In the final weeks of 2022, just as China was unwinding three years of pandemic controls, Jack Ma was at a low point.
Alibaba, his colossal internet empire, was under assault from regulators and from rivals stealing market share in ecommerce and cloud computing. Its share price was down 80 per cent from its peak. The billionaire himself had relocated to Tokyo, retreating from public view after falling out of favour with Beijing.
The release that November of OpenAI’s powerful bot ChatGPT only seemed to underscore to Ma how far Alibaba had fallen, according to a source close to him. He recognised the significance of a technology with the potential to transform the global economy. But he also knew that Alibaba was far behind.
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