Ant Financial reportedly raising $9 billion at a $150 billion valuation

• Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial is looking to raise $9 billion in a private funding round, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
• The funding round could value Ant at close to $150 billion, according to the WSJ, citing people familiar with the matter.
• Ant Financial owns one of China's largest payment platforms called Alipay.

Anthony Kwan | Bloomberg | Getty Images

An employee scans a quick response (QR) code displayed on the Ant Financial Services Group's Alipay app, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding.

Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial is looking to raise $9 billion in a private funding round, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. 

Ant Financial owns one of China's largest payment platforms called Alipay.

The funding round could value Ant at close to $150 billion, according to the WSJ, citing people familiar with the matter. This valuation would make Ant Financial the most valuable private tech company in the world, ahead of Uber.

A spokesperson for Ant Financial declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.

The $9 billion funding round ups a previous target of $5 billion. The last time Ant Financial raised money in the form of equity was in 2016, when it secured $4 billion, giving it a valuation of $60 billion, a source told CNBC at the time.

Ant Financial has been expanding aggressively outside of its home market of China into Europe and other parts of Asia. In Europe, Ant has struck deals with major institutions like BNP Paribas to help more merchants accept Alipay, mainly for Chinese visitors abroad.

Part of its expansion has meant investing and acquiring companies. Ant has previously invested in Paytm in India and recently bought helloPay in Singapore. In the U.S., Ant Financial announced it was buying cross-border payment service MoneyGram for $1.2 billion, though the deal eventually fell through.