Page 168 - How China Is Winning the Tech Race

download service for $1.6 billion in fall 2006 after only three meetings with
YouTube’s cofounders at a restaurant in Silicon Valley. I doubt Chen will let
go so readily because he has so much of his soul tied up in the project. But
with two venture investors owning such a large stake in his firm, Chen may
be convinced that it’s the right thing to do, particularly since he and his wife
want to start a family. Being bought out by Google would not be the worst
thing in the world, especially when Microsoft is adapting what is being
developed by Maxthon and its developers.
In the next chapter, we leave the software and Internet zones to peer into
the esoteric world of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LEDs provide light that is
bright and efficient. They’re already being used for traffic lights and electronic
gadgets and are beginning to replace the standard lightbulb. Very few com-
panies worldwide know how to put this technology to work. Now one of
them comes from China. Here, in a university laboratory in the southeastern
city of Nanchang, a brilliant scientist has invented an advanced technology
for making LEDs. Soon a large factory will begin cranking out the little white
lights. For this we have to thank a leading Chinese scientist, Professor Jiang
Fengyi, and his 15-and-growing number of patents. This may be the next $1
billion initial public offering on Nasdaq.

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