Ant International, the overseas division of Ant Group, is reportedly aiming to raise $1 billion in a new funding round that could push its valuation to at least $10 billion. The Singapore-based fintech firm has maintained profitability for eight quarters in a row and is expanding its cross-border payment operations.
According to reports, the company has initiated early talks with potential investors, including existing backers like General Atlantic and Silver Lake, to secure capital for international growth. This move comes as Ant International continues to gain momentum outside China, with an estimated $3.7 billion in revenue for 2025, representing a 25% increase year-over-year. Although the unit accounts for about 10% of Ant Group’s total revenue, its growth rate outpaces many domestic segments.
Operating independently with its own board in Singapore, Ant International has become a key driver of Ant Group’s global strategy. A successful fundraising could also pave the way for a separate public listing in Hong Kong, following the governance restructuring that split the international arm from the parent company’s core operations.
Central to Ant International’s expansion is Alipay+, a payment network linking digital wallets and payment systems across over 100 markets. It connects more than 150 million merchants with over 2 billion consumers, enabling seamless payments using existing wallets while merchants receive funds locally.
Beyond consumer payments, Ant International offers Antom for merchant acquiring, WorldFirst for cross-border trade finance, and Bettr for AI-powered lending and currency management. Underlying these services is Whale, the company’s blockchain platform, which processed over $1 trillion in transactions in 2024, with roughly one-third via blockchain rails.
Recent partnerships have expanded Whale’s role in enterprise treasury. For instance, Standard Chartered and Ant International completed SGD-denominated liquidity transfers on Whale, following earlier Hong Kong dollar trials. Both firms are part of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Ensemble Sandbox for tokenization.
Ant International also integrated Circle’s USDC stablecoin into its cross-border payment infrastructure, enabling blockchain-based settlements. The company has confirmed plans to seek stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Luxembourg, starting with an application under Hong Kong’s new stablecoin regime.
Ant Group chairman Eric Jing highlighted at the Singapore FinTech Festival that AI and tokenized settlement systems could enhance financial accessibility, reflecting the technology driving Ant International’s growth.