Kuaishou Technology is in talks with General Atlantic to lead the first external funding round for its AI video-generation unit, Kling AI. According to Bloomberg, the company is seeking to raise more than $2 billion at a post-money valuation of around $18 billion.
If completed, the deal would be a notable investment by a major US firm in a Chinese AI company at a time when technology tensions between the countries remain elevated.
Kling AI has emerged as one of China's leading AI video platforms, allowing users to generate videos and short films from text prompts. The company competes with rivals, including OpenAI and ByteDance, in the rapidly expanding AI content creation market.
Bloomberg reported that Kling AI had initially discussed fundraising at a valuation of about $20 billion before lowering its target to better align with investor demand. Other Asia-focused investment firms have also shown early interest in the round.
The fundraising is expected to serve as a pre-IPO financing round. Kling AI is reportedly planning to file listing documents for a Hong Kong IPO in early 2027. At the proposed valuation, the business would be worth roughly two-thirds of Kuaishou's current market capitalisation.
The platform reportedly serves more than 60 million creators and 30,000 enterprise customers worldwide. Discussions remain ongoing, and the final terms of any deal have yet to be agreed.