But with the introduction of the internet, Ma saw an opportunity. And with no tech or business background, he founded Alibaba with the help of 17 friends in 1999. The digital marketplace connected ...

Pillay is an editorial fellow at TIME. Alibaba's stand on display at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China, on July 8, 2023. Alibaba's stand on display at the World ...

Alibaba, his colossal internet empire, was under assault from regulators and from rivals stealing market share in ecommerce and cloud computing. Its share price was down 80 per cent from its peak.