History of Alibaba
Alibaba was founded in 1999 by Jack Ma and a group of co-founders in Hangzhou, China, as a B2B marketplace connecting Chinese manufacturers with global buyers. The company started as Alibaba.com, an online platform helping small businesses export their products. Despite early struggles, Alibaba gained traction as China’s internet economy grew, and by 2003, it launched Taobao, a consumer-focused marketplace that rivaled eBay in China. Taobao’s success led to the creation of Alipay, a secure online payment system that later became Ant Group, a financial technology giant.
Over the years, Alibaba expanded into various sectors, including cloud computing (Alibaba Cloud), logistics (Cainiao), and entertainment (Youku and Alibaba Pictures). In 2014, the company made history with a record-breaking $25 billion IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Alibaba continues to dominate e-commerce in China through platforms like Tmall and has a growing global presence. Today, it is one of the world’s largest technology conglomerates, shaping the digital economy with innovations in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital finance.