Jack Ma quietly invested $30 million in Corgi, one of Y Combinator's hottest startups

Jack Ma's private equity firm Yunfeng Capital secretly led a $30 million funding round in Corgi, an AI business insurance startup and Y Combinator summer 2024 cohort member, valuing it at $4 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter and correspondence seen by Business Insider. This marks Yunfeng Capital's first known investment in a US-founded startup amid heightened US-China geopolitical tensions over cross-border tech investment.

Jack is back. Chinese billionaire Jack Ma's private equity firm secretly led the latest funding round for Corgi https://www.businessinsider.com/left-la-san-francisco-ai-startup-job-offer-2026-7 , marking the first time the firm is known to have invested in a startup founded in the US. Yunfeng Capital, co-founded by Jack Ma and businessman David Yu, funded Corgi with about $30 million, according to a source familiar with the matter and correspondence seen by Business Insider. That round valued Corgi at $4 billion, Forbes previously reported last month https://www.forbes.com/sites/annatong/2026/07/22/ai-startup-corgi-of-seven-day-work-week-fame-raises-yet-again-at-4-billion-valuation/ . Corgi is an AI business insurance startup that was part of Y Combinator's summer 2024 cohort. It's one of the hottest startups in San Francisco, with its valuation almost quadrupling over the last three months. It's best-known for operating a 24-hour café in San Francisco and touting a 7-day workweek https://www.businessinsider.com/corgi-founder-explains-work-culture-7-days-week-sleeps-office-2026-6 . Corgi and Yunfeng Capital didn't respond to requests for comment. Ma's charitable foundation and Alibaba also didn't respond. Geopolitical tensions between Washington, D.C., and Beijing have made cross-border tech investment increasingly fraught. Publicly, Yunfeng Capital largely touts Chinese companies in its portfolio. It's also a rare overseas bet from Ma, who has kept a much lower profile in recent years. The Alibaba cofounder disappeared from public view after criticizing Chinese regulators in 2020. Last year, Ma reemerged in China as the country's government embraces AI. China has exerted greater control over outbound capital and technology, for example, ordering Meta to unwind its acquisition of AI agent startup Manus https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-manus-deal-china-stop-acquisition-agents-ai-artificial-intelligence-2026-4 . The US has also tightened scrutiny of Chinese investment through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Prior to the tensions, Alibaba actively invested in US companies, including Lyft in 2014 and Magic Leap in 2016. Ma stepped down as Alibaba's chairman in 2019. Have a tip? Contact Charles via email at crollet@businessinsider.com or on Signal and WhatsApp at 628-282-2811. Contact Ben via email at bbergman@businessinsider.com or on Signal at @BenBergman.11. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely .