Liu Zhenfei, an Alibaba partner and the chairman of AutoNavi, recently shared a post on Alibaba’s internal network, chronicling a rice-planting team-building event in Hangzhou. The event brought together the management teams of Alibaba and Ant Group. Prominent attendees included Jack Ma, Wu Yongming, Shao Xiaofeng, Jiang Fan, Wu Zeming, Jiang Fang, Eric Jing, Han Xinyi, and Zhou Jingren, whose presence effectively dispelled rumors of his departure from the company. In his post, Liu Zhenfei underscored that farming demands precise timing, meticulous care, and diligent effort, with time ultimately rewarding these endeavors. Behind the seemingly relaxed team-building activity lies Alibaba’s management team’s unwavering commitment and positive outlook on AI development. Since announcing a 380 billion yuan investment in AI infrastructure in February 2025, Alibaba has made rapid strides in full-stack AI, establishing itself as a leader in large language model capabilities, AI cloud computing, and chip development. The company has also ramped up investment in areas such as consumer-end exploration of Qianwen, multimodality, and AI Agents.

Alibaba has a long-established tradition of organizing team-building activities, with annual budgets earmarked to spur innovation and nurture organizational vitality and team spirit. According to sources close to Alibaba, nearly all key members of the management team participated in the event in a relaxed manner, sending a positive signal of unity, optimism, and confidence in the company’s and AI’s future development.