DIGITAL HEALTHCARE
In China, Alibaba is a nearubiquitous presence across the digital consumer economy. Every year, around US $ 1.2tn worth of goods are estimated to be sold through the ecommerce giant ' s Taobao and Tmall platforms – equivalent to roughly 2 – 3 % of China ' s annual GDP passing through Alibaba ' s marketplaces.
This vast reach now extends beyond online retail, with Alibaba and its affiliate companies expanding into sectors including cloud computing, logistics, digital entertainment and, increasingly, healthcare.
Among the companies within Alibaba ' s wider ecosystem is Ant Group, best known as the operator of Alipay, which has diversified from digital payments into AI-powered healthcare services. Through its growing healthcare portfolio, including a medical platform, AI assistants and hospital partnerships, the company is becoming an increasingly important player in China ' s digital health ecosystem – and its sector exposure is only set to rise.
A pivotal launch Ant Group’ s healthcare focus accelerated in June 2025 with the official launch of the mobile app AQ, an AI healthcare manager designed to provide services such as health consultations, medical report interpretation and personalised health advice.
Ant Group’ s myriad digital platforms, such as Alipay, possess around 1.3 billion registered users worldwide. AQ quickly gained strong uptake with more than 100 million users registered by February
2026, making it one of the world ' s largest AI-native health apps by user base.
The app connects users to digital services from more than 5,000 hospitals and nearly one million doctors across China, as well as 300 AI Doctor Agents reportedly co-developed with physicians and leading hospital departments.
Speaking at the time of the app’ s launch, Cyril Han, CEO of Ant Group, explains:“ Ant Group hopes that through AQ, it can provide everyone with a trusted healthcare manager, advancing inclusive healthcare and bringing every Chinese citizen one step closer to a healthier life.”
China’ s medical challenges Ant Group’ s increased healthcare focus comes amid China’ s myriad health challenges, which are only set to intensify in the years ahead.
According to projections from China’ s National Health Commission, over 400 million people, or more than 30 % of China’ s population, will be aged 60 or older by 2035. Around 75 % of Chinese adults aged 60 and over also live with at least one non-communicable disease, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension.
Alongside this heavy burden of disease and elderly demographics, China continues to face uneven access to care, with high-quality medical professionals concentrated in major cities, leaving rural areas and smaller urban areas struggling to recruit specialist clinicians.
Illustrating this, approximately 60 % of AQ users live in“ third-tier cities and below” – smaller, less economically
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