Ant embarked on a six-year transformation to build an integrated, AI-powered treasury which included:

• TAIMS – a fully bespoke treasury management system leveraging Alipay technology, including 24×7 multi-bank cash management functionality, end-to-end automation of payments, loans and investment management.

• Treasury 360° – a data portal providing real-time visibility and analysis.

• Caizhi – a mobile treasury app enabling remote operations.

• Tianluo – an AI “co-pilot” for risk management.

• TGL-14 – an AI agent replicating a mid-level treasury professional for queries, reporting, market insights, as well as daily operation assistance.

• Blockchain – for cross-border settlements and stablecoin/crypto handling for select business cases.

• ESG financing – including a US$6.5bn sustainability‑linked syndicated loan.

The transformation began in late 2018. Automation and system connectivity were prioritised through 2020‑2021, especially during COVID-19 when remote access became critical. From 2022 onward, the team accelerated AI integration, and by 2024-2025, the first AI treasury agent (TGL-14) was launched. Concurrently, Ant adopted ESG‑linked financing and prepared for tokenised asset integration.

The project was based in China, primarily Hangzhou and Shanghai, but impacted global treasury operations, including entities in Hong Kong, Singapore and beyond. Domestic challenges (like RMB capital controls and decentralised regulatory compliance) shaped the need for flexible, localised, yet unified solutions.

The core treasury team comprised just 22 employees – remarkably small for the scale of assets managed. Key to success has been highly focused and motivated leadership, an embedded tech team and dedicated data scientists. Partnerships across Alipay, Ant’s digital banks in mainland China, HK, Macau and Singapore, and Alibaba’s broader tech ecosystem enabled deep integration, and regulatory guidance was critical in navigating suspended-IPO regulatory compliance over platform companies.

Rather than relying on third-party vendors, Ant built systems in-house. Treasury became a “trio” – a partnership of business, technology and data. Staff were becoming highly experienced in communicating in a way that both finance and tech would understand, fostering agile development cycles. AI solutions were rolled out incrementally: from chatbots to co-pilots to fully autonomous AI agents. Real-time connectivity with every banking partner, not just tier 1, ensured comprehensive automation. Treasury transformed from a back office function to a strategic enabler, operating with startup agility in a complex enterprise environment.