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Ben Jiang

Wency Chen

Kuaishou-backed Kling AI is close to completing a US$3 billion fundraising round that would value the company at US$18 billion post-investment, according to people familiar with the matter, as competition intensifies in China’s artificial intelligence video generation sector.
The latest valuation was narrowed from an initial target of US$20 billion set in April, when Chinese short-video giant Kuaishou first planned to spin off Kling AI, according to a source, reflecting the shifting market sentiment for Kling AI.
Investors backing this round include Chinese video gaming and social media giant Tencent, another source said.
The Beijing-based Kuaishou Technology, which competes against TikTok’s Chinese sibling, Douyin, in the Chinese market, disclosed in a May 12 filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange that it was “assessing a proposal to restructure” Kling AI that could involve raising funds from external investors.
Kuaishou also expects to start Kling AI’s Hong Kong stock exchange listing process in the next 12 months, according to a source close to the deal, with fundraising from the initial public offering going towards the buildout of computing and data centres and the acquisition and retention of talent.
Kuaishou’s Hong Kong-listed share closed up 1.46 per cent at HK$41.60 (US$5.30) on Wednesday.
Kuaishou, Kling AI and Tencent did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Wednesday.


Kuaishou’s spin-off of Kling AI for external financing comes as the video-generation platform has seen its growth momentum increase as the global AI-video-sector rivalry deepens.
In May, Kuaishou said during its quarterly earnings call that Kling AI’s annualised revenue run rate (ARR) – a financial metric used to estimate a company’s future annual revenue – reached US$500 million in March, five times the level of a year prior, underscoring its steady growth.
It gained 650 million yuan (US$96 million) in revenue in the first quarter – a year-on-year increase of 300 per cent, management said.
Kling AI is competing against rivals including crosstown rival ByteDance’s Seedance video platforms, and US competitors such as Runway, in a global video-content-creation market, which is estimated at US$140 billion with 10 per cent annual growth expected over the next three years, with AI playing an increasing role in the sector.
Kling AI released its latest 3.0 model series in February, which the company said would give creators “greater narrative control and stronger consistency in AI video generation”.
Around three-quarters of Kling AI’s revenue came from overseas markets, Kuaishou said earlier. As of last month, the company said Kling AI had surpassed 100 million global users.


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The Kuaishou Technology spin-off aims to start Hong Kong listing process within a year, as annual recurring revenue soars following latest AI video model release


The Kuaishou Technology spin-off aims to start Hong Kong listing process within a year, as annual recurring revenue soars following latest AI video model release.


.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Kuaishou Technology spin-off aims to start Hong Kong listing process within a year, as annual recurring revenue soars following latest AI video model release

The Kuaishou Technology spin-off aims to start Hong Kong listing process within a year, as annual recurring revenue soars following latest AI video model release