Kling raises $2B to challenge Runway — can a HK IPO fund the war
kuaishou raised $2b for its ai video unit kling at an $18b valuation, signaling fierce competition in the generative video market against us giants.
kuaishou secured $2.04b in funding for kling, its ai video division, led by investors including tencent and citic securities, with the total potentially rising to $3b. the round values kling at $18b and reduces kuaishou's stake to roughly 68% ahead of a planned hong kong stock exchange listing. this capital injection intensifies the competition between chinese and us labs, as kling's new 3.0 model challenges runway's gen-4.5 and google's veo. the funding reflects a broader trend of chinese ai firms, like minimax and zhipu, seeking public listings to secure resources for the escalating ai infrastructure war.