Tech giants start by disassembling systems

Chapter 47 Platform

At the end of April, Su Chen sat in his office reviewing the comprehensive data for April.

In the consumer segment: the F2 series achieved monthly sales exceeding 3,000 units in April. This is a significant milestone – equivalent to approximately 85% of production capacity being filled with orders.

The accelerating effect of the dealer network has been fully demonstrated – the 42 dealers nationwide collectively contributed over 30% of sales. While the ground sales team remains the foundation, dealers are the key to growth.

In the agricultural machinery sector: cumulative orders for the flight control SDK have exceeded 300 sets, covering seven agricultural machinery manufacturers. Over 80 agricultural drones have been sold through Toyota channels, with a zero return rate. Negotiations are underway with five more agricultural machinery manufacturers.

Regarding the team: The R&D team has expanded to ten people, including three engineers dedicated to the plant protection SDK. Stock option incentives have been distributed to all members, with Zhang Lei receiving the largest share.

Technically: The initial draft of the F3's flight control architecture has been completed, with the core focus confirmed as "flight stability in harsh environments." It has now entered the engineering development phase.

Regarding competition: Tianying's patent lawsuit was dismissed in the first instance. Fang Xu had prepared counterclaim materials, but Su Chen decided not to initiate it for the time being—there was no need to waste energy on an opponent who had already lost. The price war of Tianying's Flying Eagle II at 1999 yuan has lasted for more than three months. According to information circulating in industry channels, Lu Weimin is internally discussing whether to restore the price to its original level.

Su Chen closed the report.

A year ago—to be precise, thirteen months ago—he took over a dying small factory with only 120 million yuan in cash, 52 employees, and zero products.

Thirteen months later—

Consumer-grade: Monthly sales of 3,000 units, with monthly revenue exceeding 5 million.

Plant protection grade: Seven hardware customers, three hundred SDKs, and more than three hundred store channels.

Team: Over 350 people, including a 10-person R&D team.

Distributors: 42, covering 14 provinces.

Funding: The ten million RMB Series A funding has been fully utilized, and the company has achieved complete self-sufficiency.

The last point is what Su Chen values ​​most.

Completely self-sustaining. No longer dependent on any external financing.

This means there is no need for further equity dilution. The red line of the system gain halo is secure.

Su Chen stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window is Shenzhen at the end of April. The sky is clear and blue, and the skyline of Longhua District is clear and sharp in the afternoon sun.

More than a year ago, he stood in front of this same flat window and saw the same sky.

But the foundation beneath their feet was completely different.

In early May, Su Chen received an unexpected visitor in Hong Yuan's office.

Shen Yumeng.

She didn't make an appointment beforehand. She simply sent Su Chen a message: "I'll be in Shenzhen tomorrow, is it convenient for us to meet?"

Su Chen replied, "Welcome."

When Shen Yumeng arrived, she still looked as sharp as ever—short hair, business attire, and a leather-bound notebook she always carried with her. But Su Chen sensed that her eyes were different from six months ago—there was something more in them, a seriousness that seemed to have been reassessed.

"President Su, let me be frank. I have two matters to discuss today."

"explain."

"First, Mr. Ding from Toyota spoke with us last week. He wants to sign an exclusive distribution agreement with Hongyuan for agricultural drones—Toyota will be the exclusive sales channel for agricultural drones equipped with Hongyuan's flight controllers in four provinces, in exchange for a fixed channel service fee per machine. The terms are very favorable. He has already positioned agricultural drones as a core growth business for Toyota over the next three years."

Su Chen nodded slightly. Ding De'an acted even faster than he had expected. But it was also reasonable—the sales figures during the plant protection season had already proven that this model was viable.

"The second thing." Shen Yumeng's tone changed, becoming more formal.

"explain."

"Hongyuan's current situation has far exceeded our initial expectations when we invested. Monthly sales of consumer-grade products are 3,000 units, the agricultural flight control ecosystem is initially established, and the company is already self-sustaining. Based on the current growth rate and profit margin—" She glanced at her notebook, "we've rebuilt our internal model. Hongyuan's current reasonable valuation is between 150 million and 200 million."

Su Chen's expression remained unchanged.

Six months ago, the Series A valuation was 43 million. Now it's 150 to 200 million.

It increased three to five times.

"Mr. Su, if you are considering Series B financing, Mingyuan is willing to lead the investment."

Su Chen remained silent for a few seconds.

"Mr. Shen, we don't need a Series B funding round at the moment."

Shen Yumeng was not surprised. She nodded slightly.

"I understand. The company is already self-sufficient and has no urgent need for financing. But I want to tell you—if you consider expanding your scale, entering new sectors, or need funds for strategic planning in the future, Mingyuan's door will always be open."

"Thanks."

Shen Yumeng stood up and shook hands with Su Chen.

He walked her to the door. Before getting into her car, Shen Yumeng turned around and glanced at him.

"President Su, there's something I'd like to tell you—"

"explain."

"When I first met you at the exhibition, my assessment of Hongyuan was that it was a small company with technological barriers, and it had a window of opportunity in the low-to-mid-end market."

Su Chen did not interrupt.

"My judgment has changed now," Shen Yumeng said. "Hongyuan is not a drone company. It's a flight control platform company. Drones are merely the carriers of flight control. The potential of this positioning is much higher than I initially estimated."

Su Chen smiled slightly.

He first uttered this phrase—"flight control platform company"—in an interview with Hardcore Innovation Network six months ago.

At that time, it was just a vision.

Now it has products, customers, channels, data, and an ecosystem that is still growing.

It is becoming a reality.

Su Chen returned to his office and sat for a while.

Then he opened his computer and wrote a title in a new document:

Hongyuan Intelligent 2017-2019 Three-Year Strategic Plan (Draft)

Core positioning: Flight control technology platform company.

Business Line 1: Consumer Drones (F Series) - Base Business.

Business Line Two: Plant Protection Flight Control Ecosystem (SDK + Complete Machine) – The Second Growth Curve

Business Line 3: Industrial Inspection Flight Control (Reserve) – The Third Curve

He added a parenthesis after "the third curve": (Guangzhou Inspection Company mentioned by Shen Yumeng).

Then he closed the document.

A three-year plan cannot be completed in one day. But the direction is already clear.

Su Chen stood up and walked towards the technical department.

The engineering development of the F3 has entered a critical stage. The core module for flight stability in harsh environments needs to be repeatedly verified in both the laboratory and the field. Zhang Lei and his team have already conducted dozens of flight tests at several test sites around Shenzhen.

Su Chen pushed open the door to the technical department.

The team of ten was spread out across several workbenches. Three people were working on adapting the plant protection SDK to new customers. Two people were debugging the new firmware for the F2. Zhang Lei and three others were gathered around a monitor displaying the simulated flight curve of the F3.

"President Su, the F3's high-wind mode has been optimized again." Zhang Lei looked up. "Want to take a look?"

Su Chen pulled up a chair and sat down.

"look."

Outside the window, the sunlight of late April is transitioning towards evening.

The production lines on the first floor are running at full capacity. So are those on the third floor.

New orders for the plant protection SDK are increasing every day.

Meanwhile, in the technical department on the second floor, ten young engineers were discussing a company's third-generation product while looking at the curves on the screen.

This company had only two engineers a little over a year ago.

There are ten now.

There will be more next year.

Su Chen looked at the simulated curves on the screen, feeling very calm.

It wasn't because he reached the finish line. It was because he clearly knew that the road ahead was still long, but the direction was right.

If the direction is right, all that's needed is time.