Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Michael Zeisser has left as Alibaba’s top U.S. dealmaker

Zeisser disagreed with Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai over investment strategy, sources familiar with the situation said.

Alibaba co-founder and Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai, left, with Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan
Alibaba co-founder and Executive Vice Chairman Joe Tsai, left, with Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan
Joe Tsai (left) is the co-founder and executive vice chairman of Alibaba.
Marianna Massey / Getty

Michael Zeisser, Alibaba’s top dealmaker in Silicon Valley, quietly left the Chinese giant recently.

Joe Tsai, Alibaba’s co-founder and executive vice chairman, announced the departure in an internal memo to staff over the weekend. Tsai and Zeisser disagreed over investment strategy, one source familiar with the situation said.

Zeisser did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zeisser, who has been chairman of U.S. investments there since 2013, is expected to be replaced by another Alibaba hand, Peter Stern, who is likely to replace Zeisser as board observer at Magic Leap and Lyft.

Zeisser came to Alibaba after a decade under John Malone at Liberty Media. Zeisser helped establish Alibaba’s prominence in U.S. investing through other deals like Fanatics and Snapchat.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh