Jack Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba, was once the untouchable entrepreneur of the Chinese tech industry. Known for his frankness and flamboyance, he was everywhere - from media appearances and conferences to the front pages of corporate events. Charismatic and extroverted, Ma captivated millions worldwide with his image as a pleasant and unconventional executive, unwilling to toe the Communist Party line.

After he criticized Chinese regulatory authorities, he vanished from the public eye in late 2020, and Beijing began clamping down on his private enterprises.

Ma was born into a poor family in Hangzhou, China. He did not excel in school, failing the college entrance exams twice before succeeding on his third try at Hangzhou Teachers Institute.

After graduating in 1988, he applied for dozens of jobs, facing rejection from all employers, including KFC, and eventually landed a job as an English teacher.

Then, in 1994, he started his own translation services business and, after a business trip to the USA in 1995, ventured into digital business in the early days of the Internet.

His first venture, China Pages, was a failure, but this led him to gather a circle of 17 friends in 1999 to create Alibaba. The website allowed exporters to list their products directly, ushering China into the era of e-commerce.

Although considered the most successful internet entrepreneur, Ma started Alibaba with no knowledge of marketing or computers. His teaching background taught him how to rally forces, spot and nurture talent, delegate tasks, and chart Alibaba's course, as he revealed in Davos in 2018.

Ma founded Alibaba.com in June 1999. By October, the company raised $5 million from Goldman Sachs and another $20 million from SoftBank.

Alibaba thrived in the 2000s in China. By the mid-2010s, Ma began dreaming beyond China. In 2014, Alibaba entered the New York Stock Exchange, and by the end of the year, Ma became Asia's richest person, with an estimated wealth of $25 billion.

While thriving, he began to clash with Chinese authorities. After publicly criticizing Chinese regulators in October 2020, his reign ended. What followed was a prolonged period during which he was, in the public's eyes, invisible.

Ma had already retired from Alibaba about a year before he disappeared from public view. Although "disappeared," he continued to attract interest. In the last two years, he has been seen at various institutes worldwide specializing in high-tech agriculture.

In October 2021, Ma visited Spain to learn about agriculture and technology related to environmental issues. He also traveled to the Netherlands, Japan, and Thailand to study agro-technology.

In May, Tokyo College announced that Ma would take up a teaching position while researching sustainable agriculture and food production.

In January, he was in Thailand, dining with Supakit Chearavanont, chairman of the Charoen Pokphand Group, a major animal feed producer.

In November, he founded a company called "Hangzhou Ma's Kitchen Food," according to local media reports. The company is involved in the sales of packaged foods and the processing and retail of agricultural products.

Ma has not publicly explained why he turned to agriculture. However, it appears he is focusing on a new sector, while his entrepreneurial spirit, evident throughout his career, remains "alive."