Ant International has closed a Series A equity financing round of approximately USD 1.2 billion, backed by Ant Group and Alibaba Group.
The Singapore- and Shanghai-based company announced the completion of the round on 21 July 2026. Ant International describes itself as a digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider. Existing shareholders Ant Group and Alibaba Group took part in the financing, alongside several other international investment institutions that were not individually named in the announcement. According to the company, proceeds from the round will be directed towards accelerating its global expansion and supporting further development of merchant payment, account management and other financial services aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and larger businesses worldwide.
Independent operations since 2024
Ant International began operating as an independent entity in 2024, following its separation from Ant Group's broader corporate structure. Since then, the company has built out operations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. It has established a partnership network spanning banks, card organisations, mobile payment providers and technology companies. Through this network, Ant International states that it connects more than 150 million merchants globally with over 2 billion user accounts. The company describes its work as spanning both the private and public sectors, supporting financial institutions and merchants of varying sizes across these markets.
Four business pillars
The company organises its activities around four business lines: Alipay+, Antom, WorldFirst and Bettr. According to Ant International, these units collectively support global payment interoperability and cross-border commerce through AI-powered merchant payment, treasury and credit technology solutions. The company has not provided a breakdown of how each of the four business lines contributes individually to this positioning, nor disclosed separate performance figures for each unit.
Investor base and strategic ties
The financing arrives two years after Ant International's separation from Ant Group's broader structure. Ant Group and Alibaba Group's continued participation in this round indicates that strategic ties between Ant International and its former parent structure remain in place, even as the company operates as an independent entity. The company did not disclose the identities of the other international investment institutions that took part in the round, nor the individual size of each investor's contribution.
The company has not disclosed how the USD 1.2 billion in proceeds will be allocated across its four business lines, nor provided a timeline for any subsequent financing rounds. Ant International has also not indicated whether further funding rounds are under consideration following this Series A close.
