As a prominent figure representing China's private enterprises, Jack Ma initially revolutionized the e-commerce landscape in ChinaTwo decades later, he has returned to the spotlight, now spearheading Alibaba's foray into the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence (AI).

On February 17, Ma was among a cadre of distinguished entrepreneurs, including Ren Zhengfei from Huawei, Lei Jun from Xiaomi, and Ma Huateng from Tencent, at a private enterprise symposium held in BeijingThe meeting highlighted the tremendous prospects for the private economy, emphasizing that now is the opportune moment for private enterprises and their leaders to demonstrate their capabilities.

The arrival of the AI era is accelerating, and Ma's reappearance after a considerable hiatus undoubtedly serves as a recognition and encouragement for Alibaba's initiatives in AIWith two years of intense pursuit in the AI race behind it, China's AI assets are experiencing a re-evaluation, placing Alibaba at the center of this narrative, as its stock price recently reached a three-year peakMoving forward, Ma is set to guide Alibaba into the AI age.

As the soul of Alibaba, Jack Ma's every move has become a barometer for external observers trying to gauge the company's direction.

In the lead-up to the private enterprise symposium, Ma had already begun making frequent public appearancesSince early February, he has been seen at Alibaba's headquarters in Hangzhou, visited departments like Xianyu and Quark, and also made an appearance in Changsha to tour a Freshippo storeThis flurry of activity signals his reintegrated role within the company.

Simultaneously, Alibaba announced a collaboration with Apple to provide AI services for domestically produced iPhonesApple's stringent supplier requirements made its choice of Alibaba noteworthy; the decision to partner with Alibaba was driven by confidence in its model and deployment capabilities.

Moreover, the importance of compliance and influence as highlighted by Apple furthers Alibaba's credibility in the AI sector

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With the endorsement of such a global tech giant backing its efforts, Alibaba has made significant strides into the AI landscape.

However, the journey for Alibaba to reach its current status has not been without challenges, and its recovery can be traced back to events from two years ago.

In August last year, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced that Alibaba had successfully completed a three-year rectification process with positive outcomesThis was shortly followed by Alibaba's successful secondary listing in Hong Kong, giving rise to speculation that the company's regulatory shackles might have finally been loosened.

Over the course of the past three years, Alibaba's stock price has plummeted by 75% compared to its historic peakFierce competition in the e-commerce sector and restrained demand for cloud services triggered turbulenceNevertheless, Alibaba gradually established a stable competitive landscape and pivoted its focus towards e-commerce and AI as its two core strategies, each marking Ma's influence.

An analysis reveals that Ma had made at least three pivotal statements during this period, which not only provided a directional compass for Alibaba but also boosted the team's morale on competition and shaped the company's culture and values.

In May 2023, Ma held a communications meeting for the Taobao Tmall group, where he outlined three directions: returning focus to Taobao, prioritizing user experience, and reclaiming the InternetHe stressed the importance of flattening the organization to allow for the incorporation of younger employees, which subsequently ushered in a new wave of younger leadership.

By November 2023, Pinduoduo had surpassed Alibaba in market value, becoming the most valuable Chinese stock listed in the U.SIn light of the demoralized atmosphere among Alibaba employees, Ma made an encouraging statement, asserting, "I firmly believe Alibaba will change, Alibaba will improve."

In April 2024, Alibaba’s co-founder Cai Chongxin openly acknowledged the company's lag over the past years, admitting that the Taobao Tmall group had neglected user experience. "We shot ourselves in the foot by not truly focusing on delivering value to users," he remarked.

As doubts circulated about Alibaba's ability to rebound, Ma once again emerged as a guiding figure

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He expressed strong approval of the new management team led by Cai Chongxin and Wu Yongming, commending their courage to transform Alibaba and reaffirming that the company was back on a healthy growth trajectory while supporting ongoing reforms.

This marked Ma’s first extensive communication about Alibaba’s past and future in five years since his retirement. "The new management has introduced various changes in the past year, not just breaking free from outdated strategies but actively shaping the future of Alibaba," he stated.

Since then, Alibaba began gradually regaining its footing in the e-commerce marketIn November last year, it released its financial report for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, posting an income of 236.5 billion yuan, reflecting a 5% year-on-year increase and showcasing robust performanceDuring the "Double Eleven" shopping festival, Alibaba achieved strong growth in overall transaction volume, with both brand sales and buyer numbers reaching record highs.

While Alibaba’s e-commerce business has been steadily regaining its trajectory, Ma has repeatedly championed AI, expressing unwavering optimism about the AI revolution aheadHe asserts that AI is fundamental to overcoming the fierce competition in e-commerce. “The era of AI-powered e-commerce is just beginning, presenting both opportunities and challenges for everyone involved,” Ma remarked.

“Looking ahead, the changes that the AI era will bring over the next 20 years will surpass everyone’s expectations, as it is destined to be an even greater era." This statement came during the 20th anniversary celebration of Ant Group, where Ma affirmed that AI would be instrumental in unlocking the next phase for Ant.

As Jack Ma reclaims his public presence, Alibaba stands on the brink of entering a new AI epoch.

A decade ago, Ma led the colossal e-commerce platform Alibaba to the New York Stock Exchange, breaking global IPO records with a financing amount of $25 billion, which also cemented Alibaba’s status as one of China's most successful business stories.

Now, eleven years later, Alibaba’s stock price shows an unprecedented potential, marking a pivotal moment in the company’s twenty-year history, where the capital market's evaluation logic shifts from e-commerce to AI, highlighting Alibaba's growth potential as a cloud service provider.

Since December last year, DeepSeek has catalyzed a revolution in computing costs, resulting in a re-evaluation of China's AI assets

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In this renewed investment in AI, Alibaba has emerged as a central player in this reassessment process.

The TMT group leader at the private equity firm Hehehui Yi believes that following DeepSeek's explosive emergence, DAU traffic has expanded rapidly, and the existing computing capacity cannot handle such massive demandsThis expansion will be met by cloud service providers, including Alibaba Cloud, thus driving performance growth.

Cloud computing operates as a scale play; the larger the scale, the higher the profitsAccording to this leader, the Chinese cloud services landscape is well defined, largely comprising Alibaba, Tencent, and Huawei, with ByteDance being the only potential variable.

Data from IDC shows that Alibaba Cloud continues to dominate China's relational database market, boasting a 38% market share driven by double-digit growth in public cloud business, and has maintained its leading position for five consecutive years.

On February 17, Alibaba's stock reached a peak of 129.5 HKD, marking a three-year highSince the start of the year, Alibaba's market capitalization has surged by over HKD 600 billion, bringing its latest valuation to 2.32 trillion HKD (approximately 2.17 trillion RMB).

The core of Alibaba's AI valuation in capital markets hinges on two key factors: the cycles within capital markets and overall market sentimentIn the long run, Alibaba's AI valuation will be closely tied to its business growth potential.

According to the latest report from Morgan Stanley’s Yang Liu analyst team, valuations for Chinese data center (IDC) companies are currently priced at approximately 50% below their global counterparts, highlighting a notable disparity in the current market environment. "As the capital expenditures in large-scale AI increase, IDC companies are likely to witness a significant enhancement in EBITDA, prompting a valuation recovery," they concluded.

As of the closing on the East Coast on February 14, Amazon and Microsoft held market capitalizations of $2.42 trillion (approximately 17.6 trillion RMB) and $3.04 trillion (approximately 22.1 trillion RMB) respectively

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