Chinese start-up 01.AI founder Lee Kai-fu denies rumours of asset sale to Alibaba Cloud

In a WeChat post on Tuesday, the start-up denounced as “vicious slander” recent talk that it was looking to sell its pre-training team and other important assets to Alibaba Cloud owing to business difficulties. Hangzhou-based e-commerce giant Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Beijing-headquartered 01.AI, which reached a valuation of more than US$1 billion in 2023 after a funding round that included Alibaba Cloud, posted revenue of more than 100 million yuan (US$13.7 million) in 2024, which is expected to increase this year, according to Lee, who serves as the start-up’s chief executive. He is also chairman and chief executive at Sinovation Ventures and formerly president at Google China.