Alibaba cancels chief technology officer position, spins off in-house tech service provider in sweeping overhaul

Wu Zeming, who took over as Alibaba’s CTO late last year, is now the CEO of subsidiary Aicheng Technology

The reorganisation means that business units under Alibaba will need to apply for, or buy technology services from Aicheng

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Published: 6:00pm, 10 May 2023Updated: 6:12pm, 10 May 2023

Alibaba Group Holding has eliminated its chief technology officer (CTO) position as part of a sweeping business restructure that would see the sprawling conglomerate being broken up into nimbler and relatively independent units, according to sources and several Chinese media reports.

The title of Wu Zeming, who was appointed Alibaba’s CTO six months ago, has been changed to CEO of Aicheng Technology, an Alibaba subsidiary and technology service provider established in 2021, according to people familiar with the matter.

Wu continues to report directly to Daniel Zhang Yong, chairman and CEO of Alibaba, the people said.

Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, declined to confirm or comment on the change, which was first reported by Chinese online publication Speed Daily.

Wu Zeming, who assumed the role of Alibaba’s CTO in December 2022, is now instead the CEO of subsidiary Aicheng Technology. Photo: Handout

The removal of the CTO position has raised eyebrows in China’s technology industry, as it marks a stark departure from Alibaba’s long-held organisational strategy that relied heavily on a centralised, “middle office” technology team to empower various business lines.

In a recent campus hiring poster, Alibaba described the CTO-led unit, which has served online marketplaces Tmall, Taobao and Taocaicai, as “the world’s largest e-commerce platform technology base”.