UCWeb Inc. (also known as UC Mobile) is a Chinese mobile Internet company that offers products and services that include mobile browser, UC News, and search engine services. Its flagship product, UC Browser, topped the Chinese, Indonesian and Indian markets in 2013., BusinessWeekUCWeb becomes first Chinese Internet company to hit No. 1 in India, adds Jack Ma to board , PandoDaily, Aug 21, 2013
Description
UCWeb was founded in 2004 as a mobile browser maker. Over the past decade, it diversified to areas such as mobile search, mobile gaming, mobile reading, etc.Alibaba-Backed UCWeb Scouts for Mobile Acquisitions, Bloomberg, Jan 16, 2014How UCWeb grew its dominant mobile browser position in China to create the UC 9Game platform, PocketGamer, Jun 12, 2014 According to iResearch, in 2014, the company's UC Browser was the most popular browser of its kind in China, with more than 66% market share.2013年中国手机浏览器行业分析报告 , iResearch, Feb 14, 2014 It's available in 11 languages (English, Hindi, Russian, Indonesian, Vietnamese, etc.) and on all major mobile OS platforms (iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Java ME, Blackberry, etc.). As of March 2014, UC Browser had over 500 million users around the globe.Mobile browser-maker UCWeb, another global tech firm under the radar, crosses 500m users, TheNextWeb, Mar 21, 2014
In April 2014, UCWeb and Alibaba Group jointly announced the formation of a joint venture named Shenma Inc. () that offers a mobile-only search engine in China.Alibaba, UCWeb plan mobile-search joint venture, MarketWatch, Apr 28, 2014Alibaba, UCWeb Team Up In Mobile Search, Forbes magazine, Apr 28. 2014 After the joint venture was finalized UCWeb became an essential part of Alibaba's mobile business operations, and UCWeb chief executive, Yu Yongfu became president of Alibaba's Mobile Business Unit. The unit combined UCWeb's browser, search, app-store, mobile gaming and digital reading businesses with other Alibaba mobile services including those that were associated with AutoNavi, which Alibaba had purchased in 2014. Alibaba's ownership placed UCWeb within a broader digital-media and mobile-services strategy. Former UCWeb chief executive Yu Yongfu was appointed chairman and chief executive of the new group, reporting directly to Alibaba chief executive Daniel Zhang who was later replaced by Eddie Wu.
In June 2014, UCWeb was acquired by Alibaba Group in the largest Chinese Internet merger deal. This will see UCWeb form the Alibaba UC mobile business group by assimilating and consolidating part of mobile-related businesses within the Alibaba Group.Alibaba to buy out UCWeb in China's biggest internet merger, Reuters, June 11, 2014Alibaba Fully Buys Out UCWeb in China's Biggest Internet Deal Ever, Forbes magazine, June 11, 2014 After the merger, under the leadership of Yu Yongfu, chief executive of UCWeb since 2006, the Alibaba UC mobile business group will oversee the browser, search, location-based service, app store, mobile gaming, and mobile reader operations.Alibaba Buys Remaining Stake in UCWeb, Wall Street Journal, June 11, 2014Alibaba to Acquire Rest of UCWeb to Boost Mobile Offering, Bloomberg, June 11, 2014UCWeb to accelerate international expansion after Alibaba merger, PCWorld, June 12, 2014 Other browser tools that Alibaba created do not necessarily use UCWeb to function. For example, UCWeb and Accio Work are both products of Alibaba's Group ecosystem, but they are different tools. UC browser as described above is a mobile web browser and an information platform that is used mostly by consumers who want to browse, search and consume content. Accio Work which was launched in 2026 by Alibaba International, is more of an AI agent platform that is used by small and medium businesses to vet suppliers, and vendors, including getting quotes. It can even create online stores for users and uses a browser like a Chromium-based browser to perform specific kinds of tasks like searching, scraping and form filling.
In 2015 it was revealed as part of the Snowden leaks that UCBrowser leaks sensitive IMSI, IMEI and MSISDN data, which was used by intelligence agencies to track users.Research group says UC Browser, owned by Alibaba, found to leak data - Reuters, 21 May 2015Spy agencies target mobile phones, app stores to implant spyware - CBC, 22 May 2015
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