Jack Ma's expression grew more serious:
"If we don't have underlying map services, no matter how well our Alibaba's O2O strategy develops, it will be a castle in the air, easily blocked and suppressed by competitors, and then it will be over!"
Wang Jian nodded, saying meaningfully:
"Exactly, that's the point. But unfortunately, AutoNavi was acquired by Chairman Wang a step ahead of us, so we missed our chance. However, another underlying map data service provider, NavInfo, could be worth pursuing!"
"Okay, I understand!"
Jack Ma fully realized the seriousness of the problem and said decisively:
"I'll arrange someone to contact NavInfo for an acquisition immediately!"
"Chairman, NavInfo's current market value is tens of billions..."
"That expensive?"
Jack Ma's mouth twitched:
"Then let's invest. Acquire a 10% stake for one billion, become a major shareholder, and secure enough say!"
Alibaba was not yet listed at that time, and its valuation was much lower than Baidu and Tencent's, only a little over 100 billion yuan.
It can be said that Alibaba in 2011 was still the youngest among BAT.
In its previous life, it wasn't until a few years later when Alibaba Cloud exploded that it became the new overlord of the cloud computing era!
"Alright!"
The subordinate quickly went to handle it.
Jack Ma, however, was full of regret:
"AutoNavi and NavInfo are both underlying map service providers, of similar size. AutoNavi was only 3.55 billion, two-thirds cheaper than NavInfo, what a bargain. If I had known earlier, we should have acquired AutoNavi directly!"
Wang Jian also had a complex expression:
"Yes, but who would have thought Chairman Wang would act so fast and acquire it first! Alas!"
A similar scene also played out at Tencent.
As the saying goes, amateurs watch the excitement, while professionals understand the method.
Many people saw Wang Yi's acquisition of AutoNavi as a youthful impulse, targeting Baidu.
But in the eyes of a cloud computing expert like Wang Jian, Wang Yi was targeting mobile e-commerce and an O2O strategic layout!
Whether it's group buying, ride-hailing, food delivery, or travel services, the underlying foundation is map data!
Whether it's BAT or Xingyi Technology, only with secure underlying map data can they push O2O forward and grow stronger.
Otherwise, one sanction from a competitor, and it's all over!
Under the persuasion of key executives, Pony Ma also realized the strategic security issue of underlying map data and immediately began to invest in NavInfo!
At the same time, Wang Yi, with dark circles under his eyes, walked out of the exam hall after finishing another subject.
He had been very tired lately, having to deal with Baidu, cram for final exams, and manage company affairs!
There was no way around it; even if the teachers showed him respect, his performance still had to be pretty close to acceptable.
Fortunately, Beihang University's final grades are divided into two parts: usual performance and exam paper score.
Of which, 30 points are for usual performance, and 70 points are for the exam paper.
For a 100-point exam, Wang Yi needed to score at least 43 points, which would convert to 30 points for the exam paper score.
If the exam paper score was 30 points, out of respect for Chairman Wang, the teachers would give full marks (30 points) for usual performance, totaling 60 points, which would be a passing grade.
But if the exam paper score was only 40 points, converting to 28 points, even with the full 30 points for usual performance, he would still fail.
For this reason, Wang Yi could only burn the midnight oil, studying late into the night.
Fortunately, 43 points wasn't difficult; with some cramming, he successfully passed the first few subjects.
And he couldn't neglect company matters, especially the recently acquired AutoNavi Maps.
Other businesses could be handed over to subordinates.
But AutoNavi's subsequent strategic development, its merger with Sogou Maps, and the deployment of senior personnel, all had to be finalized by him personally!
For this, as soon as he left the exam hall, Wang Yi called Wu Shuang and headed straight for AutoNavi headquarters.
Today, AutoNavi headquarters had not only AutoNavi's executives but also Sogou Maps' executives.
After Wang Yi acquired AutoNavi, he naturally intended to merge both map services.
In the conference room, a group of executives was seated.
Wang Yi pushed the door open and went directly to the chairman's seat.
On the left were AutoNavi's executives, occupying an entire row.
On the right were Sogou Maps' executives, significantly fewer in number.
After all, Sogou Maps was only a tenth the size of AutoNavi, and its number of employees was similar.
