Kling AI, Kuaishou’s AI video generation business, raised nearly $3 billion in external funding on July 2, with its post-money valuation expected to reach $18 billion. The financing will support Kling AI’s transition to independent commercial operations.
The round was co-led by CPE, Guofang Venture Capital, BlueFive, Tencent, CITIC Securities and Zhongguancun Science City Fund together with CAS Investment. Alibaba Cloud, Baidu and Huace Film & TV also participated alongside dozens of other investors.
Lighthouse Capital served as exclusive financial adviser and also invested through its Lighthouse Founders’ Fund (L2F). The Chinese financial advisory firm said its relationship with Kuaishou dates back 12 years, when it advised the short-video company on early-stage fundraising. [TechNode reporting]