Q&A interview with Zhang Junjie, Vice President of Ant Group and Head of Healthcare Business

Hangzhou-based fintech giant Ant Group—an Alibaba affiliate and owner of Alipay—is deepening its push into healthcare through its AQ app, which now has 100 million users, and a new collaboration with Peking University Third Hospital.

Zhang Junjie, Vice President of Ant Group and Head of its Healthcare Business, offers further insight into the company’s activities and ambitions.

You have a partnership with Peking University Third Hospital to create an AI Healthcare Joint Initiative. How does this collaboration fit into your broader partnership strategy?

ZJ: Our partnership with Peking University Third Hospital is a key step toward building professional, trusted AI solutions in healthcare. Through the establishment of the AI Healthcare Joint Lab, we are exploring new applications—such as AI agents that streamline in-hospital processes and AI-assisted diagnostic tools that enhance doctors’ efficiency.

For more than 10 years, Ant Group has been actively exploring the digital and intelligent transformation of the healthcare industry. Since launching China’s first online hospital appointment booking service in 2014, our Alipay platform has been supporting hospitals and other healthcare providers in building digital services.

In 2023, with the rise of AI, we began developing AI-driven healthcare solutions to address China’s growing healthcare needs amid demographic shifts and urbanisation. That same year, we launched Angel, our first AI assistant for hospital services, in partnership with Zhejiang Province’s medical authorities. In July 2024, we introduced our Healthcare Large Model — a powerful AI system that has achieved strong results in both Chinese and global healthcare benchmarks.

A major milestone came in June 2025, when, after a nine-month public test that began in September 2024, we officially launched AQ, our AI healthcare app. By July 2025, AQ had already attracted over 100 million users.

The AQ team is working closely with doctors and medical institutions. Today, AQ provides more than 100 AI-powered services that help users manage their daily healthcare needs, delivering a seamless, AI-driven healthcare experience:

Collaborating with doctors: We collaborated with leading physicians to create AI Doctor Agents that help answer common health questions prior to diagnosis. We also provide AI tools to support the 300,000 doctors on our Haodf.com online consultation platform, helping them explain conditions, assist with diagnoses, and manage patient records more efficiently.

Collaborating with medical institutions: Ant Group has been supporting medical institutions to develop and implement secure, efficient AI solutions that optimise daily operations and enhance patient services. AQ connects users directly to the digital services of these hospitals, pharmacies, and public health departments — all in one app — eliminating the need to switch between multiple platforms.

AQ now offers more than 100 AI-powered services and over 300 AI Doctor Agents. How do you ensure their recommendations are accurate and reliable?

ZJ: In the age of AI, Ant Group is actively exploring how to leverage AI innovations to improve people’s daily lives, including in healthcare. We developed the Healthcare Large Model behind AQ, built on over a decade of healthcare expertise from Alipay. It has consistently ranked first in HealthBench and MedBench evaluations.

Now, AQ serves as an AI assistant for patients and doctors in their whole medical treatment journey, answering questions and giving suggestions, without diagnosing or prescribing.

We are working closely with doctors to continuously improve the quality and reliability of AQ’s suggestions. In the meantime, all medical decisions still need to be made by qualified doctors. AI’s role is to reduce doctors’ workload, not replace their judgment.

You recently launched a misinformation prevention campaign for seniors in China. How do you balance technological innovation with accessibility for all demographics?

ZJ: The AQ app is designed with accessibility in mind, making it easier for people of all ages—especially seniors—to use. In addition to text-based interaction, it offers a one-click, AI-enabled voice call feature, which is particularly user-friendly for the elderly.

Beyond product design, we are also committed to education and support. Ant Group plans to organise thousands of in-person education sessions nationwide to help seniors learn how to use digital healthcare tools confidently, while also equipping them to recognise and avoid medical misinformation.

You’ve announced plans to release AQ in other languages. Which languages and markets are you prioritising?

ZJ: Powered by our Healthcare Large Model, AQ can already provide healthcare suggestions in multiple languages, such as Chinese and English. Many expats in China are already using the app for medical consultations.

Currently, AQ’s primary focus is on the Chinese market. To better serve non-Chinese-speaking users, we are considering introducing a multilingual interface in future updates.

With such large-scale access to healthcare data, what safeguards do you have in place to protect user privacy and security?

ZJ: At Ant Group, all data-related work strictly complies with the regulatory requirements of the markets in which we operate.

Meanwhile, we are actively exploring innovative technologies to further protect user privacy. For example, our Healthcare Large Model, the core engine behind our AI healthcare solutions, leverages Ant Group’s privacy-preserving computation framework during its training. This safeguards data privacy and ensures traceability, enabling secure and trusted collaboration between hospitals and other stakeholders.

Are you planning to expand your AI healthcare solutions and partnerships beyond China? Looking further ahead, what is your long-term vision for AI in healthcare, and what role do you see Ant Group playing globally?

ZJ: While our priority remains the China market, we do not rule out the possibility of future overseas partnerships and product launches to bring the benefits of AQ to more people.

Through AQ and our broader AI healthcare offerings, we aim to provide everyone with a trusted digital and intelligent healthcare manager, advancing inclusive healthcare and bringing everyone a step closer to a healthier life.

As more countries face the issue of an older generation, we also look forward to seeing AI technologies like AQ bring more inclusive services that make daily life easier, especially for the underserved.