Seeing such a distinct division, Wang Yi knew that the merger of the two departments would be far from easy, even very difficult, extremely difficult.
The merger of Meituan and Dianping in his previous life was just like this; one mountain cannot hold two tigers, and Dianping's founders all left.
Fortunately, the current Sogou Maps and AutoNavi Maps differ greatly in size, so AutoNavi naturally takes the lead, making it less difficult to accommodate two tigers.
Wang Yi had a plan in mind: since balancing both sides was impossible, he would let one side open up new business and independently take charge of new markets!
This way, there would be no conflict.
Wang Yi spoke clearly:
"Next, I'll announce a few things."
"First, business adjustments. Sogou Maps will be fully integrated into AutoNavi Maps. In the next upgrade, Sogou Maps will directly upgrade to AutoNavi Maps!"
Upon hearing this, AutoNavi's executives were in high spirits.
Once Sogou Maps merges into AutoNavi Maps, AutoNavi Maps' market share will increase from the current 22% to 25%!
However, the people from Sogou looked a bit displeased.
But they didn't say anything, as the difference in scale was too great.
If Sogou Maps had been strong enough, Wang Yi wouldn't have acquired AutoNavi again.
"I appoint Cheng Wu as the President of AutoNavi Group, to lead all AutoNavi Maps businesses. Other AutoNavi executives will remain in their positions for now, continuing their respective duties."
"Thank you, Chairman!"
Cheng Wu beamed with joy, not expecting Wang Yi to let him remain as chairman after acquiring AutoNavi!
This was excellent.
If it had been Alibaba, they would have long since sacked him and sent professional managers, outsiders managing insiders.
Wang Yi waved his hand:
"Don't worry, anyone with ability will get the best platform and best development here with me. There will be no situation of outsiders managing insiders."
"Moreover, as long as AutoNavi performs well, it will be no problem for you executives to receive shares or stock options later on!"
Upon hearing this, all the AutoNavi executives were in high spirits, and their lingering worries completely dissipated.
Wang Yi looked towards Sogou:
"Second, new business expansion. All former Sogou Maps employees will no longer work on underlying map data. Instead, they will be transferred to the AutoNavi Ride-Hailing department, to fully develop the ride-hailing business!"
"Maps are no longer profitable, but AutoNavi still needs to survive, so AutoNavi Ride-Hailing will be one of AutoNavi's core businesses!"
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded.
In-car services aren't profitable, and mobile navigation is going free; they can't just sit back and do nothing until their resources are depleted.
Launching a ride-hailing business at this time was a logical step.
Moreover, the ride-hailing era was just beginning.
In 2009, Uber, the world's first ride-hailing platform, was founded.
In May 2010, eHi Car Services, the first domestic ride-hailing platform, was just established, and its business had not yet expanded to many cities.
And the first ride-hailing app, Yaoyao Zhaoche, wouldn't be launched until March next year.
As for the two giants, Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache, they would not be established until August and September of next year.
It can be said that the domestic ride-hailing market was still in its infancy, with only a handful of minor players, and business hadn't even spread to many cities.
AutoNavi entering the market at this time would have no competitors.
Coupled with AutoNavi already having the most precise map services, launching ride-hailing ahead of others would be incredibly easy.
And as long as AutoNavi Ride-Hailing quickly grows and monopolizes the market, Didi and Kuaidi Dache, which would only be established in the second half of next year, wouldn't even need to be founded!
Even if they were founded, it wouldn't mean much.
The ride-hailing war in 2014 in his previous life wasn't about the ride-hailing business itself, but about seizing mobile payment entry points.
WeChat Pay and Alipay invested in Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache respectively, offering insane subsidies, precisely to compete for mobile payment entry points...
Now that Wang Yi was strategically positioning ride-hailing ahead of time, they would have nothing to compete for.
As for mobile payment entry points, Wang Yi also had to secure them in advance.
And the matter of payment licenses also needed to be worked on; it would be best to secure them early.
Wang Yi, having made his decision, continued:
"I appoint Tian Guanghan, the former General Manager of Sogou Maps, as the President of the AutoNavi Ride-Hailing Business Unit, to oversee the entire AutoNavi Ride-Hailing Business Unit and report directly to me!"
