Chinese AI video maker Kling raises $2 billion as it gears up for Hong Kong IPO
Quick Answer
Kuaishou's AI video division, Kling, has successfully raised approximately $2 billion in funding as it prepares for an IPO in Hong Kong.
Quick Take
This significant investment positions Kling to enhance its AI capabilities and expand its market presence in the competitive video production landscape.
Key Points
- Kling raised $2 billion to enhance its AI video production capabilities.
- The funding is aimed at preparing for a Hong Kong IPO.
- Kuaishou continues to invest heavily in AI technology.
- This investment positions Kling competitively in the video market.
📖 Reader Mode
~1 min readKuaishou has raised about $2 billion from investors for its AI video division, Kling. The funding round brought in 13.82 billion yuan ($2.04 billion), the Wall Street Journal reported, pushing the unit's valuation to $18 billion.
CPE, Guofang Investment, BlueFive, Tencent, and Citic Securities are leading the round. More investors could still join, which would push the total to as much as $3 billion. Kuaishou's stake in Kling would then fall to 68.33 percent.
Sources familiar with the matter said as early as May that Kuaishou planned to spin off Kling and list it on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Kling is seen as a core part of the business but is still in the early stages of making money.
The move puts Kling in a growing wave of Chinese AI companies lining up for IPOs in Hong Kong. MiniMax and Zhipu AI recently went public, some backed by the same strategic investors like Tencent and Alibaba. In the video market, Kling competes with tools like Google's Veo 3.1, Runway's Gen-4.5, and ByteDance's Seedance. The company recently unveiled its Kling 3.0 video model.
— Originally published at the-decoder.com
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