Chinese billionaire and the co-founder of industry-leading Ant Group, Jack Ma, expressed his opinion about the significant opportunities artificial intelligence (AI) can offer to the fintech giant.
Jack Ma, the billionaire co-founder of Alibaba, highlighted artificial intelligence (AI) as an important part of the future of Ant Group during a rare public appearance at a Shanghai tech event. He specifically praised AI’s potential to revolutionize payment systems, financial services, and global commerce.
Ant Group has recently showcased new AI-powered tools, including the BaiLing foundation model and an AI-native application for enhancing customer services. The company has also developed an AI-powered “life assistant” app called Zhixiaobao, integrated into the Alipay platform, which has over a billion users. This app streamlines services such as meal ordering, taxi hailing, and ticket booking, aiming to enhance user experience. Zhixiaozhu is a digital assistant based on the same AI model but designed specifically for finance experts. Besides, Ant Group is developing a range of other AI tools, including AI wealth manager “Ma Xiao Cai,” and an AI health manager.
This marks Ant’s strategic pivot following regulatory hurdles that led to significant operational restructuring and valuation decline.
China halted Alibaba’s planned $37 billion IPO for Ant Group in 2020 due to regulatory concerns. Authorities cited deficiencies in Ant’s financial oversight, risk management, and the need to align with tightened fintech regulations introduced just before the IPO. Jack Ma’s critical comments about China’s financial system also drew scrutiny, leading to heightened regulatory actions and reshaping Ant Group’s operations into a financial holding company subject to stricter oversight. As a result, in 2023, Jack Ma gave up control of the Group under a corporate restructuring, transferring voting rights to independent Ant executives.
Only a few months later, the media reported that Alibaba Group planned to make its logistics business Cainiao Smart Logistics Group public in the Hong Kong market. However, eventually, due to the deteriorating market conditions in China and the challenges of offshore IPOs, the company withdrew the listing application for Cainiao and decided to instead buy the remaining shares of the company for full ownership.
The company today is leveraging AI to drive technological advancement and regain profitability, marking a significant shift in its operations. Speaking at the company’s 20th anniversary event, Jack Ma expressed gratitude for the challenges and feedback Ant Group had encountered, stating that both support and criticism contributed to the company’s growth and maturity.
