The e-commerce group will target startups developing apps for local services, and will provide an additional $161m in debt through its Ant Financial affiliate.
China-based e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba unveiled a RMB 1bn ($161m) fund at its software developers conference in Hangzhou yesterday that will invest in mobile internet startups.
Alibaba will fund startups developing mobile apps that provide access to on-demand local services. It hopes the companies will help to leverage some of the technologies it has developed or acquired, including online payment and location-based services, in their own apps.
Ant Financial Services Group, the financial services affiliate of Alibaba, will provide an additional…
