Ant Group Co., backed by Jack Ma, has launched a suite of artificial intelligence services as part of its strategy to explore new growth opportunities following a prolonged government crackdown. The fintech giant introduced an AI-powered “life assistant” app named Zhixiaobao at the Inclusion Conference held on the Bund in Shanghai on Thursday. This new app aims to enhance user convenience by integrating functions such as meal ordering, taxi hailing, ticket booking, and other features within Ant’s widely-used mobile payments platform, Alipay, which boasts over 1 billion users.
Ant Group’s push into AI and technology comes in the wake of a dramatic government intervention that halted its initial public offering (IPO) over three years ago—the largest IPO in history—forcing the company to revamp its business model to meet stringent financial regulations. The company, headquartered in Hangzhou, has undergone significant restructuring, but it reported a 10% decline in profits for the quarter ending March 2024. Faced with these regulatory challenges and restricted online lending operations, Ant Group is now banking on technological innovations and AI advancements to revive its growth trajectory.
The success of Ant’s new technology ventures will be crucial in shaping investor sentiment and determining whether the company can be perceived as a technology leader rather than merely a financial entity, especially as the government continues to impose banking-like regulations on it.
In a bid to mitigate the impact of slowing domestic growth, Ant has been expanding its international presence. Earlier this year, the company established independent boards for its international, database, and digital technology units, setting the stage for potential future spinoffs.
Alongside Zhixiaobao, Ant Group unveiled three additional AI-driven platforms on Thursday. These include a service enabling merchants to create bespoke AI customer service agents on Alipay, a real-time customer query support tool for insurance firms, and a healthcare management platform connecting users to doctors and hospital recommendations.
All these AI services are powered by Ant’s proprietary large language model, BaiLing, which received government approval last year. The company will also rebrand its previous financial advisory AI service, initially known as Zhixiaobao, to Maxiaocai. This new service offers visual summaries of corporate financial reports and is accessible through Alipay and the Ant Fortune app, where it has attracted 70 million monthly active users as of August.
Ant Group’s recent moves reflect its ongoing efforts to innovate and adapt in a challenging regulatory environment while striving to maintain its position as a significant player in both technology and finance.
