Kling AI raises nearly $3 billion at $18 billion valuation ahead of Hong Kong IPO

Kuaishou’s video-generation unit Kling AI has reportedly raised nearly $3 billion in a funding round valuing the business at about $18 billion post-money, people familiar with the deal say. The raise comes ahead of a planned Hong Kong spin-off and lands below an initial $20 billion target floated in April 2026.

The round is one of the largest disclosed China AI rounds this year, and it reframes Kling AI from an in-house Kuaishou feature into a standalone company being groomed for public markets. Kuaishou is expected to begin a Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing process for the unit within the next 12 months, with proceeds earmarked for computing and data-center infrastructure and for hiring, according to people briefed on the plans.

The round was backed by a wide group that reportedly includes CPE, Guofang Venture Capital, BlueFive, Tencent, CITIC Securities and a Zhongguancun science-city fund alongside CAS Investment. Alibaba Cloud, Baidu and Huace Film & TV also joined, together with dozens of other investors, in a syndicate that folds several of China’s largest cloud and content players into a single video-generation bet.

The financing is meant to support Kling AI’s move to independent commercial operations. Its revenue exceeded 650 million yuan, about $95.8 million, in the first quarter of 2026, up more than 300 percent year over year, with an annualized revenue run rate reaching roughly $500 million, a fourfold jump inside a year, figures Kuaishou reported with its quarterly earnings.

The valuation and investor list rest on people familiar with the deal rather than a confirmed filing, and Kuaishou has not published a first-party release confirming the round. A Hong Kong listing on the stated timeline would still depend on market conditions and regulatory sign-off.