"Other former Sogou Maps executives will be transferred at the same level to the AutoNavi Ride-Hailing department, with specifics handled by Tian Guanghan and the Group HR Department. The AutoNavi Ride-Hailing department does not need to move into AutoNavi headquarters; it will continue to operate from Xingyi Science Park!"
Tian Guanghan beamed with joy:
"Thank you, Chairman, for your trust. I will definitely make the ride-hailing business successful!"
All the Sogou Maps executives also beamed with joy.
Originally, they were worried about how Wang Yi would arrange them, whether he would split them up and merge them into various AutoNavi departments, which would inevitably lead to grievances.
To put it simply, any achievements would be credited to AutoNavi people, while Sogou people would take the blame.
There was no way around it; human nature dictates that people will favor their own.
Now, it was good.
The entire Sogou Maps personnel structure remained intact, directly developing a completely new ride-hailing business, with no conflict with AutoNavi!
Moreover, it was a core business with growth potential, promising a bright future!
The office location was in Xingyi Science Park, not AutoNavi, making it a completely independent business unit!
This showed Wang Yi's consideration for them!
Cheng Wu and other AutoNavi executives, however, felt a jolt in their hearts.
How could they not understand that this was precisely Wang Yi's strategy of checks and balances?
Sogou Maps merging into AutoNavi, and giving him the top leadership of the group, meant AutoNavi was sure to win this round.
But then the new core business, ride-hailing, was given to the Sogou side, reporting directly to Wang Yi, without him interfering — a typical check and balance!
Even if AutoNavi didn't perform well, but AutoNavi Ride-Hailing did, the head of AutoNavi could potentially become Tian Guanghan.
All at once, from Cheng Wu down to other AutoNavi executives, everyone felt immense pressure.
Meanwhile, Sogou Maps' executives all made up their minds to go all out and make AutoNavi Ride-Hailing bigger and stronger!
Wang Yi had given the opportunity and the platform; if they still couldn't do it well, then they would truly be useless.
Conversely, if the ride-hailing business succeeded, it would also have an unlimited future.
Watching this scene, Wang Yi was very satisfied.
With both sides operating different businesses and forming healthy competition, there would be development and motivation.
Wang Yi continued:
"Third, other business adjustments. Location services and mobile internet navigation business remain the core of the core and cannot be abandoned. President Cheng Wu will personally be responsible for them, and they must be expanded and strengthened to capture the largest market share as soon as possible!"
"Yes!"
Cheng Wu nodded, this point was beyond doubt.
"As for in-car navigation, it is also a key business and will continue to be promoted. Although it is currently an automotive winter, with in-car navigation revenue plummeting, the winter will eventually pass. AutoNavi must be prepared for a protracted battle."
"Yes!"
Everyone nodded.
Everything Wang Yi said, whether it was about the new ride-hailing business or the positioning of existing businesses, were high-level strategic decisions.
They all strongly agreed.
"As for the group buying business... what are your thoughts?"
Wang Yi sighed, a little helpless.
Cheng Wu spoke first:
"With AutoNavi Maps, doing group buying isn't difficult. But this market is a bit terrifying."
AutoNavi Vice President Yu Wenle also nodded:
"There are now over six thousand group buying websites fiercely competing, burning money on subsidies, a veritable sea of blood. Next year, there might be even more!"
The hottest battle currently, besides the video platform war, is the even more famous group buying war - the Thousand-Groupon War!
In August this year, over five thousand domestic group buying platforms engaged in fierce competition, completely entangled.
By December, there might be six thousand!
As for the reason? It starts with Google's acquisition of Groupon.
Groupon, the pioneer of group buying websites, was founded in November 2008 and developed rapidly.
Google felt Groupon had potential and offered an astronomical price of 6 billion US dollars to acquire Groupon, which had been established for just over a year!
For a time, the world was shocked!
No one could have imagined that a group buying website, established for just over a year, could be so promising, worth 40 billion!
However, to everyone's surprise, Groupon believed 40 billion was an undervaluation and decisively rejected the acquisition!
This news once again caused a global sensation.
Everyone discovered the money-making potential of group buying websites and identified this golden track!
Thus, the wild era of group buying websites fully erupted and quickly spread globally.
China, with its 1.3 billion population, was one of the most promising regions for the group buying market.
