Chapter 58 Cooperation

Every profession has its performance metrics, and professors are no exception, especially at Jiangnan University. Young scholars like Li Mingran are required to produce scientific research achievements every year. Academic papers and commercial value both count as such achievements. His primary research direction lies in algorithms and software development, which inevitably requires him to connect with practical applications and deal with high-tech companies if he wants to produce tangible results.

To put it bluntly, it was nothing extraordinary.

It was simply another person coming to solicit sponsorship.

The laboratory managed by Li Mingran had been engaged in the research and development of an "artificial intelligence" project for a long time.

Zhao Zejun knew that in just a few years, with the further development of the market economy, many professors at Jiangnan University like Li Mingran would either establish their own companies or hold concurrent positions in various firms. Li Mingran himself seemed to have secured a post at NetEase later on and made a considerable fortune.

"Artificial intelligence..." Zhao Zejun muttered, deep in thought.

From a long-term development perspective, artificial intelligence had boundless prospects; it was even a super-major project destined to change human lifestyles and one of the primary trends for future human development. No matter how high the expectations were, it wouldn't be an exaggeration.

The problem, however, was that this "long term" was simply too far away.

Even by 2016, the market share brought by genuine artificial intelligence was still not particularly large. Because the subject itself was of extremely high difficulty, numerous high-tech fields involved artificial intelligence, yet artificial intelligence itself struggled to stand alone as an independent commercial sector.

Investing in artificial intelligence currently seemed to have an excessively long return cycle.

"Professor Li, does your current project have a clear objective? Or is it merely focused on scientific and theoretical research? What exactly does it entail? Do you have a product?" Zhao Zejun pondered for a moment before firing off a series of questions.

"We are jointly researching intelligent robots with another key laboratory at the university, and my team primarily focuses on embedded software," Li Mingran replied.

That made sense, and it was pretty much in line with what Zhao Zejun had anticipated. Intelligent robots indeed possessed commercial value, mainly applied in production assembly lines, but the returns were minimal. Unless they could achieve robots capable of providing comprehensive daily life services, the market would remain limited.

Even by 2016, technologies such as robotic housekeepers, robotic security, and robotic shopping assistants were still far from mature.

The robots at Jiangnan University mainly served two functions: playing football and playing Go. In later years, the university's football robots would rank among the best in the world, and their Go robots could easily crush professional human masters... But what commercial significance did that hold?

Therefore, even as a national key laboratory and a well-known young scholar, Li Mingran struggled to attract substantial investment and sponsorship.

"Professor Li, how much funding does your project require annually?" Zhao Zejun asked.

Li Mingran pondered for a moment and said, "Scientific research and development have no bounds. To speak on a grand scale, hundreds of millions or billions wouldn't be enough. However, just to ensure the ongoing research of the project, four to five hundred thousand yuan a year is currently sufficient. Part of it is allocated by the state, and I raise a portion through my own efforts."

"If..." Zhao Zejun paused and said, "I'm just speaking hypothetically, Professor Li, if I were to personally fund the laboratory, to whom would the final research achievements belong?"

Li Mingran's expression turned serious. He straightened his posture and replied solemnly, "That depends on how much you invest."

"Based on what you just mentioned, four hundred thousand yuan a year. If achievements are produced, I want a 60% share of the rights and interests," Zhao Zejun stated.

Li Mingran burst into laughter. "That's impossible."

"Why?" Zhao Zejun paused. "Is it a matter of money?"

"It's not a matter of money."

Seeing that Zhao Zejun was clearly interested, Li Mingran patiently explained, "Here is the situation: my project is a national project, funded by both the state and the university. In other words, you could consider that the state has entrusted me to undertake this endeavor, so the ultimate achievements belong to the state. Of course, as the project leader, I hold substantial decision-making power and am the actual executor, so I can allocate a portion of the rights to share with investors... For instance, if you invest and results are produced, you would have priority usage rights, sales rights, and so forth, or you could receive a proportional dividend. But it is absolutely out of the question to hand the major share of the achievements over to you personally. Even for future commercial operations, supervisory approval is theoretically required. Naturally, the specific operational plan would be proposed by me."

"Ah, I understand now that you put it that way," Zhao Zejun said, a look of sudden realization dawning on him.

From the very beginning, he had never truly expected to acquire this project. Three to four hundred thousand yuan a year was an amount he could afford; both Zeyue and Zejian could spare such funds annually. However, to pour all efforts into investing in AI robots right now was premature.

Investing in artificial intelligence had both pros and cons. It couldn't be said to be a complete waste of money since it was indeed a future development trend, but waiting until the industry was booming to start investing would mean the capital required wouldn't just be a few hundred thousand. Entering the market now could be considered a form of early-stage investment.

He also harbored a medium-to-long-term idea: he was more inclined to invest his money in smartphones. While the embedded software applied in robotics and smartphone R&D belonged to two different fields, they shared a high degree of intersection, and scientific research results could, to a certain extent, be mutually convertible.

"How about this, Professor Li? I can personally sponsor two hundred thousand yuan a year to become the primary sponsor of the laboratory. How does that sound?" Zhao Zejun asked.

Li Mingran frowned slightly.

Being the primary sponsor was not merely a title; it came with many tangible benefits. Once achievements were produced, the primary sponsor would undoubtedly be the partner with the greatest rights and interests among all collaborators.

Although artificial intelligence had yet to form an industry at present and the laboratory struggled to find substantial sponsors, from a long-term perspective, securing the position of primary sponsor for just two hundred thousand yuan a year was somewhat too cheap.

Once the artificial intelligence industry heated up even slightly, investments on the scale of millions would be effortless to secure.

"Professor Li, you mentioned earlier that this is a national project, so the final rights belong to the state. That actually gave me another idea," Zhao Zejun said abruptly, pivoting to what seemed like an unrelated topic.

"Oh? Please go ahead."

"Over the next decade, the internet economy is an unstoppable trend. As an expert in computer science, you certainly understand this better than I do."

Gently tapping his desk, Zhao Zejun continued, "As you can see, Zeyue's technical strength is still somewhat weak. It's sufficient for running a novel website, but if we need to develop products with genuine technological content in the future, it will fall short. I am wondering if a cooperative relationship could be established between myself personally and your laboratory. If I have R&D projects in the future, your laboratory could undertake them. I will provide the R&D funding, and the project results will belong to me."

"That would amount to an employment relationship," Li Mingran observed.

"You could pretty much view it that way," Zhao Zejun smiled. "Of course, since it's a cooperation, there will not only be R&D funding, but in the future, when your graduate students need internships, or when you personally need to conduct paper research, Zeyue and my personal projects will be given priority access to open up for you."

Li Mingran grasped Zhao Zejun's meaning.

The artificial intelligence project belonged to the state, but through this cooperation, other projects would be matters between him personally and Zeyue—or rather, between him personally and Zhao Zejun.

Like any graduate advisor, some held a multitude of projects, keeping their students busy every day so they could gain thorough practice and accumulate experience while the advisor reaped both fame and fortune. On the other hand, some advisors, holding titles of professor or associate professor, had only a few fixed, minor projects year-round, leaving them stranded in desolation, struggling even to fulfill the university's scientific research paper quotas.

The difference in quality was clear at a glance.

This was precisely the discrepancy caused by an advisor's capability and social connections.

"Additionally, I would like to retain you as a technical consultant for Zeyue—not participating in administrative management, but specifically responsible for Zeyue's technical guidance," Zhao Zejun added.

"Do you have a project on hand right now?"

"Actually, I do. The investment for this project is conservatively estimated to be around five hundred thousand yuan."