Which e-commerce giant was founded by Jack Ma in 1999?

Alibaba Group was founded by Jack Ma in 1999.

Ma brought together 18 co-founders in his Hangzhou apartment to establish an internet business aimed at making it easier for small companies to trade. The group first launched Alibaba.com, an English-language business-to-business marketplace connecting manufacturers and buyers, particularly across international markets.

Alibaba later expanded far beyond that original wholesale focus. Taobao, launched in 2003, became a consumer marketplace, while Tmall developed into a platform for brands and retailers. The wider Alibaba ecosystem also came to include logistics, digital payments through related businesses, cloud computing, and media services.

The wording sometimes causes confusion because Jack Ma was the most famous founder, but Alibaba was created by a team rather than by Ma alone. Baidu and Tencent are also major Chinese technology companies, yet neither was founded as Alibaba’s e-commerce group. JD.com is another Chinese online retailer, but it was founded by Richard Liu and began earlier, in 1998.