The Kuaishou headquarters is pictured in Beijing, China, November 5, 2020.
VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Kuaishou technology Shares rose nearly 7% on Friday before trimming gains after the company reported announced a nearly $2.8 billion capital injection into its artificial intelligence subsidiary, Kling AI, with backing from the tech giant Tencent.
The Beijing-based short video platform announced the funding details in a regulatory filing released after markets closed on Thursday. According to Bloomberg, the company was seeking a valuation of $15 billion through the capital increase reported.
Kuaishou shares rose as much as 6.89% at the market open in Hong Kong on Friday, then gave up gains to trade around 0.75% higher.
Tencent, owner of generative AI platform Hunyuan, a domestic competitor of Kling AI, is investing $200 million in the funding round, which raised a total of 19 billion yuan ($2.79 billion). The deal will dilute Kuaishou’s stake to 68%.
Beyond Tencent, the funding round attracted a broad consortium of backers, including 21 independent investors.
CNBC previously reported to the hype and intense competition surrounding China-based AI video generators, with Kling AI increasingly targeting growth outside its home market
Kling AI acts as a central creator studio that offers AI-driven functions and is expected to reach more than 60 million creators worldwide after launching in June 2024.
Kuaishou is China’s second The most popular short video platform with a reported 700 million monthly active users spending more than 130 minutes per day on its services.
