Alibaba itself invested $900m and its financial services affiliate Ant Financial $350m, with the companies also agreeing a strategic collaboration.

E-commerce group Alibaba and its financial services affiliate Ant Financial have invested $1.25bn in China-based online food ordering platform Ele.me, they confirmed yesterday.

Alibaba provided $900m of the funding while Ant Financial put up the other $350m. Ele.me’s valuation has not been officially disclosed but a report in December 2015 stated Alibaba was set to pay $1.25bn for a 27.7% stake in the company.

Ele.me runs an online platform used to order food for delivery from local restaurants, operating…