Jack Ma, one of China's most influential entrepreneurs, is well known for his business empire success story. However, even experienced investors like Jack Ma are not immune to setbacks along the way.
1. Invested in Hema Fresh, with a loss of about 35 billion yuan
As Alibaba's fresh food supermarket brand, Hema Fresh was once highly anticipated. However, due to fierce market competition, high operating costs, and unstable supply chains during the epidemic, it eventually led to huge losses. Although Jack Ma's investment did not bear fruit in the short term, it also accumulated valuable experience for the subsequent exploration of new retail models.
2. Acquired Tudou Video, resulting in a loss of approximately RMB 4 billion
Jack Ma acquired Tudou Video for RMB 4 billion, aiming to expand Alibaba's content ecosystem. However, the fierce competition in the video industry and the user growth did not meet expectations led to poor integration and ultimately a loss for the project. Nevertheless, this acquisition laid the foundation for Alibaba's layout in the content field.
3. Invested in Huayi Brothers, lost about 9 billion yuan
As China's leading film and television production and distribution company, Huayi Brothers has attracted investments from multiple parties, including Jack Ma. However, the high-investment and high-risk nature of the film and television industry, coupled with the fickle market tastes, led to unsatisfactory returns on investment, which ultimately resulted in a large loss.
4. Acquisition of Ele.me, resulting in a loss of approximately RMB 70 billion
Alibaba acquired Ele.me for 70 billion yuan, aiming to strengthen its competitiveness in the food delivery market. However, fierce market competition and high subsidy strategies have kept Ele.me's operating costs high, and it has failed to achieve its expected profit target, resulting in huge losses.
5. Invested in Evergrande Football, lost about 1.5 billion yuan
Jack Ma invested in Evergrande Football, hoping to enhance the brand influence through the sports industry. However, the high investment in football clubs and the uncertain results of the games made the return on investment unstable, and the project ended up in a loss.
6. Acquisition of RT-Mart, loss of about 18 billion yuan
Alibaba acquired RT-Mart for RMB 18 billion, attempting to expand its business through offline retail networks. However, challenges in traditional retail and fierce competition from e-commerce have caused RT-Mart's performance to fall short of expectations, resulting in investment losses.
7. Invested in unmanned supermarkets, with a loss of about 40 billion yuan
As the future direction of retail development, unmanned supermarkets attracted the attention of Jack Ma. However, due to problems in technology implementation, consumer acceptance and operating costs, the project ended up with huge losses.
8. Acquired Youku Video, resulting in a loss of approximately RMB 5 billion
Alibaba acquired Youku Video with the intention of integrating video resources. However, the video platform's single profit model, coupled with the high cost of content production, led to the project failing to achieve expected returns and resulting in losses.
9. Acquired UC Browser, with a loss of approximately RMB 5 billion
As an important traffic portal for mobile terminals, UC Browser was once one of Alibaba's important assets. However, fierce competition in the mobile browser market and unstable advertising revenue made UC Browser's investment return unsatisfactory, and ultimately led to losses.
10. Invested in Suning.com, lost about 25 billion yuan
Jack Ma invested in Suning.com in order to form a closer retail partnership with Alibaba. However, due to changes in the market environment and inconsistent operating strategies, Suning.com's performance failed to meet expectations, resulting in investment losses.
Additional investment project analysis
Invested in Wasu Media, with a loss of approximately RMB 4.5 billion
Wasu Media, which was co-invested with Shi Yuzhu, attempted to achieve a breakthrough in the media industry. However, the rapid changes and technological innovations in the media industry challenged Wasu Media's business model and ultimately led to losses.
Investing in Suning.com, with a floating loss of about 6 billion yuan
As an online and offline integrated retail platform, Jack Ma originally hoped that Suning.com would develop rapidly. However, fierce market competition and rising operating costs have made Suning.com's financial situation unsatisfactory and resulted in floating losses.
Investing in Ant Group is affected by regulation
Ant Group originally planned to go public, but due to changes in regulatory policies, the listing plan was forced to be shelved, causing investors to face uncertainty and the risk of investment losses. This incident also reflects the important impact of the policy environment on large technology companies.
Investing in SoftBank Vision Fund, losing money
SoftBank Vision Fund suffered consecutive losses in 2022 and 2023. As an important partner of Jack Ma, its poor investment performance also indirectly affected Jack Ma's investment returns.
