Moretz didn't seem embarrassed, after all, he couldn't even talk about the initial negotiation now, but the two communicated intentionally, and there was a lot of room for maneuver. At this time, it is not a good choice to face Zhang Chen face to face, so it is better to listen to all of Zhang Chen's conditions before making plans.

So Moretz nodded, "OK, I also wrote down this one, I will communicate with Goldman Sachs to see what they mean, what else?"

Zhang Chen's face was calm: "In the end, I am only ready to take out 10% of the equity of Matrix's Series A financing, and at least 1% of the shares will be set aside for IDG Capital." ”

IDG does not invest exclusively in the U.S., and its main business is still media and data analytics. The reason why Zhang Chen brought IDG in was to return McGovern's favor.

Moretz didn't continue to back down this time, and said with a sudden change of color: "I don't object to letting IDG in, but ten percent is too little, I can agree." Zack, you and I both understand that although this is Matrix's first round of financing, unlike other projects' multiple rounds of financing, at most one more B round, Matrix will definitely IPO, which will not solve Matrix's funding problem at all!"

Zhang Chen laughed: "Michael, you just said that I was pretending to be stupid, aren't you the same now?"

Moretz's face sank: "I don't understand what you mean. ”

Zhang Chen chuckled, walked over to the automatic drink machine and took a glass of hot milk: "Michael, what you just said is right, we all understand that Matrix's financing is different from other projects. To be precise, Matrix's Series A funding is not much different from the Series C financing of other projects. ”

"Matrix has never experienced a seed round of funding because I provided it with sufficient start-up capital, and from this point of view, in fact, Matrix's Series A and B have been completed, but I have digested it internally. ”

"And now, after the book is listed, I believe the valuation will rise further. I want to ask, Sequoia wants 10 percent of the shares, is it planning to invest $500 million in Matrix itself?"

Moretz still had a calm face: "Do you think Sequoia can't get 500 million US dollars? Moreover, the real valuation may not be 5 billion, right?"

Zhang Chen shook his head and smiled: "Putting aside the valuation, of course 500 million US dollars Sequoia can be obtained, but it seems unlikely to invest in Matrix with 500 million US dollars, right?"

The muscles on Moretz's face twitched: "This shows that we are indeed very bullish on Matrix." ”

The corners of Zhang Chen's mouth curled slightly: "Thank you very much for your recognition, but Michael, as far as I know, Sequoia now has a total of seven funds, with a pool of about three billion US dollars, and it seems to go against Sequoia's investment philosophy by smashing at least fifteen percent of the funds into the Matrix, right?"

Moretz said impatiently: "Every company's business strategy is not static, and now Sequoia wants to enter the late market, is there anything wrong with that?"

Zhang Chen smiled slightly: "Of course it's no problem, but, Michael, I want to know something." Speaking of this, Zhang Chen paused, "Besides Sequoia, who else do you represent?"

Moretz's body trembled slightly, and his eyes lit up: "What do you mean?"

Zhang Chen said calmly: "If something is abnormal, it is a demon, Sequoia has always focused on entrepreneurial round investment, this time it is unusual, and it is completely inconsistent with Sequoia's investment philosophy that it has always been, and for Sequoia, it can even be regarded as a gamble." ”

"In terms of rate of return, even if Matrix succeeds in its IPO, the expected PE is only 100%, and the cycle may be as long as two years. I learned that Sequoia has invested in 162 projects since its inception, and at most it has only invested $32 million at one time, with an average annual return on investment of 176%. In other words, if you invest in Matrix now, it will not even be as profitable as finding a few other projects. Now is a good time for the market, and there are many opportunities. I'm proud of how Matrix is going, but I'm not arrogant. It's not wrong to be optimistic about the development of Matrix, but it seems too unusual to be optimistic about it to this extent, right?"

Speaking of this, Zhang Chen looked directly at Moretz, who was about to be defended, "Michael, don't say I'm suspicious, in this industry, every company's trends are very sensitive, and this action is too big for Sequoia, and it doesn't make sense to explain it just by changing the business strategy." ”

Michael Moretz took a deep breath: "Zack, you're more difficult than I thought. ”

Zhang Chen smiled slightly: "Thank you for the compliment, but please explain my doubts clearly." ”

Michael Moretz shook his head helplessly: "You just said that Sequoia has seven funds, but in fact there are eight, and last month, Sequoia just set up another fund with a total of $350 million. ”

Zhang Chen's ears moved: "Oh, I haven't heard any fundraising information, and the source of funds seems to be very mysterious." ”

Michael Moretz smiled: "The source of funds of every venture capital company is very mysterious, at least some of the funds are very mysterious, and your spark source should be no exception, right? Many people speculate that you are the spokesperson of Huaxia National Capital in Silicon Valley, is this a rumor?"

Zhang Chen smiled and said lightly: "Michael, the FBI conducted a two-month external review and a one-month internal investigation of Tinder Source and Matrix. I went to Cayman and the British Virgin three times to investigate the details of the Matrix, what secrets do you think can be hidden under this kind of censorship? So, don't change the topic and bluff. Back to the point, what does Sequoia want to do when it sets up this No. 8 fund?"

Michael Moretz sighed: "Well, this money comes from the private investment of two wealthy people, specifying Sequoia Investment Matrix. ”

Zhang Chen asked, "Which two?"

Michael Moretz was silent for a moment: "Have you heard of the Koch brothers?"

Zhang Chen suddenly realized that it was them.

Not all large companies in the world go public, and there are many private companies that are no less than any one listed company, and the largest of them is none other than Koch Industries.

Zhang Chen was not familiar with this company in his previous life, and after coming to the United States, he realized how terrifying Koch's strength was.

Petroleum, Chemical, Liquefied Gas, Animal Husbandry, Financial Services, High-tech 。。。。。。 Koch Industries was based on its own old business, the oil industry, and blossomed on all sides, forming a huge industrial group.

Not many people in China know about this company except professionals, but almost everyone has used this company's products. Not to mention, until the beginning of the 21st century, 50 percent of the asphalt used in China's highways was produced by Koch Industries.

Koch Industries is a typical family business, and after Koch Sr. founded the company, he divided the shares of the company equally among his four sons, and assigned the second son to manage the company. As with most family businesses, the brothers fought for control of the company after Koch Sr.'s death, and eventually, the second son, Charles Koch, and the third son, David Koch, formed an alliance to defeat the other two brothers and take over the entire company, keeping all of Koch Industries firmly in their hands.

Today, Koch Industries has become one of the largest industrial conglomerates in the United States, with annual sales of more than $40 billion, and the Koch brothers have a conservative estimate of more than $30 billion in wealth, second only to Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.

No wonder Michael Moretz is stumbling, although the Koch brothers are rich, they don't have a good reputation.

Since the Koch brothers are mainly engaged in the oil industry, both brothers are typical liberals, who pursue the idea of small government, are very averse to regulation and environmental protection, and believe that global warming is a hoax led by the US government in order to seize more power.

At the same time, they also oppose the war, believing that the Gulf War initiated by Bush Sr. in 90 years was completely a waste of money and labor, but they were one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Gulf War.

The mystery of the unlisted company and the brothers' passion for politics have made them the protagonists of many conspiracy theories, and they have been described by American folk as the embodiment of Satan, and have a very bad reputation.

In a sense, the Koch brothers' political philosophy is incompatible with Silicon Valley, and it will inevitably be a little embarrassing if Sequoia's taking the Koch brothers' money is exposed.

But why should they invest in Matrix?

(End of chapter)