Chinese tycoon Jack Ma sees AI-driven future for Ant; Han to become Ant’s CEO in March- report

In a rare public appearance, Alibaba’s (NYSE:BABA) Co-Founder Jack Ma expressed support for Ant Group’s future, seeing significant opportunities in AI for the affiliate fintech company, Reuters reported.

Ma, who also co-founded Ant, was speaking at the 20th anniversary celebration for the group on Sunday where he welcomed the AI technological revolution, the report added citing Chinese media outlet 36kr.

Ant Group did not respond to Seeking Alpha’s request for comment till the time of this report’s publication.

“From today’s perspective, the great changes brought by the AI ​​era in the next 20 years will exceed everyone’s imagination,” said Ma, as per the report.

In addition, Ma said he was grateful for the experiences and challenges Ant had seen over the years. “It is these encouragements and criticisms that help Ant grow and mature,” Ma added, according to the report.

China had halted the group’s planned IPO in 2020, a move which came on the heels of Ma criticizing Chinese regulators in a speech in October 2020. Later, regulators also carried out crackdowns on the Chinese tech sector. Ma then largely receded to the shadows, away from the public eye.

Alibaba holds a 33% stake in Ant, while Ma gave up control of Ant in 2023.

In July 2023, the People’s Bank of China imposed a RMB7.12B fine ($985M) fine on Ant, allegedly in response to violations of several laws and regulations, including those linked to corporate governance, consumer protection and anti-money laundering requirements.

Separately, Ant said on Sunday that Cyril Han, President and financial chief, will take over the role of CEO from Eric Jing from March 1, Reuters reported citing an internal memo.

Han will continue to report to Jing, who will remain as chairman, the report noted.

Ant did not respond to a separate query from Seeking Alpha on the appointment, as of the time of the publication of this report.