Ant Group spent a record RMB 21.2 billion ($2.9 billion) on research and development last year, according to its 2023 sustainability report posted on Thursday. The figure rose 3.6% from a year earlier and 12.7% compared to 2021. The fintech giant said that spending was largely focused on artificial intelligence technology. Ant opened its Bailing AI foundation model to the public in November. In other key figures, the affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba said it had served more than 87 million small business enterprises by providing digital payment services as of 2023. As part of the company’s overseas expansion effort, Ant Group has cooperated with 25 e-payment platforms, reaching over 1.5 billion accounts at home and abroad to boost cross-border payments. [Ant Group, in Chinese]

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