He Xiaopeng (Chinese: 何小鹏; pinyin: Hé Xiǎopéng; born 3 November 1977) is a Chinese entrepreneur, best known for co-founding companies including XPeng Motors, an intelligent electric vehicle manufacturer, and UCWeb,[2] the Chinese mobile Internet software and service provider he co-founded in 2004. UCWeb was acquired by Alibaba Group in June 2014 in the largest M&A deal ever in Chinese Internet industry.[3][4] After acquisition, he was named as president of UCWeb and president of the Alibaba Mobile Business Group, and later served as the president of Tudou & Ali Games.

He Xiaopeng
何小鹏
Born (1977-11-03) 3 November 1977 (age 46)
NationalityChinese
Alma materSouth China University of Technology
OccupationChairman of XPeng Motors[1]
Known forCo-founding UCWeb and XPeng Motors

On 22 August 2017, Xiaopeng left Alibaba and officially joined XPeng Motors on 29 August as chairman of the startup.[5][1]

Early life and education edit

Born in Huangshi, Hubei, where he spent his childhood. He graduated from the South China University of Technology[6] with a bachelor's degree in computer science.

Career edit

Early career edit

He worked at AsiaInfo Technologies in various roles including technology manager, testing manager and project manager after graduation in his early career.

UCWeb: 2004–2017 edit

He co-founded UCWeb with Liang Jie in 2004 overseeing the company product strategy and R&D efforts. In June 2014, UCWeb was acquired by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group for $4,3 billion making He Xiaopeng a billionaire. From 2014 to August 2017, Xiaopeng served as senior executive of Alibaba Mobile Business Division.[7] On 22 August 2017, Xiaopeng officially announced his resignation from all his positions in Alibaba to start a new adventure and lead startup XPeng Motors.[8]

XPeng Motors: 2017–present edit

 
XPeng G3

In 2014, He Xiaopeng supported Xia Heng and He Tao in the foundation of XPeng Motors, an electric self-driving vehicle automobile company.[9][10] The company received initial investments from Li Xueling, Fu Sheng, Wu Xiaoguang, Zhang Ying, and other investors to work on autonomous driving engineering and machine learning.[11] XPeng's stated goal was to manufacture networked cars in China with capabilities like electrification, intelligence, networking and autonomous driving.[12] In September 2016, XPeng Motors released the beta version of its prototype G3 intelligent electric mini-SUV in Beijing. The car received positive reviews for its design, performance and technology.[13][14] He became full-time chairman of XPeng in August 2017.

XPeng Motors currently manufactures its G3 intelligent electric SUV in China, and distributes and supports its vehicles through a chain of retail and service centers across the country. The company's P7 intelligent electric sports coupe model is scheduled to come to market in the spring of 2020.

References edit

  1. ^ a b "XPENG Motors Completes Three Series A+ Financing Rounds". FinSMEs. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  2. ^ "UCWeb Inc.: Private Company Information". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on 11 July 2014.
  3. ^ Carsten, Paul (11 June 2014). "Alibaba to buy out UCWeb in China's biggest internet merger". Reuters. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  4. ^ Lim, Jason (11 June 2014). "Alibaba Fully Buys Out UCWeb in China's Biggest Internet Deal Ever". Forbes. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  5. ^ Aurora (13 December 2017). "Alibaba invests in Xpeng Motors". Gasgoo. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  6. ^ 网络光芒——中国互联网的力量与信心 [Network Superstars: The Power and Confidence Behind the Chinese Internet] (in Chinese). DynoMedia Inc. 2010. pp. 92–95. ISBN 978-7-111-28770-4.
  7. ^ Liao, Shumin (14 December 2017). "Alibaba's Investment in XPENG Underscores BAT's NEV Race". Yicai Global. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Ali entered the new car BAT Xiaopeng investment field repairer". top-news.top. 13 December 2017. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  9. ^ 小鹏汽车-关于小鹏. xiaopeng.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 19 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  10. ^ Louise, Nickie (29 January 2018). "Chinese electric car startup Xiaopeng raises $350 million from Alibaba and Foxconn". Tech Startups. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  11. ^ "He Xiaopeng: the car repairer is Xiaopeng either cross or filled crater". waonews.com. 20 January 2018. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  12. ^ Zart, Nicolas (20 January 2018). "Alibaba-Backed He Xiaopeng Bets Entire Fortune On Another "Tesla Killer"". CleanTechnica. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  13. ^ Watts, Gordon (20 January 2018). "China's e-car players are plugged in and ready to go". Asia Times. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  14. ^ Smith, Karl (11 January 2018). "CES 2018: XPeng G3 takes on Tesla". Car Design News. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.

External links edit

He Xiaopeng's Weibo Page

External links edit