Image source @ Visual China
Wen 丨 pencil road, author 丨 Han Xiyan
After nearly 4 years of leaving the science and technology circle, Luo Yonghao is finally coming back.
In the early morning of January 20, Luo Yonghao once again predicted that he would return to the technology world in the next year. Unlike before, this time he also stressed that the era of mobile phones has passed, the next generation of platforms to see, and the "next generation of platforms" is not Zuckerberg's broken "metacosm".
The concept of "platform" runs through Lao Luo's entrepreneurial history.
Hammer Technology was not only defined as a mobile phone company in the early days of its establishment, but also involved in all fields of technology. During the hammer mobile phone period, Lao Luo said that the reason why he would work so hard and tired to make mobile phones was actually waiting for the next revolution in computing platforms. In the next generation of platform revolution, VR glasses are an indispensable role. At the end of last year, Lao Luo also indicated that the entrepreneurial direction was AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality) and MR (mixed reality) and other fields (collectively referred to as XR).
Therefore, some people speculate that Luo Yonghao's new company is mainly around hardware systems, that is, AR and VR equipment. An investor speculated on Pencil Road that AR/VR glasses or other forms of products may be the entrance to the "meta-universe" that Lao Luo will build next.
However, compared with the rapid return of live streaming with goods, in the eyes of some investors, Lao Luo's so-called "next-generation platform" belongs to projects with questionable earning power and unknown or even high industry risks. "If it fails, it's not just a hole of 600 million."
But this is also in line with Luo Yonghao's personality, entrepreneurship will never make money as the first consideration. Perhaps, as he said, "creating value for society, making the world a better place, and promoting human progress" is the purpose of his entrepreneurship.
In 2022, Luo Yonghao, the anchor with goods, went offline, and luo Yonghao, a technology entrepreneur, restarted. Hopefully, as he said, we'll see you on the next generation platform.
Back to the tech world
"We'll see you on the next generation platform."
In the early morning of January 20, Luo Yonghao forwarded comments from netizens on Weibo and once again predicted that he would return to the technology industry in the next year.
However, Luo Yonghao stressed that the era of mobile phones has passed, the next generation of platforms to see, and the "next generation of platforms" is not zuckerberg said to break the "meta-universe".
In order to return to the science and technology circle, Luo Yonghao prepared for a long time.
First of all, he repaid the debt, and for this reason he also staged a "true return". Hammer Technology's 600 million debt is close to being paid off. Today, Luo Yonghao's information on the executor has been cleared, and only the information on the freezing of shares remains, in addition, Luo Yonghao is currently not restricted from high consumption. Of course, the implementation of information clearance does not mean that the debt has been fully repaid, and Luo Yonghao is still working hard to repay the company's debts as planned.
Paying off his debts doesn't stop him from warming up for his next venture. In the time period nearing the end of the debt, Luo Yonghao mentioned more than once the topics of starting a business again, meta-universe, high technology, etc., but each time he did not fully put it all out, always hanging the appetite of the melon-eating masses.
Luo Yonghao first announced that he would return to the tech world on October 19, 2021. It was also early in the morning, when the Hammer Forum announced that it was offline, a senior Hammer Forum user posted with emotion. At that time, Luo Yonghao advised the netizen to look down a little, and he "will return to the technology industry in the spring of next year (2022), and the specific time is the day when the debt is paid off." ”
He himself said that the next entrepreneurial project is also a so-called "meta-universe company". However, Luo Yonghao's "meta-universe company" may be different from the mainstream statement.
Luo Yonghao once cited Twitter blogger Shaan Puri's understanding of the metacosm. Shaan Puri believes that there is a misunderstanding in human understanding of the metacosm, most people think that the metacosm is a virtual world, but the real metacosm is not a space, but a singularity moment, such as the moment when artificial intelligence is smarter than humans, and the value of people's digital life is greater than the moment of physical life. In Luo Yonghao's view, Shaan Puri's understanding of the metacosm is much more reliable than Zuckerberg's.
And Luo Yonghao's "singularity moment" may be the "next generation platform" he has mentioned many times. For example, in an interview last July, he said that if the debt is paid off, he wants to make a combination of soft and hard smart devices, and he wants to do a platform-level thing, not a relatively easy business to make money.
Five months later, he tweeted again to make it clear that the entrepreneurial direction was AR (augmented reality), VR (virtual reality) and MR (mixed reality) (collectively referred to as XR).
In fact, Hammer Technology was not only defined as a mobile phone company in the early days of its establishment, but also involved in all fields of technology. In addition, as early as 2017, Luo Yonghao expressed his optimism about VR in a long conversation with Luo Zhenyu, and even made mobile phones just to wait for the arrival of the VR era. He said, "The reason why I will work so hard and tired to make mobile phones is actually waiting for the next revolution of computing platforms, because in the next generation of platform revolution, VR glasses are an indispensable role." Only by doing a good job of the hardware and software of mobile phones, tablets, and computers can VR glasses be made. ”
Quoting Shaan Puri's understanding, when our attention to the screen reaches more than 90%, virtual life is more important than real life, and that moment is the beginning of the metaverse.
And everything Lao Luo did may be to prepare for this moment.
"Next Generation Platform"
Based on the analysis of known information, what kind of next-generation platform can occupy users for a longer time?
