Located in the Santa Clara Valley southeast of San Francisco, Silicon Valley is a burgeoning industrial area with more than a dozen universities and thousands of high-tech companies, and is also the most famous high-tech industrial area in the world.

The valley is located on the west coast of the continent between 30 and 40 degrees north latitude, so it is supposed to have a typical Mediterranean climate, and the most obvious feature of this climate is high temperature and little rain in summer, and mild and humid winters, with different periods of rain and heat.

But Silicon Valley's fortunate proximity to the ocean is that it is geographically demarcated by a temperate oceanic climate and a Mediterranean-like climate at 40 degrees north latitude.

Silicon Valley is not far from 40 degrees north latitude, and it is also close to the ocean, which makes what should be a hot summer conditioned by the ocean, not too hot. Lucky Silicon Valley is characterized by two types of climate because of its unique geographical location and latitudinal location.

It is not hot in the summer and not cold in the winter, it is warm and humid, and it is especially livable.

That's probably why tech bigwigs are so fond of this place.

Of course, the humid environment is not suitable for data centers, and impurities in the humid sea breeze are easy to corrode various metal devices, but no one can deny that Silicon Valley is a livable city, even one of the most livable cities in the United States.

Even though it's October, it's the rainy season in San Jose, the high-tech hub of Silicon Valley, but it's still sunny today in a city with more than 300 sunny days a year.

Presumably to live up to the wonderful weather, a very important meeting was scheduled for Stanford University.

Bigwigs from Silicon Valley's top companies were invited to attend.

The conference was initiated by the National Science Foundation and co-organized by the Center for Quantum Science Information.

This is evident in the high standard of the meeting.

But it was really just an ad hoc meeting.

There is no way, the news from Huaxia has brought too much pressure to the National Science Foundation.

In fact, the National Science Foundation is a semi-official organization that exists to keep the United States at the forefront of cutting-edge science.

What is embarrassing, however, is that two years ago, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy announced a $650 million investment to build a quantum science information center. The function of this quantum science information center is to cooperate with major universities and these high-tech enterprises to research content including next-generation quantum science and engineering, superconducting quantum materials and systems center, quantum system accelerator, etc.

Obviously, most of the research content of the Center for Quantum Science Information is related to quantum computers.

If you want to be the boss, you have to have the consciousness of being the boss.

If we don't maintain the advanced nature of science and technology, and other people's technology surpasses, why do we collect taxes everywhere in the world?

But now the leading technology status has been challenged, especially specifically for the National Science Foundation, the first two years just invested hundreds of millions of dollars to this level, and made such a big momentum, united a number of universities and high-tech companies to study the project, the result is that so many universities and enterprises have not produced results, and the quantum computers of the Chinese people have begun to look for Mersenne primes.

Where do you think you have to put this face?

Therefore, the official level could not sit still, and called all the bigwigs of high-tech companies who had previously participated in the cooperation with the heads of various quantum science laboratories together, and everyone sat down to discuss how to deal with the challenge from Huaxia.

To put it bluntly, it can actually be explained directly.

Although there is usually some friction among the younger brothers, in the environment where the eldest brother is leading, the internal friction within the younger brother is controllable, and the coping will pass.

But when the gang is challenged from outside, the big brother has to stand up and say something.

"Let's stop making trouble, let's put down the internal disputes first, let's kill the enemy outside first, otherwise how will we mix up in the future if we have no face and no inside?"

That's probably the truth, but of course the situation will be much more complicated at this level.

For example, before the meeting, although all the bigwigs were very gentlemanly, everyone chatted about the good weather, the food, where the beach scenery was better, and whose newly bought yacht was particularly magnificent, but when the meeting entered the main topic, the tense atmosphere came out.

The first to attack was Microsoft.

Speaking of which, Satya Nadella has been holding her breath lately.

Since the day Ge Lingyue visited Europe and the United States, this anger has not subsided.

How many meanings? You just say how many meanings.

Changxiang Technology threw out the meat and bone of Xin system open source, and the so-called allies rushed up to grab food like dogs.

Especially Google.

Apple needs the Xin system to sell products, and Satya Nadella can still understand it.

But Google doesn't need to rely on the Xin system to continue its life, and it took the initiative to take the initiative to help the Xin system be promoted in Europe and the United States.

Who can bear this?

In particular, Sundar Pichai, the current president of Google, is still his native Indian.

If you don't help out, it doesn't matter, but at this critical time, you are dragging Microsoft back, you say that Satya Nadella should be angry?

"First of all, I think before discussing how we should deal with the threat of the breakthrough of quantum computers by the Chinese people, should we first discuss the behavior of those who are behind the enemy for a small profit?"

Satya Nadella said unceremoniously shortly after the meeting began.

Most people's eyes are locked on the bigwigs of Google, Apple and IBM.

Google and Apple are headed for presidents, Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook, but IBM has only one global vice president. After all, IBM is headquartered in New York State, which is far away from San Jose.

Tim Cook's face was calm and serious, and he didn't say anything.

Apple is not the first, nor will it be the last, in cooperation with Changxiang Technology. Everybody reads

And Apple has to work with Changxiang Technology so that everyone can see it clearly.

It's not just the Xin system, the key problem is that whether it is a brain-computer chip or a solid-state high-energy battery, this company is ahead of the entire United States, what should he do?

Who is not a wronged baby anymore?

If the National Science Foundation and the gang have no problem making trouble with these apples, then please come up with a product that can replace the Chinese people.

So Tim Cook is at ease.

