Alibaba chief digs in for mobile software platform battle
Alibaba chief to spin off smartphone operating system unit with US$200m investment
Jack Ma Yun, the chairman and chief executive of Alibaba Group, has never been one to shy away from a challenge.
A week after internet giant Google strong-armed Acer into scuttling the launch of a new smartphone that runs Alibaba's self-developed mobile operating system, Ma went on the offensive with a new strategy to expand its reach in the mainland's huge smart devices market.
The Aliyun OS business under subsidiary Alibaba Cloud Computing (AliCloud) will be spun off as an independent operation and receive a US$200 million investment from the group, according to a circular sent by Ma to its more than 24,000 employees last Thursday.
"This suggests Alibaba is serious about moving forward with its mobile operating system based on open-source Linux software," a source familiar with the initiative said. "More agreements with smartphone makers are to come, while existing alliances remain solid."
Alibaba, the country's biggest e-commerce company, had earlier announced Aliyun mobile platform agreements with Beijing Tianyu Communication Equipment and Haier, the world's largest home appliances manufacturer.
"Lu is great at operations and business development, and knows Aliyun well," the source said. "He also knows how to gather the necessary resources for the new company."