Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a global online and mobile electronic commerce or e-commerce, company based in China. E-commerce companies sell goods and services over the internet. Alibaba’s popular shopping services attract hundreds of millions of users and account for most of the internet shopping business in China. The company has headquarters in Hangzhou.
Alibaba was founded in 1999 by a group of 18 investors led by Jack Ma, an English teacher in Hangzhou. Originally, the company helped small businesses in China sell goods online to other countries through its website Alibaba.com. Since its founding, Alibaba has expanded into a number of different companies. It has revolutionized the shopping experience for the Chinese population through its three main marketplaces: Taobao Marketplace (Taobao.com), Tmall, and Juhuasuan.com. Taobao is the largest online shopping site in China. Individuals and businesses can buy or sell goods and services directly to customers through this site. Advertising funds a majority of the service, and retailers and customers are not charged for making transactions. Tmall is China’s largest marketplace for approved brands and businesses to sell directly to customers. Juhuasuan.com is the leading discount group-buying site in China. Juhuasuan allows consumers to buy items from Taobao and Tmall vendors that are on special sale for a short period of time—for example, through daily deals.
Today, Alibaba’s internet-based businesses sell goods online, offer advertising and marketing services, and control online payments for goods through Alipay. Alipay is Alibaba’s third-party electronic payment service. Consumers can make purchases online or with mobile devices. In addition, Alibaba offers cloud computing and network services in China and abroad. Cloud computing involves storing data and using software on the internet, rather than on the user’s computer. Alibaba also owns media companies and co-owns a professional soccer team. In 2014, Alibaba began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in the biggest initial public offering in the world at that time, raising $25 billion.