Starting in 2010, Lashou.com, Wowo Tuan, Manzuo.com, Meituan, Nuomi.com, F-Tuan, Gaopeng.com, Didatuan, 24quan, Tuanbao.com... emerged one after another.
By the end of 2011, there were over 6,000!
Major capital firms poured money into group buying platforms like crazy, investing 7 billion in one year!
So much so that many group buying platforms felt they had inexhaustible funds, simply couldn't spend it all!
They decisively took investors' money, spent it wildly on subsidies, snatching users and market share.
University students these past two years couldn't have imagined how good they had it.
A movie for one yuan, a haircut for two yuan, a big meal for 9.9 yuan, a hotel room for 19.9 yuan!
There was nothing you dared not imagine that a group buying website dared not do!
Wang Yi had also paid attention to group buying websites before, but knowing the development trend, he simply wasn't bothered to participate.
Currently, it was only the first stage of the Thousand-Groupon War, a melee of 6,000 group buying platforms!
In this stage, except for Alibaba's preemptive investment of 50 million US dollars in Meituan, Tencent and Baidu, like gods, observed this insane money-burning war from afar!
Waiting for this group buying melee to end, for the final contenders to emerge.
Sure enough, after all the money burning, nothing but a mess was left.
In less than a year, over six thousand group buying websites either died out or failed.
In his previous life, by the second half of 2012, out of six thousand group buying platforms, only a few hundred barely survived.
By 2013, more than half had died, and even the four major group buying giants like Lashou.com and Wowo.com were on the brink of bankruptcy.
Only a handful of players remained, such as Meituan, Dianping, and Nuomi.com, barely breaking through with capital investment, but they too were on their last legs, unable to sustain themselves.
At this point, capital entered the game to pick up the pieces!
In August 2013, Baidu invested in Nuomi.com.
In January 2014, Baidu wholly acquired Nuomi.
In February 2014, Tencent invested in Dianping.
Plus Alibaba's Koubei.com and Meituan.
At this point, the Thousand-Groupon War entered its second stage, the BAT Three Kingdoms Kill.
Without any surprise, Baidu Nuomi was the first to be eliminated, and Koubei.com was not even worth mentioning.
Subsequently, the Thousand-Groupon War entered its third stage—the decisive battle between the two kings, Meituan and Dianping.
Meituan, using a "rural encirclement of cities" strategy, had eliminated six thousand group buying websites, demonstrating exceptional strength.
Dianping originally couldn't beat Meituan, but it had Tencent as its "dad," getting money when needed and traffic when needed, completely unafraid.
The two sides fought relentlessly.
This made Meituan envious, so it decisively approached Alibaba, seeking additional investment.
But unfortunately, Alibaba refused!
Meituan had stronger combat power but lacked financial support, and a prolonged battle would be disadvantageous.
So, it entertained the idea of merging with Dianping and simply called the old chairman of Dianping:
"Merge?"
Although Dianping had "Tencent Dad" and no shortage of funds, Meituan's strength was too great, and he was afraid and didn't want to fight anymore, so he simply said:
"How will the shares be divided?"
Meituan's old Wang smiled and said:
"6:4."
Dianping's old chairman was in a great mood and decisively agreed.
Meituan's old Wang was also in high spirits.
Well, both sides thought they were 6 and the other was 4!
On the day of signing, they discovered they were 4!
How could that work?
They decisively walked away, flipping the table, and continued to fight.
After fighting for a while longer, both sides couldn't bear it anymore and finally reopened negotiations.
This time there was a change: both sides merged 5:5, each owning half, forming a new company: Meituan-Dianping.
In addition, Alibaba Capital exited, retaining only 1% of the shares, while Tencent made an additional investment, becoming Meituan-Dianping's largest shareholder.
Dianping's original founding team withdrew, handing management over to Meituan.
After all, Meituan's management team was stronger.
At this point, the group buying war finally ended, with Meituan emerging victorious.
Unwilling to concede, Alibaba acquired Ele.me, merged it with Koubei.com, and then started a food delivery war with Meituan!
Subsequently, Meituan went public, with its market value exceeding 200 billion US dollars.
Tencent, as the largest shareholder, holding a 20% stake, completely won big.
