Author | Chai Xuchen

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

Ma Yun, who hasn't been seen for a long time, brought ants the joy of early winter.

On December 8, Ma Yun stood on the stage of Ant Group's 20th anniversary annual meeting. On this night, he was not celebrating, but rather pointing the direction for Ant's next 20 years.

Over the past four years, with equity changes, executive adjustments, and business integration, Ma Yun and Ali's shadows have gradually faded from Ant. Ants have also been running for rectification during this period, and valuations have also shrunk drastically.

Ants, who have just broken out of their trough, are in desperate need of a symbolic person to cheer up their morale and find a way to grow again. Ma Yun's “comeback” sparked a burst of cheers and made ants see more possibilities for the future.

Ma Yun was impressed at the scene. They were lucky enough to seize the internet 20 years ago and have made everything today. Twenty years from now, he is convinced that AI will set off a dramatic change, and “this will be an even greater era.”

Right now, Ali Tongyi Qianwen and Byte are going to court for “digging corners” and Zhu Xiaohu, a former “Hard Steel” partner of Jinshajiang Venture Capital, has set off a battle over the dark side of the 24 billion month. The crazy attitude of big manufacturers and bosses, regardless of cost, proves that the trend of AI making wealth is unstoppable, and this will also be a new direction for ants to take off.

Last year, after completing the rectification and “going ashore”, Ant set three strategic directions, of which “AI First” was placed first. However, AI is not a “panacea.” Ma Yun believes that artificial intelligence is only a tool and channel. The prerequisite for ants to achieve nirvana is to do something truly valuable and unique before they can use the power of AI to gain momentum.

“What we can do in the future should still be what we have insisted on for the past 20 years, so that technology can bring progress and change to the lives of every ordinary person.” Ma Yun said, “We want AI to empower our feelings, and we also need to let our feelings empower our AI.”

Over the past 20 years, Alipay has eliminated the complicated steps of online shopping and payment, and QR codes have opened the door to mobile payments. Now, with the birth of AI applications such as “Zhi Xiaobao” and “Zhi Xiaosuke,” Ant is trying to tap resources that were once buried deep and bring C-side users to an AI era where problems can be solved by “issuing commands.”

Using this as a sample, Ant is also outputting a grand blueprint to industry partners - as AI continues to infiltrate all aspects of enterprise production and even management, gold mines buried within the enterprise have once again emerged.

While AI is “mining” ants, it is also actively “breaking down walls”, increasing the gold content of connectivity.

Last year, Ant proposed Alipay's “dual flywheel” strategy to parallel the two major businesses of digital payment and digital connectivity to provide merchants with better payment, marketing, and transaction services. Alipay has opened up platform capabilities and traffic, and Meituan, JD, and eBay have reconnected to Alipay.

According to Quest Mobile data, in September, when Taobao announced access to WeChat Pay, the number of newly installed Taobao app users increased 55% year-on-year, reaching the highest value in the past four years. A “reunion” has allowed the industry to see an incremental channel where traffic dividends are at the top.

A similar situation may continue to unfold in cooperation with other major manufacturers, and Ant is also exploring new commercial possibilities by combining it with more scenarios. Beginning in the second half of the year, Alipay vigorously promoted “Touch Me” payments, cooperated with major hardware manufacturers such as Huawei and Xiaomi using an open model, and also tried to promote changes in the payment landscape.

In line with Alibaba Cloud's open and open source concept, as the ecosystem becomes more prosperous, Alipay's value to users will also increase, user stickiness will increase, and ant's moat will get deeper and deeper.

On the other side, ant expansion is also in full swing. According to a document released by Ant in January, its payment network has connected over 88 million merchants to 1.5 billion consumer accounts on more than 25 apps in 57 countries and regions.

Overseas markets are also a new volume for Ant. You need to know that four years ago, this portion accounted for less than 1% of Alipay's payments in China. Consulting firm Forrester also pointed out that global expansion is Ant's top priority this year and the only engine for future profit growth.

Ant, which has entered the “post-Ma Yun era,” has begun to take a quiet turn. Currently, it is actively adjusting its attitude and preparing to use its new identity as a technology company to open up, expand, and transform itself, become a true basic infrastructure for digital technology, and also fight a new story in the capital market.

Four years ago, Ant Group almost achieved the “biggest IPO in history,” and the carnival was later suspended, but it never gave up chasing the capital market.

On December 8, on the day of Ant's 20th anniversary, Chairman Jing Xiandong handed over CEO Shuai's printing to Han Xinyi, the group president who was five years younger. Reusing Han Xinyi, who once had experience in China's “King of Investment Banking”, gave the outside world a new room for imagination about Ant restarting its IPO.

Just 3 months ago, Ant Financial officially changed its name to “Ant Smart Technology” and transformed into an intelligent technology company. There is widespread speculation in the industry that this move may pave the way for a re-listing. Now, with the support of AI, Ant is telling a moving new story focusing on boosting business and valuation.

At the same time, the spring breeze of policy is also quietly blowing. From the “Six Rules of Mergers and Acquisitions” to the “Fourteen Rules of Mergers and Acquisitions in Shenzhen” to the “Nine Rules of the New Country,” Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangdong and other places have recently introduced new mergers, acquisitions and restructuring policies to comprehensively encourage and promote the integrated development of the capital market. This undoubtedly provides an excellent atmosphere for Ant Group to go public behind the scenes.

The birthplace of ants is Taobao, but the end point of ants is not Taobao. After 20 years of development and 3-4 years of ups and downs, Ant finally regained its original intention of open cooperation.

This time, it wants to use AI to get a new starting point and become a “seller” in the era of slight industry growth. Ma Yun's stand may also indicate that the tech finance giant is about to usher in a hearty explosion in the capital market.