Some people speculate that the new company that Luo Yonghao opened after the year is mainly around hardware systems, that is, ar and VR equipment. One investor speculated on Pencil Road that AR/VR glasses or other forms of products may be the entrance to the "meta-universe" that Lao Luo will build next, just like Apple did.
Although Apple has long been determined to draw a clear line between AR and the metacosm, in the concept that Shaan Puri defines the metacosm, Apple is also adding bricks to the "metacosm". From the perspective of Apple's future vision of the application scenario of AR devices, it is to use AR technology to enhance users' interaction with the real world, including but not limited to education, creation, industry, business and other fields, the future positioning of Apple's AR devices is not a "game device", but a productivity tool.
In addition, there are already some companies trying to use VR equipment to assist the office, Meta is pushing VR virtual meetings, Microsoft is also promoting virtual office, Accenture has purchased 60,000 Oculus Quest 2 headsets to train new employees.
Will AR/VR devices be the gateway to the next generation of platforms?
Some proponents believe that when AR/VR devices become more common in the future, employees using headsets for virtual office will become the new normal. At the same time, with the hot sale of AR/VR devices in the consumer market last year, its terminals have tens of millions of users, which is enough to carry more use scenarios.
As mentioned in the article shared by Luo Yonghao, the metaverse is still a concept is not an opportunity, and the arrival of the metaverse needs to rely on hardware equipment that vr and AR. To make an analogy, if the metaverse is the mobile Internet, then VR and AR devices are smartphones.
But there are also many celebrities who are not optimistic about the future of the metaverse, including philip Rosedale, the designer of the online game "Second Life". He didn't expect much from his invention, as he put it: "It's not for everyone, and probably never will be for everyone." ”
Musk also said, "I don't believe people are going to abandon the physical world and replace it with a virtual world, especially if they have a screen on their face that would ruin your vision." As he says, no one wants to tie a screen to their face all day, and the discomfort caused by AR/VR-related devices is something that needs to be improved.
Although AR/VR and the like are hotly hyped up in the industry, their industrial maturity (technology, channels, markets, supply chains, etc.) is far less than that of industries such as personal computers and smartphones.
Of course, if you want to be called a "next-generation platform", the combination of software and hardware is the basic condition. Content is now also one of the shortcomings in the VR/AR field. At present, the domestic AR/VR content industry has been limited by factors such as insufficient downstream application demand, insufficient penetration of terminal equipment, and insufficient quality content. For merchants, if there is not enough soil, even if the input is a test of the water in the early stage, it will not form a commercial scale effect.
A high-risk, high-reward project?
"Are you willing to invest in Luo Yonghao?"
Although Lao Luo is jokingly called "industry lamp", many investors still give a positive answer when answering this question in pencil, and the investment logic is basically Luo Yonghao," the "person".
Many people commented on Luo Yonghao: life goes on, and entrepreneurship is endless.
This is also an admirable point of Lao Luo. He himself has revealed that in the second half of 2016, the hammer thought a lot of back roads in the case of "on the verge" of closure, and even wrote a "will". But even to the day when the hammer fell, he chose to carry off all the evil and successfully staged a "true return".
He once said that if it were not for the debt he owed to others, he would never have made money the first priority in starting a business. Create value for society, make the world a better place, promote human progress... That's the end.
Luo Yonghao describes himself as an idealist who is still "struggling on the road of struggle", but idealists are usually lonely until they succeed. In fact, he himself knows that in general, investors who are willing to support entrepreneurs to pursue ambitious goals are not because they support idealism, but because they tend to invest in high-risk, high-return projects; investors who are unwilling to support entrepreneurs to pursue ambitious goals are not because they do not support idealism, but because they tend to invest in low-risk- stable return projects.
Undoubtedly, Luo Yonghao's long-awaited start-up in the technology industry is the next "high-risk- high-return" project. In the eyes of some investors, Lao Luo's so-called "next-generation platform" belongs to the state of doubtful earning ability and unknown or even high industry risk.
For example, the VR industry, the reason why it will give people a feeling that one year is not as good as a year, is because its commercialization path has not been opened, and the entire industry has always been in a period of pure money-burning exploration, and now even if the metaverse concept appears, it is the same. Unlike smart phones and PCs, the current technological maturity of the metacosm is far from catching up with its popularity. For a long time to come, the strength of technology research and development will be the most critical factor in determining who can occupy the highlands, and this is what Luo Yonghao lacks.
Since it is called "next-generation platform", it is naturally not just a simple VR device, but a more innovative, imaginative and meaningful product. "In this way, the stall will be much larger than the hammer mobile phone, the risk is much greater, and if it fails, it will not be a hole of 600 million." An investor told Pencil Road.
Of course, the theory of high returns also exists. Compared with the mobile phone market that has entered a saturated state, although the related concepts of AR and VR have existed for many years, there is no real benchmarking company, and under the hot speculation of the concept of "meta-universe", a large number of investors are staring at this industry and are waiting for the emergence of the next goal. If, as Shaan Puri says, we can pay more than 90% attention to the screen, it's a blue ocean.
In 2022, with the goods anchor Luo Yonghao offline, technology entrepreneur Luo Yonghao restarted, I hope that as he said, we will see you on the next generation platform.