Tech giants start by disassembling systems

Chapter 67 Alliance

In late April, Su Chen did something he had been considering for a long time.

Hongyuan Flight Control SDK Open Ecosystem Alliance.

The name is long, but the content is simple—Hongyuan will grant all contracted agricultural machinery manufacturers and industrial drone companies the right to perform secondary development on its flight control SDK.

In other words, these companies can not only use Hongyuan's flight control SDK, but also develop their own customized functions based on the SDK—such as sowing patterns for specific crops, flight path algorithms for specific terrains, and data fusion for specific sensors.

However, there is one condition: all secondary development results must be automatically authorized for use by Hongyuan.

This means that every innovation from a partner will ultimately flow back to Hongyuan's flight control platform.

The seeds are sown, and the fruits are harvested.

This decision was inspired by AgriWing.

During its use of the Hongyuan SDK, AgriWing made some parameter adjustments specifically for the tropical rice-growing environment in Thailand. These adjustments were invaluable to Hongyuan because they represented real-world scenario data that Hongyuan itself could not obtain.

If all partners can do the same thing—optimize flight control parameters in their respective scenarios and then feed the results back to Hongyuan—then Hongyuan's flight control will evolve at a speed far exceeding the size of its own team.

This is the ultimate form of the platform.

It's not about one person doing everything. It's about having the entire ecosystem do the work for you.

The news of the alliance's formation has sparked widespread discussion within the industry.

Li Hao published an article on Hardcore Innovation Network titled "Hongyuan's Open Ecosystem for Flight Controllers: The Real Android Moment?"

The article's core argument is that Hongyuan has transformed from "selling flight controllers" to "building an ecosystem." When all partners' innovations accumulate on the same platform, the platform's competitive advantage will grow exponentially.

Professor Chen Hongyuan also published a short article on his academic blog with a very academic title: "An Analysis of the Impact of an Open Flight Control Ecosystem on the Iteration Speed ​​of Agricultural UAV Technology." However, the conclusion is straightforward: "If this model succeeds, it will shorten the iteration cycle of flight control technology from a yearly level to a monthly level."

In the first week after the alliance was established, four agricultural machinery manufacturers signed up to join.

By the end of the month, the number of signed contracts had reached eight.

The number of customers for the plant protection SDK jumped from twenty-six to thirty-four.

Su Chen looked at the number. Thirty-four companies. This exceeded the initial target of thirty companies set at the beginning of the year. And it was only April.

In early November.

Su Chen updated his three-year plan in his office.

This document has become quite long now. It started as just three lines of text and has grown into a dense collection of annotations and arrows.

He added a line to the "Consumer Grade" column:

【F3免费试飞计划启动。首月转化率78%。S1的冲击被有效化解。F4设计定稿，Q3末量产。】

A new line was added to the "Plant Protection Grade" column:

[The SDK Open Ecosystem Alliance has been established. A total of 34 clients have been reached. Overseas: AgriWing (third batch) + AgriNusa (second batch). Toyota's distribution channels have expanded to a sixth province.]

A new line was added to the "Industrial Grade" category:

[Southern Power Grid's optimized intelligent RTK system has passed verification. Liu Yu's visual obstacle avoidance project is progressing. The Palm Garden scenario test in Indonesia is scheduled for Q3.]

A new line was added to the "Competition" column:

[Tianying S1 → Low-price strategy of 999 yuan. Poor flight control quality. Free test flight program effectively offsets this. Tianying's self-developed flight control team is still recruiting.]

Su Chen looked at the document.

The Skyhawk S1 did cause a short-term impact. But the free test flight program proved its effectiveness within a month—a 78% conversion rate meant that most test flight customers ultimately chose the F3.

The reason is simple. Workers don't buy the cheapest tools—they buy the most cost-effective ones. And the definition of "cost-effective" is the return on investment, not the price.

一台999的S1飞得不稳、容易坠机、需要频繁维修。一台2199的F3飞得稳、抗摔、少维护。用一年算下来，F3的综合成本反而更低。

Workers can see the difference.

Su Chen closed the document.

He picked up the phone and dialed Shen Yumeng's number.

"Mr. Shen, there are two things. First, the SDK Open Ecosystem Alliance has been established. We've signed eight new clients within a month. Second, of the three industrial drone companies you arranged for me last time, I met with two. One of them, which does photovoltaic inspection, is quite interesting—their needs overlap with, but aren't entirely the same as, those of Southern Power Grid Smart. I'd like to include them in our industrial-grade testing client pool as well."

"Mr. Su, your pace is getting faster and faster these days."

"It's not about speed. It's about three lines running simultaneously. Each line has its own rhythm. The consumer-grade line is on the defensive—using free test flights to counter the impact of the S1. The agricultural-grade line is expanding—accelerating customer growth through an open ecosystem alliance. The industrial-grade line is building reserves—simultaneously advancing in three scenarios: Southern Power Grid, Indonesia, and photovoltaics."

"The rhythms of the three lines are staggered."

"Yes. Consumer-grade generates cash flow. Crop-grade provides growth. Industrial-grade reserves for the future. None of these lines need to peak simultaneously."

Shen Yumeng remained silent for two seconds.

"President Su, I have a suggestion."

"explain."

"Let's consider Series B next year. Not because you're short of money—but because the investment required to seriously develop industrial-grade products is much greater than that for consumer and agricultural applications. And Series B valuations are very good right now."

Su Chen thought for a moment.

"I'll consider it. But not now. I'll wait until the industrial-grade prototype is ready and the cooperation with China Southern Power Grid is confirmed. I don't want to seek funding without a product—I want to go out with a product."

"clear."

After hanging up the phone, Su Chen leaned back in his chair.

Series B funding. This was the first time he hadn't directly rejected the offer.

Because he knew that the investment in industrial-grade systems would indeed be much greater. RTK modules, visual obstacle avoidance, autonomous flight paths—each is an independent R&D project. The team would need to expand from twenty to thirty people or even more. Testing would need to be repeatedly verified in multiple real-world scenarios.

All of these require money.

But Su Chen wouldn't seek funding without a product. He needed to present an industrial-grade flight control prototype to investors—at that point, the valuation and negotiating power would be completely different.

patience.

Su Chen stood up and walked to the window.

In May, the weather in Shenzhen started to get warm. The leaves outside the window had turned completely green. The skyline of Longhua District seemed to rise even higher.

Two and a half years ago, he was reborn in this city.

Hongyuan now has three business lines, more than 400 employees, a 20-person R&D team (two more are still short of the target), three overseas clients, two industrial-grade testing clients, and an open ecosystem alliance.

The F3 remains the market leader in county-level cities. The F4 is about to enter mass production. The agricultural protection SDK ecosystem is expanding rapidly. Industrial-grade flight control is being developed simultaneously in three scenarios.

Meanwhile, the Skyhawk—which used the S1 999 to deliver a punch—was neutralized by a free test flight program. Its self-developed flight control system is still in the recruitment phase.

Su Chen turned around and returned to the table.

There's still a lot to do tomorrow.

The first batch of F4 engineering prototypes are awaiting testing. The plant protection SDK is being integrated with new clients. Adaptation feedback from AgriNusa needs to be addressed. Further cooperation plans with Southern Power Grid Smart need to be advanced. New progress needs to be made on Liu Yu's visual obstacle avoidance system. A meeting needs to be scheduled with the photovoltaic inspection company introduced by Shen Yumeng.

All three lines are operating simultaneously.

The rhythms are different, but the core is the same.

Flight control.

It's always the flight control.

Su Chen turned off the lights.