Ant Group’s 2024 Sustainability Report Highlights AI-Powered Inclusion and Innovation from Its Three Independent Units

In its latest Sustainability Report, Ant Group underscores two decades of commitment to technology-led progress, digital access, and sustainable business models.

Ant Group has released its 2024 Sustainability Report, marking a significant year of transformation driven by artificial intelligence, responsible innovation, and digital inclusion. The report offers an in-depth look at how Ant Group’s sustainability vision now extends across three independent businesses—Ant International, Ant Digital Technologies, and OceanBase—following a major reorganization in 2024.

Celebrating 20 years since the launch of Alipay, the report frames 2024 as a pivotal year of tech-powered social impact, backed by robust R&D investment and a renewed mission to integrate commercial success with public value.

“Technology matters not only when it soars above the stars, but even more when it puts light and warmth across our streets and neighborhoods,” wrote Eric Jing, Chairman of Ant Group, and Cyril Han, CEO, in the opening letter. “At the dawn of the age of AI, we are empowered to do more and better for small businesses and individuals.”

Driving Technological Innovation with Record R&D Investment

Ant Group’s push for innovation is evident in its record R&D spending of RMB 23.45 billion (USD 3.26 billion) in 2024—a 10.7% year-on-year increase and the fourth consecutive year of growth.

Key outcomes include:

130 million users benefiting from AI-powered services in healthcare, finance, and daily life—43% of whom are from lower-tier cities.
24,000+ enterprises adopting Ant’s technologies, such as AI, blockchain, and distributed databases to drive efficiency.
Over 2,000 open-source repositories released to support a growing developer ecosystem.

These numbers reflect a strategic shift toward making cutting-edge digital solutions more widely available—especially to small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and underserved communities.

AI-Powered Digital Inclusion Across Sectors

In healthcare, Ant’s AI-powered tools have enhanced personalization and operational efficiency:

The AI healthcare app “AQ” surpassed 70 million users by June 2025.
An AI medical insurance assistant has cut claim processing time by 80%, improving both insurer operations and user satisfaction.

In digital payments and SME finance, innovation remains at the core:

Ant Group and affiliates have served over 100 million SMEs with solutions that include Alipay Tap!, launched in July 2024—a contactless, QR-based payment tool.
Within its first year, Alipay Tap! attracted 100 million users, with FamilyMart reporting a 40% surge in member orders in the first month of implementation.
Ant’s AI-driven merchant services helped boost transaction volumes of mini-programs by 39% year-on-year in 2024.

Sustainability Progress Across Three Independent Unit

The 2024 report is notable for also highlighting the sustainability contributions of Ant Group’s three newly independent business arms, each aligned with specific impact goals:

1. Ant Digital Technologies

Supporting industrial digitalization and green transformation through blockchain innovation:

AntChain’s trusted on-chain infrastructure now supports 12 million devices in the new energy space, including EVs and solar technology.
In a landmark milestone, GCL Energy Technology Co., using AntChain, issued the first-ever Real World Asset Tokenization (RWA) in China’s photovoltaic sector—securing 200 million yuan in cross-border financing.

2. OceanBase

Aiming to make enterprise-level distributed databases AI-ready and more accessible:

Doubled its client base to 2,000+ organizations (100% YoY growth).
Deployed across finance, telecom, retail, internet, and public sectors, OceanBase’s upgraded offerings now support AI-era data processing needs.

3. Ant International

Empowering global commerce and inclusion:

Alipay+, the travel payments platform, is accepted by over 100 million merchants across 70+ travel destinations, enabling affordable, inclusive payments.
WorldFirst helped 1.2 million SMEs access global markets in 200+ countries through seamless treasury and cross-border account services.
Inclusive finance efforts, through ANEXT Bank and Ant Bank Hong Kong, have extended credit and financial tools to over 15 million users, primarily SMEs in emerging markets.

“Integrating commercial and social value creation isn’t just our choice when we started – it is our guiding North Star,” wrote Sabrina Peng, Chief Sustainability Officer at Ant Group. “Meaningful change grows in daily action, not in words.”

Ant Group’s long-standing approach of “tech for good” is reflected in how AI and sustainability are being woven into its core business and partnerships. Its 2024 Sustainability Report, the latest in a series of annual disclosures since 2017, adheres to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. The English version of the full report will soon be available on Ant Group’s website.

About Ant Group

Ant Group is a global technology company that builds digital platforms and infrastructure to power the transformation of service industries. Its mission is to ensure that every individual and SME can access inclusive, convenient, and sustainable digital services. Learn more at www.antgroup.com or follow @AntGroup on Twitter.