Born in Shanghai in 1920, he was admitted to the provincial Shanghai High School in 1933, and was admitted to Jiaotong University in 1936 (he went to college at the age Chinese of 16), went to the United States for further study in 1945, won a Ph.D. in applied physics from Harvard University in 1948, and joined Howard Aiken's "Harvard Computer Laboratory" in the same year.

Friends who are familiar with the development process of computers, the name of this Chinese scientist will definitely not be unfamiliar, he has played a vital role in the development of microcomputers, the world's richest man Bill Gates once commented on him, "If Wang An can successfully complete the second strategic turn, then there will be no Microsoft in the world!" ”

Tang Ning was able to have the opportunity to cooperate with Wang An this time because of his grudge against IBM. It is said that in 1945, Wang An, who had just arrived in the United States and studied at Harvard, went to IBM for an interview in order to solve economic problems. The interviewer looked at this yellow-skinned face and said: IBM is the best company in the United States, this is not for you, you better find an auto repair shop to try.

This discriminatory sentence angered Wang An. He was 24 years old and had never suffered such humiliation. After walking out of IBM, Wang An, full of anger, returned to Harvard. He won a high scholarship and obtained two degrees in applied physics in three years. Subsequently, he was recruited by Howard Aiken into the computer lab at Harvard University.

ICON developed the world's first mainframe computer, Mark I., and is known as the "father of computers". At that time, the pioneer was struggling with the storage problem of computers. Storage is at the heart of Ang Wang. Bloated Mark I. was immobile in Harvard's lab, and Aiken wanted it to be a lightweight and portable machine, and storage became the key. He and his team tried many methods, but they couldn't solve it. Until Wang An appeared.

In the third week after entering the laboratory, Wang An solved this problem theoretically. He discovered that the principle of magnetic field vibration could be applied to computer storage systems, and based on this, he invented magnetic core memory. This small component changed the history of the computer industry. Core memory has greatly reduced the size of computers, enabling computers to move from scientific research to commercial applications. For more than 20 years after that. Core memory has always been a major component of computers. At the time of the invention of the magnetic core memory, Wang An was still a supernumerary and had not yet passed the probationary period. Aiken immediately helped him turn into a regular and raised his salary by 23%, hoping to keep the talent. However, how can Wang An, who is a good person, be willing to send people under the fence.

So in 1951, Wang An left Harvard and was invited by IBM to become a corporate consultant. As stipulated in the contract. IBM can freely purchase devices without patent restrictions for 3 years, and the other party will pay an additional $1,000 per month in addition to the payment. The young man who was ruthlessly ridiculed by the interviewer has become a high position in this giant.

However, this is not a happy revenge story, and a contract fails to turn the conflict into a friendship. With the addition of magnetic core memory, IBM began to practice the commercial field of computers on a large scale. Identify it as the core business of the future. No longer satisfied with the cooperation agreement, they decided to buy the patent.

Initially. Wang An did not plan to sell, but at that time, except for IBM, no other company was interested in this out-of-time product, and his laboratory was in urgent need of funds to operate. IBM offered $2.5 million in royalties and quickly changed its tune because of acquisitions. They have no competitors.

IBM used core memory while suppressing patent fees, and Wang An was once again angered by IBM and confronted him in court. In front of IBM, he is immature after all. After a protracted lawsuit, Wang An chose to compromise and accepted the price of $500,000. The sale is done, but the "benevolence" is not there. Wang An, who got 500,000 yuan, decided to invent more products and fight back against IBM on the frontal battlefield.

In 1955, he founded Wang An Computer Company (also known as Wang An Computer Company). In 1964, he invented the "Lotsai" desktop computer, which provided the prototype of the modern PC (personal computer), which was smaller, simpler to operate, and more powerful than its counterparts. It can quickly perform complex mathematical formulas, and users can program them on it.

For Wang An, the biggest significance of "Luosai" is that his invention is no longer "playing with flowers". Previously, the new things he created were just spices, not necessities. "Lotsai", but it makes it impossible for companies that need small computers to refuse. Driven by "Luosai", Wang An's computer's revenue soared, and in 1967, the company's sales reached 6.9 million US dollars, tripling in two years.

For a foreign entrepreneur, this is a prominent number, but on Wang An, 6.9 million is a bit stretched. In order to compete with IBM, he invested in R&D regardless of cost. Many of the company's inventions have not been translated into expected profits, and while the product line is expanding, Wang An Computer is also borrowing everywhere and is in debt. Finally, under pressure from the bond bank, Wang An had to decide to find $2.5 million in stock to pay off the debt.

Tang Ning from later generations naturally knows what the value of Wang An's computer is in later generations, you must know that in 1986 he was the fifth richest person in the United States with a net worth of 2 billion US dollars, so Tang Ning planned to swallow a large number of Wang An computer's stocks, but unfortunately, he was not the only one who held this year.

It turns out that on Wall Street, many companies are equipped with "Luosai" computers, and the word Wang An has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, so many bosses are very confident in Wang An computers. Therefore, as soon as the stock was listed, it quickly rose from the initial $12.5 to $40.5, and within a few hours, 400,000 shares were snapped up, and overnight, Wang An's net worth skyrocketed to $50 million.

Although Tang Ning didn't grab too many shares, this did not affect Tang Ning's desire to communicate with Wang An once, because he really didn't want to see Wang An repeat the old path of failure due to some stubborn reasons. So he asked Weidemeyer to help him arrange a meeting with Wang An.

Wang An was a little surprised by Tang Ning's invitation, but he had heard about this American businessman who made his fortune in Japan, so he gladly accepted the invitation.

After greeting each other, Tang Ning asked: "I know that Mr. Wang An was born in China, I don't know if you want to adopt a family system or a company system for the development of the company?" (To be continued.) )