Peng earned a degree in Business administration in 1994 from Hangzhou Institute of Commerce, which was renamed as Zhejiang Gongshang University in 2004. Following her graduation, she taught at the Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics for five years. Peng quit teaching shortly after marrying, and with her husband (who would later run Taobao, Alibaba's eBay reminiscent marketplace) joined Jack Ma in founding Ali Baba in September 1999. They were one of the many husband and wife teams making up the 1/3rd ratio of women amongst Alibaba's founding partners that the company would later become positively praised for.