The following is the full text of Ma Yun's speech at Stanford University: Ma Yun: Hello everyone. I feel very honored to meet you here today. About a few months ago, Stanford invited me to give a speech. I didn't expect that. Many people say that speaking here at this time is very sensitive because of all the news about Yahoo, Alibaba and many other companies. But since I made a promise, I came anyway. If you have any questions for me today, I will answer them one by one.
Today is the first 15 day of my arrival in the United States, and I intend to stay here for one year. No one knows about the plan. Even my company doesn't know. You asked me why I came here. Planning to prepare for the acquisition of Yahoo? No, we are too sensitive. I came here because I was tired. The past 16 years have been too tiring. 1994 I started my career, discovered the internet, went crazy, and then gave up teaching. At that time, I felt like a blind man riding on the back of a tiger blindfolded, fighting all the way, but I still struggled and survived. Alibaba 1999 worked for the government after its establishment 16 months.
Today is my first 15 day in America, and I plan to stay here for one year. No one knows about the plan. Even my company doesn't know. People ask me why I'm here. Are you going to buy Yahoo? No, everyone is too sensitive. I came here because I was tired. The past 16 years have been too tiring. I started my career at 1994, discovered the internet, became crazy about it, and then gave up my teaching job. At that time, I felt like riding on the back of a blind tiger blindfolded, wrestling all the way, but still struggling to survive. After working in government agencies 16 months, 1999 established Alibaba.
We are also very lucky, the group has Taobao, Alipay, Alibaba Cloud and other companies. Therefore, when Alibaba/KLOC-was established 0/2 years later, I decided to take a break. Especially this year's challenge is too difficult, which I didn't expect. China people say that every 12 year is a year of the beast. This year happens to be Alibaba's 12 year in China, and it has encountered many thorny problems, such as the resignation of the CEO due to supplier fraud earlier this year, and the VIE problem, although I still don't know what VIE is and the decision to split Taobao into four companies. After doing these things, I'm tired. I told myself, why not take a year off.
We are also very lucky, the group has Taobao, Alipay, Alibaba Cloud and other companies. So, after Alibaba was founded 12 years ago, I decided to take a break. Especially this year's challenge is too difficult, which I didn't expect. People in China say that every 12 year is a year of birth. Alibaba happens to be 12 year in China this year, and it has also encountered many thorny problems, such as the CEO's resignation due to supplier fraud at the beginning of this year, and the problem of VIE, although I don't know what VIE is yet, and the decision to divide Taobao into four companies. So, after all these things, I am very tired. I told myself, why not take a year to have a good rest.
In particular, next year is my personal year, and this year will definitely be more difficult. I want to spend more time preparing for the more difficult and arduous challenges next year. I need a good rest to prepare for the challenges in the next 3-4 years. If something goes wrong this year, we can criticize Taobao, CEO of Alibaba or Alibaba Cloud. But three years later, if things go wrong, it's my fault. So I'm going to spend some time thinking and relaxing in America. Two days ago, I started practicing relaxation from golf. Therefore, the purpose of coming to the United States is really not as complicated as we speculated.
Especially next year is the core milestone year of my personal life, which will definitely be more difficult than this year. I want to spend more time preparing for the more arduous and difficult challenges next year. I need a good rest to prepare for the challenge in three or four years. If something goes wrong in these three years, you can criticize Taobao, Alibaba or Alibaba Cloud. But three years later, if things go wrong, it's my fault. So I'm going to stay in America for a while to think and relax. I started practicing golf again two days ago to relax. So the purpose of coming to the United States is really not as complicated as everyone guessed.