Here are Alibaba's biggest investments in 2016

Alibaba's biggest acquisition was South-east Asian e-commerce giant Lazada, reports Tech in Asia

2016 was another busy year for Jack Ma and the team at Alibaba. The company posted record-breaking sales numbers, of course, but it also spent the year splashing cash on investments all over the world. Here are the biggest. (* Indicates that the sum is the investment round total; the precise amount contributed by Alibaba was undisclosed.)

Ele.me – $1.25 billion

Chinese food delivery startup Ele.me probably brought home more of Alibaba's investment cash than anyone else this year, netting $1.25 billion from Alibaba and its e-payment spin-off Ant Financial in a funding round confirmed in April. 

What did Alibaba get out of it? A stake in China’s hottest food delivery app and operational support for its own food delivery service, Koubei.

Lazada – $1 billion

Alibaba’s biggest acquisition of the year was South-east Asian e-commerce giant Lazada – it spent US$1 billion to nab a controlling stake in the company. The move gave Alibaba an immediate presence in Southeast Asia, where it one day hopes to generate half of its revenue. 

Didi Chuxing – $4.5 billion*

Alibaba participated in ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing’s massive round this year. The round totaled $7.3 billion, including $4.5 billion in new funding, but it’s not clear precisely how much Alibaba invested.

Magic Leap – $793 million*

We don’t know precisely how much it kicked in, but Alibaba was the lead investor on American augmented reality startup Magic Leap’s $793 million series C round early this year. It became clear precisely why when, a few months later, Alibaba started showing off prototypes of an augmented reality shopping experience using Magic Leap’s tech.

Ucar – $561 million*

Thought Didi was Alibaba’s only ride-hailing play? Think again. Ali did a little bet-hedging this year, participating in Chinese ride-hailing startup Ucar’s $561 million series B round. 

Weibo – $135 million

Alibaba increased its investment in Chinese microblogging giant Weibo this year with a $135 million stock purchase. The deal increased Alibaba’s stake in Weibo by 1.4% (it’s now up to 31.5%). 

This is an excerpt from the article published on Tech In Asia. You can read the full article here.