Alibaba Group was established in 1999 by 18 people led by Jack Ma, a former English teacher from Hangzhou, China. From the outset, the company’s founders shared a belief that the Internet would level the playing field by enabling small enterprises to leverage innovation and technology to grow and compete more effectively in the domestic and global economies. Since launching its first website helping small and medium-sized enterprises in China to sell internationally, Alibaba Group has grown into a digital ecosystem with businesses comprising commerce, cloud computing, digital media and entertainment, and innovation initiatives.

January
Alibaba offers DingTalk’s solutions to Alibaba Cloud’s enterprise customers, providing them with enhanced work collaboration capabilities and easy access to Alibaba Cloud’s analytics and AI capabilities to further facilitate their digital transformation.

February
Alibaba is awarded the “National Advanced Collective in Poverty Alleviation” in China.

Alibaba is awarded the “National Advanced Collective in Poverty Alleviation” in China

March
Taobao Marketplace and Tmall introduce various merchant support measures such as the opening of business operation centers, fund deposit concessions, and the free offer of selected analytical and marketing tools to improve merchants’ operational efficiency.

May
Taobao Deals announces a brand upgrade with focuses on value for money, simplicity, local authenticity and quality assurance.

Taobao Deals announces a brand upgrade

July
Alibaba aggregates its various location-based services under a single lifestyle services umbrella, which includes local services, Amap and Fliggy.

July
In collaboration with Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), Alibaba’s cloud solutions support service delivery for Rights-Holding Broadcasters (RHBs) for the first time during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

OBS Cloud offers new models for content delivery during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

September
Alibaba Group rebrands its community marketplaces business to Taocaicai.

December
Alibaba announces a pledge to achieve carbon neutrality in its own operations by 2030 and introduces a Scope 3+ target, a pioneering initiative aiming to facilitate 1.5 gigatons of decarbonization across its business ecosystem by 2035.

Alibaba announces its carbon neutrality goal