AI video model sector sees ~30B CNY funding in three months; Kling AI's ~$3B raise sets global record

Core Events

According to an August 7 report by the Economic Information Daily, capital interest in the AI video large model sector continues to rise. In the past three months, leading companies have densely completed large funding rounds:

• Kling AI: Secured nearly $3 billion in financing, with a post-money valuation expected to reach $18 billion, setting a record for the largest funding round for a global video large model company. Co-led by CPE Yuanfeng, Guofang Venture Capital, BlueFive, Tencent, Zhongguancun Science City Fund, and CITIC Securities, with participation from industrial capital such as Alibaba Cloud and Baidu.
• Shengshu Technology: Completed a $500 million Series B round, led by Alibaba Cloud, followed by national-level funds and multiple industrial investors.
• Aishi Technology (PixVerse): Completed a Series C round, accumulating 2.98 billion RMB, with the C+ round led by Alibaba.
• Yanyu Technology: Completed a nearly $300 million B+ round, with a post-money valuation exceeding $2 billion.

The new financing for these four companies totals close to 30 billion RMB.

Internet Giants Are Both Investors and Competitors

Tencent, Alibaba Cloud, and Baidu rarely appear together investing in Kling; Alibaba also led Shengshu Technology's Series B and Aishi Technology's C+ rounds. Meanwhile, each company is accelerating the iteration of their proprietary models: ByteDance Seedance 2.5, Alibaba Wan 2.7-Video, and Tencent Hunyuan Video 1.5.

Commercialization Validation Accelerating

Operational data for Kling AI shows: By June 2026, global users surpassed 100 million (a 67% increase from the end of 2025), covering 224 countries and regions. Q1 revenue exceeded 650 million RMB, up more than 300% year-over-year; ARR approached $500 million in March 2026, quadrupling compared to last year.

Production costs for AI short dramas have been compressed from traditional live-action filming costs of 300,000–500,000 RMB down to 30,000–50,000 RMB, reaching commercial-grade quality. Kunlun Tech's short drama and AI short drama platform achieved monthly gross transaction value (GMV) exceeding $48 million USD, with ARR breaking through $700 million USD.

Industry Outlook

Zheng Xuanle, CEO of Light Source Capital, stated that this wave of financing signals a shift in market pricing logic from "concept-driven" to "commercialization-based substantive pricing." The industry has crossed the technology validation phase and entered a critical inflection point for industrial implementation. A research report by CITIC Securities predicts that the final landscape may present an oligopolistic competition featuring "3 to 4 distinct top-tier players coexisting."

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Source: Xinhua Net / Economic Information Daily (2026-08-07)