chief Engineer Wang, my apologies! As technical peers, I think we can share some insights with each other.

May I ask, how do you manage to significantly reduce computational load using the Alpha-beta pruning algorithm..."

Looking at Director Liu in front of him, trying to cozy up to someone with such enthusiasm, Yifei just chuckled internally.

Thinking about poaching talent?

Can I say that the talent you’re trying to poach is at the ends of the earth?

I’d also like to know where exactly my own company’s cornerstone is...

As several people were chatting, a few casually dressed middle-aged men came over.

"President Hu?"

"Hello, may I ask who you are...?"

"We’re from the Country Hua Chess Society, my name is Kong Jie." One of the middle-aged men said with a smile as he extended his hand.

"Oh~ Now I remember, you’re Mr. Kong, the 9-dan player!"

Hu Yifei immediately recognized the person from the video, sure enough, it was this middle-aged man, and his warmth intensified.

"Also, I want to thank Mr. Kong for the affirmation of our Star Array Go."

Hearing Kong Jie’s name, Director Liu who was pretending to dig with a hoe couldn’t help but look over too.

"Heh! It’s all because your team’s product is indeed excellent. To be honest, I didn’t expect such an outstanding product to be developed by our own domestic company.

It’s truly gratifying," Kong Jie said with a smile.

"You flatter us, Mr. Kong."

"Heh!" Kong Jie looked Hu Yifei up and down, nodded with a laugh.

"You do bear a resemblance to Elder Hu from his younger days, truly a chip off the old block."

"Uh... You knew my father?" Hu Yifei was taken aback.

"Yep! Back in the days when I went to the countryside, I was a chess buddy with your father. In fact, I even held you when you were born," Kong Jie said with a smile.

"I see... Uncle Kong, it’s a pleasure!" Hu Yifei immediately showed his respect as the younger generation.

No wonder he was willing to endorse us, there was such a connection...

This matter... Could it be that my father had been helping behind the scenes?

This person who feigns indifference but actually cares a lot about my business...

On hearing the conversation between the two, Director Liu was mentally cursing.

I knew it, this is definitely a shill!

Seeming to notice Hu Yifei’s change in expression, Kong Jie immediately waved his hand with a laugh.

"Hey! Don’t misunderstand, I’m not as scheming as that guy Elder Hu. If I say the software is good, I genuinely mean it!

I came here today specifically after internal discussions in the chess society, to represent them in discussing partnership matters with you."

"Partnership?" Hu Yifei was puzzled.

"Yes! After many players and leaders of our chess society tried your company’s product, they felt that its design in coaching and training is generally superior to other similar products on the market.

So we wanted to see if we could introduce it into our chess society to enhance our players’ training efficiency."

"Uh..." Hu Yifei was somewhat dazed by this sudden piece of good fortune.

Director Liu’s face turned rather dark.

Kong Jie clearly hadn’t realized that one of those "similar products on the market" he mentioned was standing right next to him.

And it was their official partner...

"But... doesn’t the Country Hua Chess Society already have training software?"

Hu Yifei glanced at Director Liu and gave Kong Jie a meaningful look.

But this hint was clearly wasted, for Kong Jie, this straightforward Go fanatic, was completely oblivious to such subtext.

"That’s you pretending to be ignorant, isn’t it? Compared to your products,

those other training softwares... heh..."

Hu Yifei: "..."

Director Liu: "..."

Heh, what a unique expression.

Sometimes it’s just a simple interjection with no meaning whatsoever.

But at other times, it can convey the complexity of "the equivalent of omitting three thousand words"...

Right now, Director Liu’s heart was taking a beating from these two simple repeated characters.

He had intended to poach someone else’s cornerstone, but his own cornerstone seemed to have jumped ship first...

That feeling...

"Cough! Uncle Kong, about the partnership, how about we find some time to talk after the match?"

Hu Yifei quickly interjected.

It’s thrilling to be suddenly hit by a pie in the face, an official training software of the national chess society... that’s practically the ceiling for similar domestic products!

But as good as it is to be hit, it would be a dilemma if the big factory director next door is offended to death...

"Hmm! That works, too. Once you have won the championship and the honor is truly deserved, I suppose the previous partner should know when to step back."

Hu Yifei: "..."

Director Liu: Orz...