Morning Report:  Alibaba’s financial technology affiliate Ant Financial is raising $9 billion more in funding.
Ant Financial, the financial technology company which houses the widely used Chinese payment service Alipay, is seeking $9 billion in capital ahead of its anticipated IPO . The round may bring the company’s valuation close to $150 billion, making it the most highly valued unicorn with Uber trailing at a mere $68 billion.
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The company is no stranger to fundraising, picking up a round in April 2016. Further, the company has used its funds to make . For example, Ant Financial invested in and acquired . Most recently, the group attempted a $1.2 billion purchase of Moneygram in January which was Its freshly earned valuation and potential IPO could fund future global payment service acquisitions and give the company a leg up in its competition with Tencent’s WeChat pay .
Where Does Alibaba End And Alipay Begin?
Ant Financial, which was originally a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, due to Chinese government regulations regarding financial transactions, according to Alibaba founder Jack Ma. The spin out , which were later resolved.
Alibaba in February that it rearranged its profit relationship with Ant Financial. Alibaba’s original arrangement involved a 37.5 percent piece of Ant Financial’s pretax profit and 2.5 percent of the value of its outstanding loans yearly . The new deal instead gives Alibaba a 33 percent direct equity stake in the company related to Ant Financial.
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- Mark Zuckerberg faces two days of congressional hearings, beginning today, at which he will be grilled about the company’s ability to protect its users’ privacy in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Well-funded AI startups proliferate
- Following a record-setting fundraising round for China-based AI startup SenseTime, Crunchbase News takes a look at the twenty artificial intelligence companies that have raised the most investment to date.
- Cloud security provider  filed for a $100 million IPO. The Waltham, Mass.-based company, founded back in 2003, previously raised over $190 million in venture funding.
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