In the cramped former home of Jack Ma, founder of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, about 30 young engineers sit elbow to elbow, working to attract the next million users for DingTalk, Alibaba's workplace communication software.
Their installation in the hallowed flat where Ma got his start in the eastern city of Hangzhou reflects DingTalk's place in the pecking order of the company's sprawling collection of startup projects.
Since December 2014, DingTalk has grown exponentially to become the world's largest chat service designed for companies, with over 100 million individual users and 7 million employers across China. The company says it also has a growing presence in Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia.