Is NetEase Kaola still operating in 2026?

No. Kaola's app was pulled from app stores on March 31, 2025, its WeChat account has been silent since June 2024, Weibo since November 2024, and kaola.com now redirects to a static Tmall storefront unchanged since 2021, per a June 2025 investigative check.

Who owns NetEase Kaola now?

Alibaba Group acquired Kaola from NetEase for approximately US$2 billion on September 5, 2019, and it remains a wholly-owned Alibaba subsidiary with no reported ownership changes since, though it now appears folded into Tmall Global.

Did Alibaba shut down Kaola after buying it?

Alibaba initially kept Kaola as an independent brand under new CEO Alvin Liu after the 2019 deal, but by 2025 the app, website, and social accounts had all gone dormant, indicating a quiet wind-down rather than a formal shutdown announcement, as of June 2025.

How big was Kaola before Alibaba bought it?

At the time of the 2019 acquisition, iiMedia Research estimated Kaola held roughly 27.7% of China's cross-border e-commerce market versus Tmall Global's 25.1%, making it one of the two largest platforms in the category, per September 2019 reporting.

Could AI replace what Kaola used to do?

Kaola's core functions, catalog curation, cross-border sourcing, membership marketing, and product recommendation, are commodity workflows that AI already automates within larger platforms like Tmall and JD, though no evidence ties Kaola's decline specifically to AI.

Is joining Kaola a safe career move in 2026?

Unlikely to be viable; the brand has no confirmed standalone team, its app was delisted March 31, 2025, and its social accounts and storefront have shown no activity since 2024-2025, suggesting no active hiring or operations under the Kaola name.

E-commerce and marketplaces · absorbed · China

NetEase Kaola

kaola.com ↗

Chinese cross-border import shopping brand, now dormant inside Alibaba.

Little protection left

Assessed 26 July 2026 · Evidence as of 26 July 2026

Not much stands between this business and its pressures.

On the recordSince 26 July 2026 · Checkable from Next quarterly Alibaba earnings report · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Alibaba earnings call or Tmall Global disclosure that could confirm or contradict Kaola's wind-down

The call

Kaola exists as a brand name on a redirect page, absorbed into Tmall Global with no independent operation left to threaten or defend.

NetEase Kaola was a Chinese platform that let shoppers buy foreign goods online. Alibaba bought it in 2019 and merged it into its bigger Tmall Global service instead of keeping it separate. By 2025, Kaola's app disappeared from stores, its social media stopped posting, and its website just redirects to Tmall Global, meaning there is no independent business or team left to compete with anything. The one thing that could change this would be if Alibaba suddenly posted real jobs for a Kaola team or announced it as a standalone business again, which would mean the company is coming back to life.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. There is no operating business left for AI to disrupt; the app, site, and social accounts are already inactive. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.

Bigger players: Alibaba Group (Tmall Global). Alibaba bought Kaola in 2019, then folded its function into Tmall Global, pulled the app in March 2025, and let the site go static. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.

What protects it. None apparent: no independent team, no disclosed revenue, no live product to protect.

What would change this call

Alibaba earnings call or Tmall Global announcement formally confirms Kaola's shutdown or merger status. Would confirm the brand is permanently retired rather than paused.
A Kaola-branded app reappears in app stores or kaola.com shows new product listings. Would show an unexpected revival rather than continued wind-down.
Active job postings appear for a distinct 'Kaola' team or named CEO is appointed to run it independently. Would indicate Alibaba is reinvesting in Kaola as a standalone brand.

Key numbers

Alibaba paid ~$2 billion for Kaola (2019-09-05)
Kaola app removed from stores (2025-03-31)
Kaola WeChat account unchanged since June 2024 (2025-06-02)

Named risks

Kaola app removed from app stores with no relaunch signal (as of March 2025). Severity: high
No standalone revenue, GMV, or headcount disclosure exists to verify any ongoing operation. Severity: high
Social media accounts inactive over a year (WeChat since June 2024, Weibo since November 2024). Severity: medium
Brand equity erosion risk if Alibaba never issues formal wind-down or relaunch confirmation. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Tmall Global (Alibaba)	losing to	Kaola functionally absorbed into Tmall Global; kaola.com redirects to Tmall storefront since 2021
JD Worldwide	losing to	JD Worldwide operates active hybrid self-operated/marketplace model with JD Logistics as of 2025-07
Temu (Pinduoduo)	gaining on	Temu reached ~24% of global cross-border e-commerce market by January 2026 per third-party survey

Questions people ask

Is NetEase Kaola still operating in 2026?: No. Kaola's app was pulled from app stores on March 31, 2025, its WeChat account has been silent since June 2024, Weibo since November 2024, and kaola.com now redirects to a static Tmall storefront unchanged since 2021, per a June 2025 investigative check.
Who owns NetEase Kaola now?: Alibaba Group acquired Kaola from NetEase for approximately US$2 billion on September 5, 2019, and it remains a wholly-owned Alibaba subsidiary with no reported ownership changes since, though it now appears folded into Tmall Global.
Did Alibaba shut down Kaola after buying it?: Alibaba initially kept Kaola as an independent brand under new CEO Alvin Liu after the 2019 deal, but by 2025 the app, website, and social accounts had all gone dormant, indicating a quiet wind-down rather than a formal shutdown announcement, as of June 2025.
How big was Kaola before Alibaba bought it?: At the time of the 2019 acquisition, iiMedia Research estimated Kaola held roughly 27.7% of China's cross-border e-commerce market versus Tmall Global's 25.1%, making it one of the two largest platforms in the category, per September 2019 reporting.
Could AI replace what Kaola used to do?: Kaola's core functions, catalog curation, cross-border sourcing, membership marketing, and product recommendation, are commodity workflows that AI already automates within larger platforms like Tmall and JD, though no evidence ties Kaola's decline specifically to AI.
Is joining Kaola a safe career move in 2026?: Unlikely to be viable; the brand has no confirmed standalone team, its app was delisted March 31, 2025, and its social accounts and storefront have shown no activity since 2024-2025, suggesting no active hiring or operations under the Kaola name.

Timeline

2025-06Third-party check (Tech Buzz China) confirms Kaola app, social accounts, and site are dormant
2025-03-31Kaola app pulled from app stores
2024-11Kaola Weibo account stops updating
2024-06Kaola WeChat account stops updating
2021Last new products listed on Kaola's Tmall-redirected storefront
2019-09-05Alibaba acquires Kaola from NetEase for approximately US$2 billion
2019-09-05Alibaba appoints Tmall veteran Alvin Liu as Kaola CEO
2015-01-14NetEase launches Kaola cross-border shopping website

Revision history

26 July 2026

First assessed. Little protection left. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

In the same band

MyDeal.com.au Net-a-Porter Konga