Company profile · E-commerce
Alibaba Group
阿里巴巴集团控股有限公司
Alibaba is China's largest e-commerce and cloud group: its Taobao and Tmall marketplaces serve Chinese consumers, Alibaba.com and 1688.com connect foreign buyers and Chinese wholesalers, Cainiao runs logistics, Alibaba Cloud is China's largest cloud provider, and its affiliate Ant Group runs Alipay.
Key facts
Overview
Jack Ma and seventeen co-founders started Alibaba.com in Hangzhou in 1999 as a directory for Chinese exporters. Taobao (2003) took the domestic consumer market from eBay, Alipay (2004) solved payment trust, Tmall (2008) brought brands, and the group listed in New York in 2014 in what was then the largest IPO in history, adding a Hong Kong listing in 2019. Alibaba Cloud, founded in 2009, became China's largest cloud provider; Cainiao built the logistics network behind the marketplaces; Lazada, Trendyol and AliExpress carry the group abroad.
Since the 2020 halt of Ant Group's IPO and the regulatory campaign that followed, the group has been reorganised into business groups, has paid a record antitrust fine, and has refocused on its core marketplaces and on AI and cloud. For foreign companies Alibaba is three things: the largest channel to Chinese consumers (Tmall Global for cross-border brands), the largest sourcing platform (Alibaba.com, 1688), and a cloud and AI vendor.
Market position
The largest e-commerce platform operator in China by gross merchandise value, ahead of PDD and JD.com, and the largest cloud provider; internationally the leading B2B sourcing platform through Alibaba.com. Its domestic share has been eroded by PDD and Douyin but remains the largest.
Key strengths
- Taobao and Tmall: the largest consumer marketplaces in China
- Alibaba.com and 1688: the world's largest B2B sourcing platforms
- Alibaba Cloud and the Qwen AI models
- Cainiao logistics network and international parcel routes
- Alipay ecosystem through affiliate Ant Group
What the company does
China commerce
- Taobao (consumer-to-consumer and small merchants)
- Tmall and Tmall Global (brands and cross-border)
- Freshippo (grocery), Ele.me (local services)
International commerce
- Alibaba.com (B2B sourcing)
- AliExpress (cross-border retail)
- Lazada (Southeast Asia), Trendyol (Turkey)
Cloud and AI
- Alibaba Cloud infrastructure and platform services
- Qwen large language models
- DingTalk collaboration
Logistics
- Cainiao domestic and cross-border logistics
Present in about 200 countries. Regions: China, Southeast Asia, Europe, Turkey, Latin America, Middle East. Alibaba.com serves buyers in more than 190 countries; Alibaba Cloud operates data centres in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
For a foreign counterparty
- Market access for brands
- Tmall Global lets foreign brands sell to Chinese consumers under the cross-border regime without a Chinese company.
- Sourcing scale
- Alibaba.com and 1688 list more suppliers than any other platform, with escrow (Trade Assurance) and verification services.
- Cloud and AI in Asia
- A credible alternative to US hyperscalers for companies operating in China and Southeast Asia.
Considerations
- Regulatory history
- The 2021 antitrust fine and the Ant Group restructuring show the group's exposure to Chinese policy; data and platform rules continue to evolve.
- Competition
- PDD, Douyin and JD have taken share in China; the group's growth now depends on cloud and international business.
- US listing risk
- The New York listing is subject to US audit-inspection rules; the Hong Kong listing is the hedge.
Milestones
- 1999 — Founded in Hangzhou
- 2003-05 — Taobao launched
- 2004-12 — Alipay launched
- 2009 — Alibaba Cloud founded
- 2014-09 — New York IPO, then the largest ever
- 2019-11 — Secondary listing in Hong Kong
- 2020-11 — Ant Group IPO halted by regulators
- 2021-04 — Record 18.2 billion yuan antitrust fine
- 2023-03 — Reorganisation into six business groups announced
- 2025-05 — Fiscal 2025 results: revenue about 996 billion yuan
Official site: www.alibabagroup.com
Frequently asked questions
Other companies in e-commerce: JD.com · PDD Holdings
Sources
- Alibaba Group announces March quarter 2025 and fiscal year 2025 results — Alibaba Group / Business Wire (retrieved 6 September 2026)
- Alibaba Group Holding — Form 20-F — US Securities and Exchange Commission (retrieved 6 September 2026)
- Alibaba Group — company overview — Alibaba Group (retrieved 6 September 2026)
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