Recalling this process, Wang Yi sighed:
"There's no need to do group buying platforms now. We'll wait until next year or the year after, when they've fought each other to death or disability, and then we'll step in to pick up the pieces!"
For example, Manzuo.com, the first domestic one, and currently one of the four kings of group buying platforms, raised 60 million US dollars, but later failed and was acquired by Suning for 10 million US dollars.
Similarly, Wang Yi didn't need to invest now.
Next year or the year after, he would directly acquire the failed businesses at a low price and then integrate them.
As for not doing group buying?
That's unrealistic.
Firstly, in his previous life, Baidu Maps and AutoNavi Maps both had group buying features; not doing it would be a waste of resources.
Secondly, when Xingyi Technology later develops short videos, it will definitely need group buying.
Like Douyin, it's group buying + food delivery + comprehensive e-commerce + live streaming.
A one-stop service that almost took away Alibaba's business.
Thirdly, O2O offline data is very important; like maps, it's a strategic foundation.
BAT all have O2O strategies, and if Wang Yi wants to compete with BAT, he also needs to invest and strategize.
However, the current Thousand-Groupon War is still raging; entering now would be irrational and not very valuable.
But they can engage in a differentiated battle and strategically plan for food delivery in advance!
Currently, Meituan and Dianping are fiercely battling in group buying.
In contrast, the broader food delivery sector only has a recently established Ele.me, and it primarily focuses on campus food delivery.
As for Meituan, it wouldn't launch food delivery services until November 2013.
And Baidu Waimai wouldn't start until 2014!
Instead of fighting a close-quarters battle with Meituan and 6,000 other group buying platforms, it's better to do the opposite: seize the opportunity while Ele.me is still small and enter the food delivery market early!
This way, a few years later, when Meituan breaks through the competition and wants to enter food delivery, the food delivery sector will already bear the surname Wang!
But not Wang Xing's Wang, but Wang Yi's Wang!
While you're embroiled in a group buying melee, I'll be doing ride-hailing and food delivery!
The main focus is on differentiated competition!
To this, Wang Yi looked at everyone:
"We won't enter the group buying sector for now. We'll continue to cooperate with other group buying platforms, with AutoNavi providing underlying map services to them, earning service fees and commissions. In addition, we can also do food delivery!"
"Food delivery? Similar to Ele.me?"
AutoNavi Vice President Yu Wenle's eyes lit up:
"Ele.me is doing well in Shanghai, focusing on university food delivery, and they use our maps. This year, they've also started operating in universities in Beijing and Hangzhou. Although their development is slow, it's very promising."
"Ele.me has only covered universities in three cities?"
Wang Yi had a plan in mind:
"Their progress is too slow."
After several years of development, they only did campus food delivery and only expanded to three cities.
It was truly too slow.
The main reason was a lack of funds.
There was no way around it; current capital was blinded by group buying, all investing in group buying, with few paying attention to food delivery.
It wasn't until group buying was over, and most capital firms had lost heavily, that they started investing in food delivery.
Wang Yi remembered that when Meituan started food delivery in 2013, it announced launching in 200 cities in one year!
That's right, they would advance into one city every 1.5 days!
This is capital efficiency!
Ele.me's three cities in two or three years was truly too inefficient.
In fact, there were many food delivery websites at the time, but most failed.
Ele.me, however, broke through the encirclement with its Napos system and later the Walle system, securing many merchants.
The Napos system was the merchant backend, including order systems and data statistics, providing merchants with a clear overview.
The Walle system, on the other hand, was a platform that enabled thousands of Ele.me employees to collaborate.
These two major weapons allowed Ele.me to eliminate a group of competitors.
Wang Yi was contemplating whether to acquire Ele.me or build his own AutoNavi Food Delivery.
Currently, Ele.me operated in three cities with about 200 employees.
In fact, whether to acquire or not made little difference.
But Wang Yi still decided to acquire it!
Firstly, if Ele.me wasn't acquired, it would also be acquired by other capital, and then AutoNavi Food Delivery would have another powerful competitor.
Secondly, an acquisition would not only reduce one competitor but also allow for rapid advancement by utilizing Ele.me's existing foundation and systems.
At present, time is money, and capital!
While capital and giants were infatuated with group buying, Wang Yi would acquire Ele.me and quickly seize the market.
