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SELLING SCIENCE: Vimicro attends the Canton Fair in south China's Guangdong Province on October 18, 2006 (CFP) |
Deng's first job after graduation was participating in the research and development of the first-generation microprocessor for UltraSPARC I, which produced the world's fastest computing speed in Sun Microsystems in the Silicon Valley of the United States.
Later in 1997, Deng joined IBM Corp. as a senior researcher, responsible for the design of ultra-large-scale CMOS integrated circuit. His excellent performance earned him the IBM Invention Award.
Deng was struck by the company's advanced laboratory, which was as complex as a first-class state-level laboratory.
The experience at IBM broadened his mind and inspired the first company of his own—Pixim, which was dedicated to the development of high-end digital image semiconductor sensors for cutting-edge applications like satellite monitoring and space exploration.
Within a very short period of time, he raised the company's market value to $150 million. He was less than 30 years old at the time.
Given China's competitive lag in the chip industry, in October 1999, Deng returned to China to found Vimicro with the support of the Chinese Government, serving as the Board Chairman.
Leaving his job in Silicon Valley was not an easy decision for Deng, and it was further complicated by the United States' strict IPR protection restrictions. The regulations meant he had to leave without bringing any core technology, forcing him to start all over again.
After he came back to China, MST and the Ministry of Finance injected 10 million yuan ($1.57 million) to Vimicro as a venture capital fund, the first of its kind for the Chinese Government.
When the company's Star series and Star Mobile series of multimedia chips surpassed 100 millions sales worldwide, the government's 10 million yuan ($1.57 million) investment led to sales totaling 20 times that amount.
However, the company went through its share of challenges. In late 2001, it suffered from capital shortage, and after repeated discussions, Deng and his team finally decided to take out a loan from the bank. The founders of the company signed personal loan contracts, using their personal savings, houses and stocks as collateral. The company eventually pulled through.
A lack of qualified applicants was another challenge. When the company was established, it was difficult to find experienced chip design specialists. To spur recruitment, Deng went to Tsinghua University, China's top science and engineering university located in Beijing. He served as a part-time professor in Tsinghua and cultivated the team his company needed during his three years of work there.
Their work finally paid off when the company produced the Star chips, with IPR belonging to China. Their next challenge soon followed—that of promoting the chip in a very competitive market. The painstaking journey of marketing their product began.
In 2001, the company's pitch to Sony headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, was interrupted by a manager who rudely drove him away.
Deng was undeterred, and after four years of persistent effort, their chips were adopted in Sony's laptop cameras in the summer of 2005.
In March of that year, Chinese President Hu Jintao granted Deng the National Science and Technology Progress Award.
For Deng, success never happens by accident. He finds inspiration from the movie Forrest Gump, about an exceptionally hardworking man who overcame hardships. "Forrest Gump keeps running and fighting all his life. He is honest, diligent and trustworthy, and never asks for anything in return. I feel that life is a process of hard work, and success is the natural outcome of your efforts," said Deng.
1968: Born in Jiangsu Province, China
1987: Enrolled in University of Science and Technology of China, majoring in Earth and Space Science
1992-1997: Studying at University of California, Berkeley, United States, for Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, M.A. in Economic Management, and another M.S. in Physics
1999: Founding Vimicro International Corp.
2009: Selected as an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering
Email us at: tangyuankai@bjreview.com
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