Ant International raises US$1.2 billion in global expansion push

[HONG KONG] Ant International, the global arm of the Jack Ma-backed fintech company, has raised US$1.2 billion to bolster its expansion in cross-border payments and artificial intelligence-enabled commerce. 

The firm completed its Series A financing, the company said in a statement on Tuesday (Jul 21). The proceeds will be used to build Ant International’s operations in merchant payment, account management and other financial services for small businesses, it added. 

Initially catering to Chinese tourists travelling abroad for fintech giant Ant Group, the global arm has since expanded into four main operations. It has been operating more independently since setting up its own board in 2024, paving the way for an eventual listing spinoff. 

For the funding round, Ant International drew capital from Ant Group and affiliate Alibaba Group Holding, as well as other international investors, it said.

Ant International was seeking to raise this round at a valuation of US$10 billion or more from existing shareholders including General Atlantic and Silver Lake, people familiar with the matter said in June.

The fundraising could help Ant International to start preparing for a potential listing of the business in Hong Kong as soon as this year, the people said. 

That would revive a process that stems back to the start of this decade, when Ant Group was preparing for what would have been the world’s biggest initial public offering. However, Chinese regulators put the brakes on that plan, prompting a restructuring that created an independent board for Ant International in 2024.

Ant International’s revenue totalled US$3 billion in 2024, before growing about 25 per cent in 2025, people familiar with the matter have said. 

Among its four main business drivers, Antom helps merchants integrate more than 300 payment methods, accepting payments in more than 100 currencies. WorldFirst enables cross-border trade payment. Bettr has an AI-powered digital lending service, and helps clients with treasury and foreign exchange management. And Alipay+ is a cross-border network that can be used by different wallets.

Ant Group has been investing in new technologies to tap fresh revenue streams, including large language models, humanoid robots and a healthcare app with 140 million users. 

In March, Ant Group won support from Chinese regulators to acquire Hong Kong-based Bright Smart Securities & Commodities Group, as the firm looks to expand its online brokerage services outside of mainland China. 

Research and development spending and regulatory hurdles have impacted the broader business, leaving the group valued at roughly US$79 billion in 2023, a steep drop from the US$280 billion valuation it held during its halted 2020 IPO attempt. BLOOMBERG