Like Meituan, expand to 200 cities in one year!
Two years later, when Meituan was ready to do food delivery, Wang Yi would have already captured all tier-one, tier-two, tier-three, and tier-four cities!
Meituan, starting from scratch, would only be able to starve.
As for funding? That's even less of a problem.
Ele.me, having only expanded to three cities, wasn't worth much, perhaps only one or two hundred million.
This year, Ele.me only received a few million US dollars in funding, with a valuation of only 100 million RMB.
In his previous life, Ele.me's valuation only reached 100 million US dollars in November 2013.
Wang Yi acquiring it now, taking Ele.me (which only operates in three cities) for one or two hundred million, shouldn't be a big problem.
Regarding this, Wang Yi looked at Yu Wenle:
"President Yu, are you very familiar with Ele.me?"
"Yes, they use AutoNavi Maps, and I was the one who signed off on it."
"Good, you contact the Ele.me founding team. Tell them I intend to acquire, and you go negotiate!"
"Okay!"
Yu Wenle nodded decisively, knowing that Wang Yi was determined to launch new businesses.
Moreover, location services + O2O are inherently a perfect match!
After all, location services don't make money, they just burn it; O2O is the direction for profit.
Wang Yi continued:
"From now on, AutoNavi will still focus on location services as its core business. We must achieve the most perfect and precise navigation services; this is our foundation. Only with a stable foundation can we develop O2O, expand other businesses, and capture the largest market share!"
"Yes!"
Everyone nodded.
"Beyond this foundation, ride-hailing and food delivery will be our new businesses!"
Wang Yi finalized the current development direction.
As for subsequent group buying, that would be after food delivery.
Once food delivery is established, group buying and similar services will be no problem at all.
Meituan did group buying first, then food delivery, which was the wrong direction!
Nothing else, group buying has a low barrier to entry, anyone can do it.
But food delivery has a high barrier to entry; once a barrier is established, it's difficult to overcome.
Precisely because of this, there are over 6,000 group buying websites in China, but very few food delivery platforms.
"Also, the free version of AutoNavi Navigation should be developed as soon as possible. Once it's ready, launch it!"
The current paid version needs some adjustments to become a free version.
After explaining these matters, Wang Yi left AutoNavi and returned to Xingyi Science Park.
Jian Ziyan immediately came forward:
"Chairman, Qu Xin, Baidu's Vice President, has been waiting for you for a long time. He says there are important matters to discuss, what do you think..."
"Baidu's Vice President? What's he doing here?"
Wang Yi was puzzled:
"Let him in."
Could it be for peace talks?
Wang Yi had a thought in mind.
After all, Baidu had been having a very bad, terrible time lately.
Wang Yi hadn't even unleashed the big move of free navigation yet, and Baidu's stock price had already plummeted by 80 billion.
Once free navigation is launched, Baidu's stock price would face a huge avalanche!
The good show is yet to come!
As for peace talks?
Talk about nothing!
There was no way around it; the internet market was limited.
For Xingyi Technology to grow big, at least one of BAT had to be eliminated.
The other two were not easy to deal with, but Baidu was relatively easier.
As for the reason? It was because Baidu had an excessively smooth early development.
It was only 2011, and Baidu had already become the absolute king of the PC end, able to enjoy life relying on its search engine.
But it was precisely this mindset that led Baidu to lack a sense of crisis and creativity.
Subsequently, it plunged headfirst into AI, vigorously developing AI.
However, it didn't realize there was too great a distance between search engines and AI.
So much so that Baidu invested heavily in AI research for over a decade, with little impressive output, instead being continuously surpassed by younger players like Meituan.
Tencent, on the other hand, became the king of PC internet with QQ, and then the king of mobile internet with WeChat.
Even Alibaba became a new overlord with e-commerce and its subsequent Alibaba Cloud computing.
Baidu's direct shift from search to AI, while broadly correct in direction, was a path too long, steps too large, and ultimately nonsensical...
Qu Xin walked in, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries, he spoke frankly:
"Chairman Wang, we previously... had a little misunderstanding. For that, I apologize."
Wang Yi smiled:
"Misunderstanding? Direct blocking, is that also a misunderstanding?"
(End of chapter)