SINGAPORE & SHANGHAI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 20, 2026--
Ant International, a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider, today announced the successful closing of its Series A equity financing of approximately US$1.2 billion. Existing investors including Ant Group and Alibaba Group participated in this round, as well as other renowned international investment institutions.
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The proceeds will be used to accelerate Ant International’s global expansion and innovation in merchant payment, account management and other inclusive financial services for SMEs and enterprises across the world.
Ant International began independent operation in 2024. With main operations across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, the company has built an expansive partnership network with banks, card organizations, mobile payment leaders and tech enterprises, connecting over 150 million global merchants with more than 2 billion user accounts. Through its four main business pillars: Alipay+, Antom, WorldFirst and Bettr, the company has focused on enhancing global payment interoperability and cross-border commerce with AI-powered merchant payment, treasury and credit tech solutions.
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Ant International is a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider. Through collaboration across the private and public sectors, our unified techfin platform supports financial institutions and merchants of all sizes to achieve inclusive growth through a comprehensive range of cutting-edge digital payment and financial services solutions. To learn more, please visit https://www.ant-intl.com/
Ant International today announced the successful closing of its Series A equity financing of approximately US$1.2 billion.
NEW DELHI (AP) — Supporters of India’s youth-led Cockroach movement said Tuesday they will continue their protest in New Delhi, refusing to leave their sit-in site a day after police used tear gas and batons to disperse thousands of them as they tried to march toward Parliament.
Hundreds of protesters camped at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, under heavy police presence, saying they would stay until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigns over alleged failures in India’s examination system.
“We are going to continue our protest,” said Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, which emerged just two months ago.
The movement, drawing students, professionals and families, marks a rare public challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s government in its third term, reviving criticism over its handling of dissent and its use of force to respond to protests.
Also Tuesday, opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and dozens of his Congress party lawmakers staged a sit-in protest outside Modi’s residence, marking a dramatic escalation. Several were seen fastening zip ties around their wrists.
They are there to “demand answers from him for the brutalities against young students yesterday,” Gandhi wrote on X. He urged ”every patriotic Indian who believes that our students should get justice" to join the sit-in.
The Cockroach movement began as a satirical protest but quickly evolved into a nationwide, youth-led movement focused on exam leaks, unemployment and government accountability.
It gained momentum over the weekend after prominent activist Sonam Wangchuk, whose three-week hunger strike has become a symbol of the protests, was forcibly taken to a hospital by police.
Video of police beating protesters and dragging them away spread on social media, fueling public outrage. Footage showed young protesters crying and pleading with officers not to hit them, while others stood their ground and endured blows.
Delhi Police said nearly 180 people were injured, including 118 security personnel and 60 protesters.
Sona Bisht, a 20-year-old student who was part of the protest, said the confrontation strengthened her resolve.
“If the government thinks that doing this with Gen Z, they can stop us, then that won’t happen. We are here talking about education, talking about securing our future. And till the time our demands are not met, we will not move from here,” she said.
After nearly a month of silence, the government made its first apparent move to engage with the protesters Monday, when a senior minister held talks with movement representatives. The outreach failed to ease tensions.
Movement leaders said they wanted action rather than assurances, including Pradhan’s resignation, examination reforms and compensation for families of students who died by suicide after alleged exam irregularities.
Dipke accused authorities of breaking their word, saying police resorted to a baton charge after protesters were invited for talks.
Rights group Amnesty International said in a statement late Monday that the police action showed “how peaceful dissent is being suppressed in India," noting that the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is recognized under the Indian constitution.
More people have joined the movement after seeing the confrontation.
Rabina Kashyap, a 26-year-old working professional, said she joined the protest on Tuesday.
“I have nothing to do with this protest," she said. “But this is India, this is my country, and these are my people. So I will stand by them.”
Associated Press video journalist Piyush Nagpal contributed to this report.
India's opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, center, with his hands tied, participates in a sit-in protest with his sister and lawmaker Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, center right, outside the residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Shekhar Yadav)
Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party scuffle with police as they attempt to march toward India's Parliament, demanding the resignation of the education minister, in New Delhi, Monday, July 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)
Security officers stand guard at the camping site of the Cockroach Janta Party at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Shekhar Yadav)
Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, sits by a portrait of hunger-striking activist Sonam Wangchuk during a protest in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Shekhar Yadav)
A supporter of the Cockroach Janta Party holds posters of Bhagat Singh, an Indian revolutionary freedom fighter, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Shekhar Yadav)
Supporters gather at the camping site of the Cockroach Janta Party at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Shekhar Yadav)
