Core Viewpoint - The rise and fall of HeXin Technology serves as a microcosm of the domestic server CPU industry, highlighting the risks associated with over-reliance on government policies and the challenges of aligning technology with market demand [2][4]. Group 1: Company Overview - HeXin Technology, established in 2014, quickly became a benchmark for domestic alternatives in the server CPU sector, leveraging IBM's Power instruction set architecture [2]. - The company's valuation reached 6 billion yuan in 2023, positioning it close to "unicorn" status [2]. - However, by the end of 2023, the company faced a severe cash flow crisis, leading to unpaid employee wages and ultimately a court ruling for bankruptcy liquidation in April 2025 [2]. Group 2: Technological Challenges - The core product of HeXin Technology is based on IBM's Power instruction set architecture, which has seen a decline in market share, now accounting for less than 1% of the global server CPU market, dominated by x86 architecture [3]. - Despite attempts to innovate with the HX-C1000 chip, the product remained confined to niche markets, with limited demand from sectors like banking and government [3]. - The second-generation chip, HX-C2000, faced performance criticisms and funding issues, preventing it from reaching production [3]. Group 3: Financial Issues - HeXin Technology's collapse was not merely a result of failed financing but also revealed an over-dependence on government subsidies and state capital investments [4]. - A significant investment of 500 million yuan in 2020 raised the company's valuation but created a fragile financial structure reliant on policy support [4]. - The failure of a 500 million yuan financing deal at the end of 2023 marked a critical turning point for the company [4]. - The ownership structure, combining private and state capital, led to conflicts during financing negotiations, contributing to the company's financial instability [4]. Group 4: Business Model Limitations - HeXin Technology's business model failed to achieve self-sustainability, with low market acceptance of its products leading to insufficient revenue to cover R&D costs [5]. - The HX-C2000 project incurred over 100 million yuan in R&D expenses without achieving mass production, illustrating the unsustainable "burning cash for valuation" strategy [5].

Core Viewpoint - The article highlights the journey of OceanBase, a distributed database developed by Alibaba, under the leadership of Yang Zhenkun, showcasing its evolution from a nascent project to a leading product in the database market, overcoming numerous challenges along the way [2][4][40]. Group 1: OceanBase's Development Journey - Yang Zhenkun's commitment to developing OceanBase was marked by a bold promise to jump out of a window if the project failed, reflecting his determination [2][4]. - OceanBase faced initial skepticism in a market dominated by centralized databases, but Yang successfully convinced Alibaba's executives to invest in its development [4][9]. - The database achieved significant milestones, including surpassing Oracle in the TPC-C benchmark test, marking a pivotal moment in its recognition [8][40]. Group 2: Overcoming Challenges - Yang Zhenkun encountered multiple challenges, including gaining trust from various business lines within Alibaba and proving OceanBase's capabilities through practical applications [15][18]. - The first major success came from integrating OceanBase with the Taobao Favorites feature, which significantly improved performance and reduced server requirements [23][24]. - Despite initial successes, OceanBase struggled to find additional large-scale applications, leading to a critical moment when Yang had to pivot towards Alipay to demonstrate the database's reliability [27][30]. Group 3: Achievements and Recognition - OceanBase's breakthrough came during the "Double Eleven" shopping festival, where it successfully handled a significant portion of Alibaba's transaction volume, solidifying its reputation [32][33]. - The database transitioned from a semi-distributed to a fully distributed system, enhancing its capabilities and allowing it to replace Oracle in critical applications [34][35]. - In 2019, OceanBase achieved a major milestone by passing the TPC-C benchmark test, leading to its establishment as an independent company and the decision to open-source the database [40][41]. Group 4: Market Strategy and Future Outlook - Yang Zhenkun emphasized the importance of balancing technical development with market needs, leading to the introduction of a "single-machine distributed integration" concept to cater to small and medium-sized enterprises [41]. - The article concludes with reflections on Yang's career and the impact of OceanBase on the database industry, highlighting its potential for future growth and innovation [43][49].