In which year was Alibaba Group founded?

The question asks for the founding year of the Alibaba Group. Alibaba Group, the multinational technology conglomerate specializing in e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology, was founded in 1999. Jack Ma and 17 other co-founders established the company in Hangzhou, China, with the vision of helping small businesses leverage the internet.

• 1995 is too early; the internet was still nascent in China for such a large-scale e-commerce venture.
• 2005 is too late; by this time, Alibaba was already a significant player with Taobao launched in 2003.
• 2010 is also too late; Alibaba had already expanded significantly and was a well-established company by then.