As for the vice president of IBM, the mood is even calmer.

The decision to cooperate with Changxiang Technology was not made by him, and whoever is dissatisfied should go directly to his boss.

So the most embarrassing person in my heart must be Sundar Pichai.

The status of this "chopping brother" at Google is not the same as that of fellow countryman Satya Nadella.

For example, Satya Nadella is only the CEO, and the president is someone else, but Sundar Pichai is the president and CEO of Google. Not only that, but this brother is also the president and CEO of the president's parent company, Alphabet.

In fact, the contract signed between Google and Changxiang Technology was signed in the name of Alphabet.

In addition to the cooperation of Xin System, the two parties also agreed to cooperate to a certain extent in chips.

However, I never expected that not long after the contract was signed, the partner dealt a heavy blow to Google in the field of quantum computers.

It is arguably the most favorable situation for Google.

After all, Google can be said to be the closest to forming a quantum computer among several companies, and at this time, John Martinis, a key figure in Google's research and development of quantum computer hardware, has just left, and the company needs a leading scientific research figure.

There is no doubt that Google's interests are aligned with those of the National Science Foundation at this time, and as long as Google proposes a talent gap, the foundation will definitely find a way to solve it. In Satya Nadella's view, this meeting is simply a send-off for Google, and naturally it is difficult to accept no matter how you think about it.

Why is it so unfair?

Isn't the operating system important?

When Changxiang Technology launched the Xin system, why didn't the Science Foundation jump out to help Microsoft, and now that the quantum computer is going to hit Google in the face, these old guys can't sit still, these people are all deliberately disgusting people, right?

In short, it's so love-hate.

Sundar Pichai was embarrassed, but he didn't open his mouth to debate Satya Nadella at all.

As long as he opens his mouth, he will lose, and there will be more people who have nothing to do with him, as long as he quarrels with Satya Nadella, there will be more sneering people. As long as he doesn't open his mouth, there will always be a big guy who wants to stand up and play a round.

And Satya Nadella's mood Sundar Pichai can actually understand it.

If Google's search business is robbed, and Microsoft is still cooperating with Google's competitors, his mood will definitely not be very beautiful. That is, there is still a lot of cooperation between the two companies, and it will be very uncomfortable for both sides to make a fuss, otherwise he suspects that Satya Nadella may ask to fight with him, although he thinks that purely in terms of combat effectiveness, he will definitely win the other party, but the big guy is not good after all.

No way, the relationship between the bigwigs is so not simple, not pure and complicated.

Sundar Pichai was right.

After more than ten seconds of embarrassment in the conference room, Lover Dracula, secretary general of the National Science Foundation who convened the meeting, spoke: "Calm down, everyone, the purpose of this meeting is to unite everyone. We all know how important quantum computers are for us in the future. This is as important as it is for Google and for Microsoft. ”

"Mr. Nadella, do you want Microsoft to stay behind? Yes, Microsoft has entered a very dangerous period now, and Windows' position is being challenged, but at least everyone has contributed to Microsoft's acquisition of syllables. And Mr. Nadella probably doesn't want Microsoft to continue like this, right? ”

"But if the quantum computer technology of the Chinese people far surpasses us, we will be in danger in many fields in the future. Artificial intelligence, new materials, computing power, cryptography, information security, everything! So this time, I hope that everyone can put aside their preconceptions and work together to build our own quantum computer first, and we can discuss the rest slowly. ”

Love Dracula's attitude is clear, and everyone puts aside their preconceptions and works together.

In fact, the attitude of this big man was well known to everyone before the meeting, and even the purpose of this meeting was not a secret.

The Foundation hopes that each company can share its quantum computer technology with other companies and scientific research institutions, and after exchanging their own technical data, they can launch the results as quickly as possible, grasp the initiative and set up a barrier for those who come after them.

Even the specific operation methods and regulations have been thought out.

After this meeting, the National Science Foundation took the lead in establishing the Quantum Computing Technology Alliance, and members of the association gained alliance status by sharing their own technologies related to quantum computers. All the results of the technology sharing will be shared within the alliance.

This is a more thorough technical cooperation than the brain-computer-chip alliance cooperation.

Of course, all members of the association have the right and opportunity to manufacture and use the technology within the alliance, and if the general-purpose quantum computer is really developed with everyone's efforts, everyone has the right to manufacture and use this future-oriented device.

Of course, there are some small regulations within the association, such as how to define contribution, how to make up for the lack of shared technology from other aspects, so as to obtain the same qualifications as other companies and teams, and how to determine the degree of contribution in technical audits, etc......

Completely fair nature is impossible, especially when everyone represents their own interests and hopes to get more from the association and bear less, all kinds of-for-tat confrontations are inevitable.

So after Love Dracula spoke, although Satya Nadella didn't say anything more and just sat there and sneered, the others began to argue.

They are responsible for the shareholders behind them, and naturally they all hope to strive for the best conditions for themselves.

Companies like IBM, Google, and Intel, which have already invested heavily and have a very clear goal of making profits, naturally hope that the technology they research can get a higher valuation.

Whether it is money or people, the benefits that can be won must not be less.

In a place like the Quantum Science Research Center, the pursuit of profit is not so strong, but to share or receive technology, more manpower is needed, and better equipment is needed.

As for the National Science Foundation of the United States, of course, it hopes to spend the least amount of money and do the most things, and it is best that everyone does not pay a penny and obediently takes out their own technology to share......

Soon, this high-profile meeting was as lively as a vegetable market.