Tsai Chung-hsin, Alibaba’s co-founder and current chairman, recently delivered a speech at the World Governments Summit 2025 in Dubai, revealing significant information about Jack Ma and Alibaba’s strategic direction.
1. Jack Ma’s Charisma and Tsai’s Decision to Join Alibaba:
- Jack Ma’s Influence:
- Tsai Chung-hsin’s account reaffirms Jack Ma’s extraordinary ability to inspire.
- Tsai recalled their first meeting in a Hangzhou apartment, where he was immediately captivated by Jack Ma’s vision.
- Tsai’s Background:
- Tsai, with a prestigious background including degrees from Yale and a lucrative career in finance, was earning $700,000 annually before joining Alibaba.
- In 1999, Jack Ma persuaded Tsai to join his fledgling startup.
- The Appeal:
- Tsai was drawn to Jack Ma’s leadership and the sense of mission he instilled in his team.
- “He is a leader. He was leading these followers, and they really believed in him. He gave them a mission, talking about how technology, especially internet technology, could change not only companies but also the entire country.” Said Tsai.
- Tsai’s own curiosity and desire to explore the burgeoning internet industry played a crucial role.
- Tsai has said “I’ve always been a very curious person, not satisfied with the status quo, and always wanting to know what’s on the other side of the fence.”
- Early Struggles and Perseverance:
- Tsai emphasized the challenging early years of Alibaba, highlighting the importance of survival and resilience.
- “I think the key is, as long as you can survive, and you can persist for one more day, good things can happen.” said Tsai.
- This survival instinct drove innovation and contributed to Alibaba’s eventual success.
- Tsai’s Role:
- Tsai has been instrumental in Alibaba’s growth, serving as CFO and now as chairman.
2. Alibaba’s AI Partnership with Apple:
- Confirmation of Collaboration:
- Tsai confirmed Alibaba’s partnership with Apple to provide AI services in China.
- Apple chose Alibaba as its local partner for AI on iPhones, citing Alibaba’s capabilities.
- “We are very lucky, and very honored to be able to do business with such a great company as Apple.” said Tsai.
- Market Reaction:
- The announcement significantly boosted Alibaba’s stock value, reflecting investor confidence.
- This partnership addresses Apple’s need for localized AI support in China.
- There were previous reports that Apple was evaluating multiple chinese companies AI, and Alibaba was the company they choose.
- Apple’s AI Strategy in China:
- Apple’s plans to introduce Apple Intelligence with Chinese language support have generated considerable interest.
- Apple CEO, Tim cook has said that Apple Intelligence will add multi language support, including simplified chinese, in a software update in april of this year.
- Alibaba’s robust AI capabilities, particularly its Tongyi Qianwen (Qwen) models, position it as a strong partner.
- Alibaba’s AI strength is shown by the fact that the top 10 open source large language models, on the Hugging face open source large language model list, are based on Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen open source model.
3. Insights into Alibaba’s Leadership Transition:
- Reasons for the Change:
- Tsai explained that the 2023 leadership change was driven by the need for a new management team.
- Tsai took the chairman position because stake holders, including board members, felt that a management change was needed.
- Leadership Structure:
- Tsai emphasized the importance of clear roles, with the CEO responsible for operations and the chairman providing support.
- Tsai feels that having a executive chairman and a CEO, like in the british system, creates confusion.
- Tsai believes in empowering the next generation of leaders.
- Legacy:
- Tsai highlighted the enduring lessons that can be learned from the entrepreneurial journey of his generation.
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