International Capital Reassesses Ant: Past Critical Adjustment Period, Business Back on Growth Track

Baillie Gifford, a globally renowned asset management firm, recently stated in an interview that Ant Group has re-entered a growth cycle and holds “irreplaceable high-value assets.” Partner Tom Slater said that Ant Group has passed the regulatory adjustment phase and has regained clear operational licenses, with its business steadily recovering and growing.

Tom mentioned that Ant is one of Baillie Gifford’s long-term holdings in private companies. The company started as a payment platform within the Alibaba ecosystem and has since expanded to include money market funds, wealth management, and broader financial services. In recent years, Ant experienced a difficult adjustment process, reshaping its business model and slowing growth. “But the good news is that it has now basically moved past this phase. Not only has it obtained relatively clear operational licenses, but its business is also beginning to grow again.”

Although Ant’s business model has changed significantly since 2018, Baillie Gifford remains optimistic about its long-term value. Tom said, “Ant is a very important part of China’s financial services ecosystem, holding a large amount of high-value, irreplaceable assets. We still believe it can continue to create value for us in the future.”

In the interview, Baillie Gifford not only discussed Ant’s business recovery but also emphasized the importance of the payments industry itself in the AI era. Using Shopify as an example, Tom explained that the payment system is the true business foundation that creates value.

He explained that although Shopify provides an operating system for retailers, its profits mainly come from payment services. With vast transaction data and settlement systems, Shopify can maintain a strong position even in a future where AI reshapes shopping experiences. “Imagine if AI becomes an important shopping gateway in the future, and people start completing purchases through AI interfaces—what then? Consumers still need to pay, and they still need a payment system,” Tom pointed out. The mechanism that truly creates value will not be disrupted by changes in interaction forms.

This logic also applies to Ant Group. As AI technology continues to deepen into business scenarios, the importance of the payment system as a foundational element of commerce becomes increasingly evident. During this year’s Spring Festival, Ant’s AI payment business saw a full-scale breakout, with Alipay’s “AI Pay” becoming the world’s first AI-native payment product to surpass 100 million transactions and users.

In recent years, Ant Group has focused on strategic transformation, centering around the two major strategies of “Having Money to Spend” and “Having the Means to Spend,” continuously exploring AI payments, AI wealth management, AI health, and other fields. New businesses are becoming key growth drivers. During the Spring Festival, the AI health management app “Ant Afu” surpassed 100 million users. In the first Spring Festival with large-scale AI application, Ant distinguished itself in the AI battle during the holiday season through its performance in payments and health sectors.

As a leading institution in global growth investing, Baillie Gifford is known for capturing “super growth stocks.” Its investment portfolio has been deeply involved in early-stage growth of companies like Tesla, Amazon, Nvidia, TSMC, and Alibaba. Recently, it added holdings in Xiaohongshu and MiniMax. As early as 2018, Baillie Gifford participated in Ant Group’s Series C funding and became a significant long-term shareholder.