Kling AI nears $3 billion financing as Kuaishou confirms spin-off plans

Kuaishou said investors have injected 19 billion yuan ($2.79 billion) into its AI video unit Kling AI, confirming a major standalone fundraising tied to plans to spin off and list the business. The company said its stake in Kling would fall to about 68% after the financing. Bloomberg reported the round was targeting a $15 billion valuation, while earlier reporting had cited a potential post-money valuation of $18 billion and a possible raise of more than $3 billion. Tencent invested $200 million in the round, which also included 21 independent investors. Kling AI has said it has more than 60 million users or creators globally, generated more than 600 million videos, exceeded RMB 650 million in first-quarter revenue, recorded about RMB 1.04 billion in revenue last year, and had $500 million in annual recurring revenue as of March, with API services used by more than 30,000 enterprises and developers.