Ant International signs Citi, HSBC, Barclays for new forex AI tool

Ant International on Thursday rolled out an upgraded artificial intelligence model designed to forecast foreign exchange risk, partnering with six major global banks as financial institutions race to embed specialized AI into their core operations.

The Singapore-based fintech firm launched its Falcon Time-Series Transformer Model 2.0, signing up Citi Citigroup Inc. ↗ 1.53%, HSBC ↗ 1.78%, Deutsche Bank ↗ 0.69%, Standard Chartered, and Barclays ↗ 1.28% to integrate the tool into their FX and liquidity operations, according to Kelvin Li, Ant International's general manager of platform tech.theedgemarkets+1

"Precise forecasting can slash foreign exchange hedging and allocation costs by over 60%," Li said, adding that the model specializes in financial scenarios and has an edge over general-purpose large models, which have "yet to achieve a universal breakthrough in the financial sector."globalbankingandfinance+1

How the Model Works

FalconTST 2.0 is built for time-series forecasting, analyzing sequences of numerical data over time to predict cash flows, liquidity needs, and currency exposure. Ant International said current deployments have consistently delivered forecast accuracy above 93%. On a global public benchmark for time-series foundation models, the model recorded a Mean Absolute Scaled Error score of 0.666, placing it at the top of the leaderboard ahead of rival models from large technology groups.ecommercenews+1

Barclays has integrated the model into its BARX NetFX platform, while Citi combines it with its Fixed FX Rates offering. Standard Chartered uses the model alongside its SCALE FX system as part of the PathFin.ai programme run by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.ecommercenews

Broader Ambitions

The launch follows Ant International's $1.2 billion equity fundraising round in July 2026 as the Jack Ma-founded firm seeks to expand beyond Asia. Beyond banking, the company said the model could also be applied to e-commerce demand forecasting and aviation operational planning.asiabusinessoutlook+3

"FalconTST is about another capability that businesses increasingly need: understanding how the world changes over time, and anticipating what comes next," said Jiang-Ming Yang, Ant International's chief innovation officer.ecommercenews