I don't care about the sort of things that will bring in chump change over the next two or three years. I think I'm better than others at sniffing out things that will bear fruit in 10 or 20 years while they're still at the seed stage, and I'm more willing to take the risks that entails.

Jack's [Ma Yun ] theory is that whoever controls data controls the world.

I'm a man, and I think every man wants to be No. 1.

I think I would have kept in contact with venture capital investors and entrepreneurs. I'm sure staying involved as something like a coach would be fun. If I handed over the reins to a successor, I wouldn't stick around [to pull strings] like a retired emperor.

I would say that hardware is the bone of the head, the skull. The semiconductor is the brain within the head. The software is the wisdom and data is the knowledge.

[Simon Segars ] came by a few times.I told him, "If you understand the future of the internet of things that much, then you should add more engineers and go on the offensive." Simon had explained to analysts and others that he intended to do that sort of forward-looking investment, but he said it's tough for a listed company considering its share price falls if profits drop.

Whatever the country, whatever the culture, whatever the time, when you become a big enough organization, you start to collapse and slow down.