Latest news with #Zhixiaobao
Business Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Jack Ma-backed Ant's profit fell 31% on AI, new business costs
[BEIJING] Ant Group's quarterly profit fell 31 per cent as the firm invested in artificial intelligence and other initiatives to bolster revenue growth. The Hangzhou-based online finance firm contributed 1.76 billion yuan (S$317.5 million) of profit to Alibaba Group Holding. Considering Alibaba's one-third stake in Ant, that translates to an estimated 5.3 billion yuan in profit for the three months ended Dec 31, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Alibaba's earnings report. That follows a more than 50-fold surge in the previous quarter that was helped by investment gains. Ant's earnings lag a quarter behind Alibaba's. Ant declined to comment in an emailed statement. Ant is seeking a turnaround by investing in initiatives including AI and building its own large language models. Sentiment for China's tech sector is improving, following a US tariff truce this week and President Xi Jinping's meeting with private entrepreneurs including co-founder Jack Ma in February. The Chinese billionaire has been trying to motivate staff with visits, even though Ma no longer holds any management positions at Alibaba and Ant. In the latest breakthrough, Ant developed techniques for training AI models using Chinese-made semiconductors, which could cut costs by 20 per cent. The company used domestic chips, including from Alibaba and Huawei Technologies, to train models using the Mixture of Experts machine learning approach, achieving results similar to those from Nvidia chips. The company also set up a unit last year to focus on humanoid robot development. Ant has been applying its AI tech on its own financial services. The company rolled out a 'life assistant' app called Zhixiaobao, which helps people order meals, hail taxis and access other functions within its mobile payments app Alipay. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Its other new initiative Alipay Tap!, a streamlined payment process for restaurants and stores, attracted 100 million users within 11 months. Last year, Ant enacted broad overhauls to its business, setting up independent boards for the international, database and digital technology units to pave the way for future spinoffs. The company would explore going public in Hong Kong first instead of a dual Shanghai-Hong Kong listing like it tried before it was aborted in 2020, people familiar said in 2023. Ant has also been expanding its overseas operations to offset slowing growth at home. To fund such efforts, Ant raised US$6.5 billion in loans to refinance an offshore credit line of the same size, Bloomberg News reported in September. Ant International operates four core businesses. Its Alipay+ connects 1.7 billion user accounts across 36 digital wallets; Antom offers payment solutions for merchants; WorldFirst enables cross-border trade payment, and Embedded Finance has an AI-powered digital lending service and helps clients with treasury and foreign exchange management. Ant proposed buying back as much as 7.6 per cent of its shares in 2023. Under the repurchase plan, the company's valuation was trimmed to about US$79 billion – well off its peak of US$280 billion before regulators scrapped its planned initial public offering in 2020. The company was waiting for a financial holding company licence, which would help revive an IPO. BLOOMBERG
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ant Group's Profit Rises With Jack Ma Back in the Public Eye
(Bloomberg) -- Ant Group Co.'s quarterly profit surged more than 50-fold after it benefited from an investment gain, a major boon for the Chinese fintech giant founded by Jack Ma. Trump to Halt NY Congestion Pricing by Terminating Approval Sorry, Kids: Disney's New York Headquarters Is for Grown-Ups Airbnb Billionaire Offers Pre-Fab Homes for LA Fire Victims Child Migrant Watchdog Gutted in DOGE Cuts Chicago Council Delays $830 Million Bond Vote Amid Scrutiny The Hangzhou-based online finance firm contributed nearly 4.49 billion yuan ($618 million) of profit to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Considering Alibaba's one-third stake in Ant, that translates to an estimated 13.6 billion yuan in profit for the three months ended Sept. 30, according to Bloomberg calculations based on Alibaba's earnings report. Ant's earnings lag a quarter behind Alibaba's. The fintech company attributed the sizeable profit to a net investment gain, versus a loss from such activity the previous year. The results compared with a 193% jump in profit for the second quarter. Ant declined to comment in an emailed statement. Alibaba posted its fastest pace of revenue growth in more than a year in the December quarter, reflecting a turnaround in its commerce business and big strides into the critical field of AI. Sentiment for China's tech sector is improving, after President Xi Jinping met with prominent entrepreneurs including Ant and Alibaba co-founder Ma this week to signal Beijing's endorsement of the private sector. The Chinese billionaire has been trying to motivate staff with visits, even though Ma no longer holds any management positions at Alibaba and Ant. In December, Ma made a rare appearance at Ant's 20th anniversary celebration, discussing the company's future and opportunities brought by artificial intelligence. He acknowledged the challenges that Ant faces, adding that the company has matured and benefited from criticism. Ant has made inroads in some areas of AI. The company set up a unit last year to focus on humanoid robot development, an Ant spokesperson said. The company rolled out a package of services including a 'life assistant' app called Zhixiaobao, which helps people order meals, hail taxis and access other functions within its mobile payments app Alipay. Last year, Ant enacted broad overhauls to its business, setting up independent boards for the international, database and digital technology units to pave the way for future spinoffs. The moves came after Ma gave up control of Ant in 2023. China wrapped up its crackdown on the once high-flying internet sector by slapping more than $1 billion in fines on Ant and Tencent Holdings Ltd. in July 2023. The company has also been expanding its overseas operations to offset slowing growth at home. To fund such efforts, Ant raised $6.5 billion in loans to refinance an offshore credit line of the same size, Bloomberg News reported in September. Ant proposed buying back as much as 7.6% of its shares in 2023. Under the repurchase plan, the company's valuation was trimmed to about $79 billion — well off its peak of $280 billion before regulators scrapped its planned initial public offering in 2020. The company was waiting for a financial holding company license, which would help revive the IPO. --With assistance from Peter Elstrom. Japan Perfected 7-Eleven. Why Can't the US Get It Right? How Med Spas Conquered America Before DeepSeek Blew Up, Chatbot Arena Announced Its Arrival Elon Musk's DOGE Is a Force Americans Can't Afford to Ignore The Startup That Stepped In When the Baby Formula Supply Chain Broke ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
