Pinduoduo surpasses Alibaba, JD.com in user numbers as founder Colin Huang steps down as chairman in surprise move

Pinduoduo pulled in US$4.1bil in the fourth quarter, blowing past estimates, and became China’s largest e-commerce platform by number of users in 2020. Company founder Colin Huang stepped down from the board of directors to focus on research in food and life sciences. — SCMP

Pinduoduo founder Colin Huang, 41, has stepped down as chairman of the board of directors at the social e-commerce company he helped turn into a giant that now has more annual active buyers than JD.com and Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post.

Having handed over the reins as CEO to Chen Lei last July, Huang will now focus on research in food in life sciences, areas “where breakthroughs could drive the future of China’s largest agriculture platform”, Pinduoduo said in a statement on Wednesday. Pinduoduo has recently invested heavily in agriculture-related areas, including new technologies in its pursuit to become the world’s largest grocer. Its new grocery delivery service Duo Duo Grocery, known as Duo Duo Maicai in Chinese, has helped drive user growth during the pandemic.