Foundation model developer StepFun and Alipay have announced a system-level partnership aimed at bringing AI agents beyond conversational assistance and into everyday consumer services. The collaboration was unveiled on July 17 during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026 in Shanghai.
Hangzhou-based Alipay has integrated an AI agent into its Tap! payment devices, extending AI-powered services to the millions of offline merchants that use the hardware. The company describes the update as the basis for the world’s first large-scale AI-powered offline business operations network.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming part of everyday life, but its expansion comes with a growing challenge: energy consumption. Training and running advanced AI models requires vast computing resources, and the data centres powering these systems are consuming increasing amounts of electricity worldwide. Against this backdrop, Chinese technology giant Ant Group is attempting to […]
On May 26, Alipay, which is an Ant Group digital payments company, introduced two solutions at its AI Payment Ecosystem Conference in Hangzhou: AI Wallet and Token Pay.
Alipay has launched a delegated payment feature through its AI Pay product, allowing users to authorize an AI assistant to make purchases on their behalf. The feature is now live on Taobao, Alibaba’s e-commerce platform.
Ant International announced the launch of the Agentic Mobile Protocol (AMP), an open-source framework designed to enable AI-driven payments across mobile services, including digital wallets, banking apps, and super apps.
AI payment processing product from Alipay is part of the firm’s AI Pay offering. It enables businesses of all sizes, including One Person Companies (OPCs) that account for 30% of all enterprises in the Chinese mainland, to receive agentic payments seamlessly when autonomous AI agents, including OpenClaw-type agents, purchase their services or products.
Chinese automotive OS company Banma Intelligence and Alipay have jointly launched an in-car payments system that lets drivers buy tickets, book hotels, and order food using voice commands without needing their smartphones.
Alipay has launched a new AI Pay service that lets AI agents make purchases and complete payments based on user instructions.
In 2025, Ray-Ban Meta became the best-selling smart glasses globally. The first quarter of 2026 continues the Meta glasses hype, with new models revealed, and international expansion on hold due to “unprecedented demand” and limited inventory.
The global payments landscape continues to evolve rapidly, with new launches and updates from Xero, Checkout.com, Paysend and more highlighting a clear shift toward merchant empowerment, regional sovereignty, and cross-border infrastructure upgrades.
China’s fast-evolving digital ecosystem is entering a new phase of “agentic commerce,” where artificial intelligence doesn’t just recommend actions but completes them. A key example is the integration of Alibaba’s AI assistant, the Qwen App, with the country’s dominant payments platform, Alipay, enabling users to book services like rides and pay seamlessly within a single […]
AI in healthcare is entering a new phase as QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, and NVIDIA introduce a digital human avatar (DHA) designed to support frontline healthcare workers. The launch reflects a broader shift toward AI-driven healthcare systems, as hospitals and providers increasingly adopt advanced technologies to improve efficiency and patient care, with Ant Group AQ […]
As AI adoption gained momentum during the 2026 Chinese New Year, Ant Group announced that both Alipay AI Pay and its AI health app AQ have each surpassed the 100 million user milestone.
Alipay has just announced that its AI Pay payment solution, enabling secure and seamless transactions between AI agents, exceeded 120 million transactions in the past week, as agentic commerce volume surges in China.
Alipay has launched the Agentic Commerce Trust Protocol in collaboration with several partners, including Alibaba’s own consumer-facing AI application Qwen App, Taobao Instant Commerce, Rokid, Damai, and Alibaba Cloud’s Bailian platform.
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