Author | Chai Xuchen

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

The long-absent Jack Ma has brought a festive spirit to ANT GROUP CO., LTD. in early winter.

On December 8, Jack Ma took the stage at ANT GROUP CO., LTD.'s 20th anniversary conference; that night he wasn't celebrating but rather pointing the direction for ANT's next 20 years.

Over the past four years, with changes in equity, adjustments in senior management, and business integration, Jack Ma and Alibaba's presence has gradually faded from ANT. During this period, ANT has been striving for compliance, leading to a significant shrinkage in valuation.

Having just emerged from a low point, ANT urgently needs a symbolic figure to boost morale and regain direction for renewed growth. This reemergence of Jack Ma, who has sparked waves of excitement, allows ANT to see more possibilities for the future.

At the scene, Jack Ma expressed that twenty years ago, they were fortunate to seize the opportunities of the Internet, which led to everything they have today. He firmly believes that twenty years later, AI will bring about a profound change, "This will be an even greater era."

Currently, Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen and ByteDance are in court over the poaching of the large model leader; Zhu Xiaohu from Jinshi Jiang Venture Capital is "hard steel" against former partners, igniting a battle for the dark sides of 24 billion monthly. The reckless attitude of big companies and leaders, regardless of cost, proves that the trend of AI-generated wealth is unstoppable, and this will also be the new direction for ANT GROUP CO., LTD. to take off.

Last year, after completing the rectification and "going ashore," ANT GROUP CO., LTD. set three strategic directions, with "AI First" at the top. However, AI is not a "cure-all"; Jack Ma believes that artificial intelligence is just a tool and a channel. The premise for ANT GROUP CO., LTD. to achieve rebirth is to do truly valuable and unique things, which can leverage the momentum of AI to soar.

"What we can do in the future should still be what we have insisted on for the past twenty years: letting technology bring progress and change to the lives of every ordinary LBX Pharmacy Chain Joint Stock. Jack Ma said, "We must let AI empower our sentiments, and we must also let sentiments empower our AI."

Over the past twenty years, Alipay has eliminated the cumbersome steps of online shopping payments, and QR codes have opened the door to mobile payments. Now, with the emergence of AI applications like "Zhixiaobao" and "Zhixiaozhu," ANT GROUP CO., LTD. attempts to tap into resources that were once deeply buried, ushering C-end users into the AI era where problems can be solved just by "issuing commands."

ANT GROUP CO., LTD. also takes this as a sample to present a grand blueprint to industry partners -- as AI continues to infiltrate every aspect of enterprise production and management, the hidden gold mines within enterprises will resurface.

While AI is "mining" for ANT GROUP CO., LTD., it is also actively "breaking down walls," enhancing the value of interconnectedness.

Last year, ANT GROUP CO., LTD. proposed the Alipay "Double Flywheel" strategy, allowing digital payment and digital connectivity businesses to run in parallel, providing better services for merchants in payment, marketing, and trade. Alipay is opening its platform capabilities and traffic; Meituan, JD.com, and eBay are reconnected to Alipay.

According to Quest Mobile data, in September when Taobao announced the integration of WeChat Pay, the number of new users installed on the Taobao app increased by 55% year-on-year, reaching the highest level in the past four years. A new "collaboration" allows the industry to see an incremental path in the peak of traffic dividends.

Similar situations may continue to unfold in collaborations with other major companies, and ANT GROUP CO., LTD. is also exploring new business possibilities by integrating with more scenarios. Starting in the second half of the year, Alipay has vigorously promoted "tap to pay," collaborating with hardware giants such as Huawei and Xiaomi in an open model, and is also attempting to drive changes in the payment landscape.

Aligned with Alibaba Cloud's open and open-source philosophy, as the ecosystem becomes more prosperous, the value of Alipay to users will also increase, enhancing user stickiness, and ANT GROUP CO., LTD.'s moat will grow deeper.

On the other hand, ANT GROUP CO., LTD.'s external expansion is in full swing. A document released by ANT GROUP CO., LTD. in January shows that its payment network has connected over 88 million merchants to 1.5 billion consumer accounts across more than 25 applications in 57 countries and regions.

The overseas market also represents additional growth for ANT GROUP CO., LTD.; it is important to note that four years ago, this segment accounted for less than 1% of Alipay's payment volume in China. Consulting firm Forrester also pointed out that global expansion is ANT GROUP CO., LTD.'s primary task this year and the only engine for future profit growth.

Entering the "post-Jack Ma era," ANT GROUP CO., LTD. has begun to quietly shift, actively adjusting its posture and preparing to use its new identity as a technology company to open up, expand, and transform itself, becoming a true underlying infrastructure of digital technology, and also aiming to seek a new story in the capital markets.

Four years ago, ANT GROUP CO., LTD. nearly achieved the "largest IPO in history," but the celebration was soon interrupted; however, it never gave up its pursuit of the capital markets.

On December 8, the day of ANT GROUP CO., LTD.'s 20th anniversary, Chairman Jing Xiandong handed over the CEO position to Han Xinyi, who is five years younger. The decision to reuse Han Xinyi, who was trained at China's "king of investment banks" CICC, has opened up new possibilities for the outside world regarding ANT GROUP CO., LTD.'s reinitiation of the IPO.

Just three months ago, ANT GROUP CO., LTD. officially changed its name to "ANT Intelligent Technology" and transformed into an intelligent technology company. The industry generally speculates that this move may pave the way for a relisting. Currently, with the support of AI, ANT is telling an engaging new story about rejuvenating its business and valuation.

At the same time, the winds of policy are quietly rising. From the "six acquisition guidelines" to the "fourteen restructuring guidelines in Shenzhen," and then to the "new national nine guidelines," places like Peking, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangdong have successively introduced new merger and acquisition policies, comprehensively encouraging and promoting the integrated development of Capital Markets, which undoubtedly provides an excellent atmosphere for ANT GROUP CO., LTD. to go public.

The starting point of ANT was Taobao, but the endpoint of ANT is not Taobao. After 20 years of development and three to four years of ups and downs, ANT has finally rediscovered its original intention of open cooperation.

This time, it aims to leverage AI to stand at a new starting point and become the "shoveler" in the era of micro-growth in the industry. Jack Ma's endorsement may also signify that this technology finance giant is about to experience a vigorous outbreak in the Capital Markets.