Short answers, pulled from the story.
Alibaba Group was founded on the 28th of June 1999 by Jack Ma and 17 friends and students in Ma's apartment in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. The company launched as Alibaba.com, a business-to-business marketplace connecting Chinese suppliers with international buyers.
Alibaba's IPO on the New York Stock Exchange on the 18th of September 2014 raised US$25 billion, priced at US$68 per share. At the time it was the largest IPO in world history, surpassing the combined offerings of Google, Facebook, and Twitter and giving Alibaba a market value of US$231 billion.
China's State Administration for Market Regulation opened an antitrust investigation into Alibaba in December 2020 over monopolistic practices. Regulators simultaneously summoned the affiliated Ant Group for discussions about competition and consumer rights, instructing it to return its focus to digital payments. The investigation caused Alibaba's market capitalisation to fall from roughly $859 billion to roughly $586 billion by the end of December.
Alipay is a third-party online payment platform launched by Alibaba in 2004. It offered an escrow service that held funds until buyers confirmed they were satisfied with their purchases. By February 2014 it controlled just under half of China's online payment market with 300 million users, and its parent entity, Ant Group, was valued at US$150 billion in 2018.
After eBay announced its expansion into China in 2003, Jack Ma launched Taobao as a competing platform offering free registration, commission-free transactions, and a free third-party payment service. Taobao surpassed eBay in the Chinese market by 2007, and eBay subsequently closed its unprofitable China web unit.
In March 2023 Alibaba announced its "1+6+N" plan, reorganising the company into six independently operated entities: Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao and Tmall Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, Local Services Group, Alibaba International Digital Commerce, and the Digital Media and Entertainment Group. Each unit received its own CEO and board of directors and the ability to pursue independent fundraising and public listings.