Tech giants start by disassembling systems

Chapter 32 Due Diligence

Three assembly lines are operating at full capacity, with workers in blue overalls focused on their respective tasks—motherboard soldering, sensor installation, motor alignment, firmware burning, overall machine debugging, and finished product testing. Clear work instructions are posted next to each workstation for each step.

The tall, thin technical due diligence officer lingered at each workstation for a few minutes, occasionally jotting something down in his notebook.

When they reached the firmware burning stage, the tall, thin man stopped.

"Mr. Su, regarding the firmware flashing at this workstation—" He bent down to glance at the device on the workbench, "is each one flashed individually? Or are they pre-written in batches?"

"Each device will be flashed individually," Su Chen replied. "After flashing, an online check will be performed to confirm that the firmware version and parameters are correct before proceeding to the next step."

"Could I see the firmware detection logs?"

"Of course." Su Chen asked Zhang Lei to pull up the firmware burning logs for the past month.

The tall, thin man spent more than ten minutes reviewing the document, during which he asked Zhang Lei several questions about the algorithm architecture and parameter tuning process. Zhang Lei answered them one by one, his eyes unconsciously lighting up when he talked about the technical details.

After looking at the first floor, I went up to the third floor.

The renovation on the third floor is nearing completion, and the equipment for the two brand-new assembly lines has been delivered and is being installed and tested.

Shen Yumeng stood next to the new production line, looked at the assembly equipment, and then looked at the skyline of Longhua District outside the window.

When is production expected to begin?

Mid-August.

What will the monthly production capacity be after it goes into operation?

"More than three thousand units."

Shen Yumeng made a mark on the notebook with her pen.

The afternoon session was for financial due diligence.

The young woman spent three full hours in Li Wei's office, meticulously reviewing every financial statement the company had ever produced since its inception.

Li Wei said that the girl later asked more detailed questions than the auditor—every abnormal income and expenditure was marked and the reasons were investigated, including the loss of returned goods during the Zhao Guoqiang incident, the interest expense of the mortgage loan, and the equipment deposit terms for the new production line.

Li Wei explained everything clearly—because Su Chen had told her beforehand that there was no need to hide the data from these difficult times; being honest would actually earn her trust.

In the evening, the due diligence team had a final verbal communication with Su Chen in the conference room.

Shen Yumeng's question was very direct.

"Mr. Su, let me be frank. We've seen the product, checked the data, and the growth trend is real. Our people also acknowledge the technological barriers. But there's one question I must ask."

"You said."

"Your flight control core is currently only in your and Zhang Lei's hands. You wrote in your business plan that you would recruit a flight control team after securing funding, but there's a time lag involved—recruiting, training, and transferring technology will take at least six months. During these six months, the risk rests entirely on the two of you."

Su Chen nodded.

"I know. This is our biggest structural risk right now, and I won't shy away from it."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "But I'd like to add one point—the core of flight control firmware isn't a few lines of code, but rather a deep understanding of the hardware platform and the ability to continuously iterate. Once this capability is accumulated by the team, it won't collapse because of the departure of any one person. Therefore, building a team as early as possible is indeed the top priority."

Shen Yumeng stared at him for a few seconds.

Then she closed the notebook.

"Mr. Su, we will produce the due diligence report as soon as we get back. If everything goes smoothly, we can discuss the specific investment terms next week."

Su Chen stood up and shook hands with Shen Yumeng.

"Looking forward to cooperation."

After seeing off the due diligence team, Su Chen stood alone at the factory gate.

As dusk falls in Longhua District, the sky is darkening, and construction lights illuminate the distant construction sites.

It has been exactly three months since I was reborn.

Three months ago, he signed equity inheritance documents in a conference room in an office building, inheriting a small, dying company.

Three months later, a billion-dollar investment fund had just completed its due diligence on the company.

Every single thing that happened in between—Zhao Guoqiang, the return crisis, F2 R&D, channel repair, the creation of the working version, the rollout of ground promotion, Tianying's blockade, the six square meters at the exhibition, Shen Yumeng's business card—was taken when there was no way out.

But Su Chen knew that the real challenge was yet to come.

Fundraising is just the beginning. How to spend the money, how to build a team, how to survive DJI's price war and Tianying's marketing offensive, and how to enter the agricultural plant protection market at the right time—each of these questions could determine Hongyuan's life or death.

But at least now he stands at a new starting point.

Su Chen turned around and went back into the factory.

On the new production line on the third floor, installation workers are still debugging the equipment, and the lights are bright. On the old production line on the first floor, the night shift workers are handing over their duties.

The entire building is in operation.

Su Chen went upstairs to the second floor, sat down at his desk, and turned on his computer.

The project file for F2 firmware version 3.0 has been created in the code editor.

Version 3.0 focuses on agricultural plant protection.

Su Chen opened the DJI MG-1 technical solution data stored in the virtual disassembly lab and began to study the flight control algorithm adaptation problem of agricultural drones.

It was completely dark outside the window.

But the lights in the office on the second floor were still on.