Jack Ma responds to Pinduoduo’s approach: Ali’s self-reinvention and opportunities in the AI era

Amidst the corridors of Alibaba, Jack Ma once again addressed the encroaching market capitalization of Pinduoduo, marking a pivotal moment where the market value gap narrowed to a mere 7 billion US dollars. This shift is notably attributed to Pinduoduo’s recent stellar quarterly performance, evident in the Q3 2023 financial report showcasing an impressive revenue surge of nearly 100%. Adding to the momentum, Pinduoduo shares experienced a remarkable 20% surge last night, temporarily reducing the market value gap to a mere 7 billion US dollars. This swift ascent places Pinduoduo in close proximity to the esteemed Alibaba Group.

Pinduoduo’s strong performance triggered a market sensation and a heated discussion within Ali. Responding to employees’ sentiments on Ali’s intranet, Jack Ma said, “It’s especially good. Please give more constructive comments and suggestions. Especially innovative ideas. I believe that today’s Ali people everyone is watching and listening. I am more convinced that Ali will change, Ali will change. All great companies are born in winter.The AI e-commerce era has just begun, and it is an opportunity and a challenge for anyone. To congratulate Pinduoduo’s decision-making, execution and efforts in the past few years. Anyone who has been bullish has been bullish, but it’s the people who can reform for the sake of tomorrow’s and the day after tomorrow’s bullishness, and the organizations that are willing to pay any price and make sacrifices that are respectable. Back to our mission and vision, Aliens, go for it! Partner Jack Ma.”

The intranet statement was Jack Ma’s second appearance in two years, with each occurring at a critical period of development, the last being in 2021. Two years ago, a young grassroots employee who was about to leave the company forwarded an article titled “To Ali” to the extranet, which exposed for the first time the rivalry between top executives within Ali and triggered a heated discussion among employees about the direction of development over the next five years. In March of that year, Ali’s financial report showed that Pinduoduo had surpassed Ali’s annual active users for the first time, followed by the “mooncake incident”, “high-level scandals”, “employee sexual assault” and other extreme events that tore apart Ali’s interior. The subsequent extreme events such as the “moon cake incident”, “high-level scandal” and “employee sexual assault” tore Ali’s internal.

This time, Ma’s response, he emphasized Ali’s continuous reform of the organization, culture and business, especially highlighting the new opportunities in the era of AI e-commerce. At the recent Q3 earnings meeting, Ali Group CEO Wu Yongming also re-emphasized that the core strategy of Ali Group in the next three years is “user-first, AI-driven”, and put forward three major strategic plans centered on technology, AI and globalization.

In the face of industry competition and internal change, Jack Ma’s response shows Ali’s firm determination to reform. In the future, we will continue to follow Ali’s evolution in this business battle.