Alibaba founder Jack Ma's new agricultural brand 1.8 Meters officially unveiled
2023-12-18 08:51:26

National Business Wire (Dec 18) -- 1.8 Meters, a new agricultural brand invested by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, made its official debut in Hangzhou on Monday.

Simon Hu Xiaoming, former CEO of Ant Group, announced the formation of 1.8 Meters Agricultural Technology Company at a launch event on Monday.

Hu, a former member of the Alibaba Partnership, will serve as chairman of the new company, as well as chief quality control officer.

According to Hu, the name "1.8 Meters" stems from the wish that "every mother wants her child to grow to 1.8 meters."

"The mission of 1.8 Meters is to 'make agriculture better through technological innovation,' and we hope to improve the efficiency of agriculture through technological innovation and provide better, high-quality ingredients to consumers so that farmers can earn higher incomess," Hu said.

He said that with the experience gained from the past few years' expeditions in global agriculture, 1.8 Meters tries to apply new technologies to traditional agriculture, and in the future, it will regularly publish product quality reports and reports on the farming environment to the public.

Over the past few years, 1.8 Meters team has traveled to 12 countries and 35 cities around the world for research on new agriculture, visiting 107 companies, research institutes and seafood markets, Hu added.

In March 2021, Ant Group Chairman Eric Jing Xiandong said in an internal memo that Hu will resign as CEO of Ant Group, and in the future will fully lead the public welfare and social responsibility work of Alibaba and Ant Group.

On July 20, 1.8 Meters Marine Technology (Zhejiang) Co was set up in Hangzhou with a registered capital of up to 110 million yuan.

The fishery and agriculture startup currently has six shareholders, according to data from Tianyancha, an online platform providing Chinese enterprise information. Among them, 1.8 Meters Technology Holding Ltd is the de facto controller, with a stake of 80%.

And the startup's second-largest shareholder is Hangzhou Dajingtou No. 22 Arts and Culture Co. (Dajingtou), with a 10% stake.

Meanwhile, Hangzhou Ma's Kitchen Food, established in late November with a registered capital of 10 million yuan, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dajingtou, in which Jack Ma holds a 99.9% stake.

Therefore, the establishment of these new businesses is considered to be new investment behavior led by Jack Ma.

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