Zhang Kaifu, who served as Vice President of Alibaba Group and headed the Search and Recommendation Intelligent Products Division, has resigned from his position to venture into entrepreneurship. He is dedicated to cultivating market-oriented AI digital economists, offering practical, context-driven support for AI applications in the commercial and financial realms. On social media, Zhang Kaifu shared that forecasting collective human behavior, particularly market trends, remains one of the most formidable challenges for artificial intelligence. He views the current moment as optimal for pursuing this endeavor and is actively seeking talented individuals to join his team.

Zhang Kaifu has been an integral part of Alibaba for nearly ten years, playing a pivotal role in advancing the company's e-commerce and AI initiatives. He has been deeply engaged in the ecosystem and traffic management for Taobao merchants, earning recognition as one of the "Four Great Taobao Leaders," alongside Tang Xing, Yang Guang, and Liu Bo. In 2021, he transitioned to Alibaba's overseas digital commerce division and was elevated to Vice President in January 2022. Early in 2025, Zhang Kaifu assumed leadership of the newly formed Search and Recommendation Intelligent Products Division, uniting multiple teams to boost the accuracy and efficiency of search and recommendation systems. Under his guidance, six products were launched, including the "AI Universal Search." He harnessed AI to amplify advertising effectiveness in the AI-to-B sector, fostering merchant growth. His most recent public engagement was at the 2025 Tmall Double 11 launch event, where he delivered a speech titled "AI Reconstructs Taobao," disclosing that the platform had witnessed double-digit growth in traffic matching efficiency through AI.

However, following Alibaba's establishment of the Alibaba Token Hub business group in March of this year, the Search and Recommendation Intelligent Products Division underwent restructuring, with certain segments being integrated into the new business group. Zhang Kaifu holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from Tsinghua University and a Doctorate in Management from INSEAD. He has also served as an Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business and the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. Notably, Zhang Kaifu is another prominent leader to have recently left Alibaba. Earlier, on March 4th, Alibaba's Qianwen lead, Lin Junyang, and associated personnel also departed. Lin Junyang's entrepreneurial pursuits encompass world models and embodied brains, and he has already assembled a team and secured funding.

According to Alibaba's latest financial report for the fourth quarter of the 2026 fiscal year, which concluded on March 31st, Alibaba's revenue reached RMB 243.38 billion, marking a 3% year-on-year increase. Excluding divested businesses, the year-on-year revenue growth rate on a comparable basis was 11%. Net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders amounted to RMB 25.476 billion, while GAAP net profit stood at RMB 23.502 billion, up 96% year-on-year. Nevertheless, adjusted EBITA declined by 84% year-on-year to RMB 5.102 billion, and operating profit incurred a loss of RMB 848 million. The profit contraction was primarily attributable to substantial strategic investments in AI technologies. Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group's revenue for the quarter was RMB 41.626 billion, up 38% year-on-year. Revenue from external customers increased by 40%, and revenue from AI-related products reached RMB 8.971 billion, achieving triple-digit year-on-year growth for the eleventh consecutive quarter. AI-related products accounted for over 30% of cloud external revenue, with an annualized scale surpassing RMB 35.8 billion.