Alibaba Cofounder Jack Ma Turns to Farming After China Tech Crackdown
Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma has invested in a new agrotech company in China.
Ma largely vanished from public view since angering Beijing with a critical speech in October 2020.
During his disappearance, Ma traveled the world and studied agrotech.
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Alibaba cofounder Jack Ma is leading an active retirement.
After landing teaching gigs in Hong Kong and Tokyo, the 58-year-old Ma recently invested in a new farm tech company, according to a Monday report from the South China Morning Post, citing information from Tianyancha, a company information data provider.
The agrotech startup called "1.8 Meters Marine Technology (Zhejiang) Co" was incorporated on July 20 in Hangzhou city — home to his tech crown jewel Alibaba and China's answer to Amazon. One of Ma's investment holdings companies, Hangzhou Dajingtou No. 22 Arts and Culture Co., has a 10% stake in the startup, per the SCMP.
Ma's new venture comes shy of three years since he vanished from public view. He angered the Chinese authorities after an October 2020 speech in which he criticized China's financial regulatory system and claimed Chinese banks were operating with a "pawnshop" mentality. His words prompted intense regulatory scrutiny of his businesses and a wider crackdown on tech firms in China.
During his years-long disappearance, Ma appeared to be traveling the world with a focus on studying agrotech.
In October 2021, Ma was in Spain learning about agriculture and technology related to environmental issues, the SCMP reported at the time, citing an unnamed source familiar with Ma's schedule. He has also traveled to the Netherlands, Japan, and Thailand to study agrotech, per SCMP.
In May this year, Ma took up a teaching position at Tokyo College, where he would also be researching sustainable agriculture and food production, Tokyo College said in an announcement.
Ma, a teacher turned tech titan, retired from Alibaba in 2019 but still sits on the board of the Jack Ma Foundation. The foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
Source: Business Insider
