Neumann frequently walked around the office barefoot and organized wild parties.

Alibaba has previously invested in five chip manufacturers, including US AI chip designer Kneron and Barefoot Networks.

Decades ago, they were called barefoot doctors.

Jim Yong Kim, who was president of the World Bank Group until Feb 1, said in a statement, "Decades ago, China's innovations in health such as the introduction of barefoot doctors (village physicians) and cooperative healthcare showed the world it was possible to improve health and greatly increase the life expectancy for hundreds of millions of people.