Kuaishou Technology's shares traded up modestly after an early jump on news of a landmark funding round for its Kling AI subsidiary.
The Beijing-based short-video operator saw its stock climb 0.4% to HK$42.8 on Friday, after an opening surge of nearly 7%. The move followed a regulatory filing issued after Thursday's market close disclosing that Beijing Keling - an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of the company - had signed a capital increase agreement with 21 independent investors and additional parties.
The financing brings in approximately RMB 19 billion, or around $2.8 billion, and is described in the filing as the largest single-round financing on record for a video large-model company worldwide. The transaction values Kling AI at a $15 billion pre-money valuation and roughly $18 billion on a post-money basis. The company said the funding marks the formal start of the unit's independent commercialization.
A diverse and strategically significant set of backers participated in the round. Tencent committed $200 million despite operating its own competing Hunyuan platform, and both Alibaba and Baidu also joined the investor group. The composition of the syndicate underlines broad industry support for Kling AI's development path, according to the filing.
The deal will reduce Kuaishou's ownership of the subsidiary to about 68%, a change that analysts say contributed to the stock trimming its earlier gains as trading progressed. Observers noted that the spin-off arrangement can surface value that was previously constrained by Kuaishou's traditional valuation anchored in short-video and e-commerce metrics.
Market sentiment in Hong Kong provided a favorable backdrop for the move, with the Hang Seng index rising about 1% on the same day.
The filing and the subsequent market reaction highlight two concurrent dynamics: substantial third-party capital entering the video large-model space, and a corporate restructuring that shifts the valuation profile of a major internet platform. While the immediate trading impact softened after the open, the financing establishes a clear commercialization trajectory for Kling AI and brings a constellation of influential tech investors into the subsidiary's shareholder base.
Summary - Kuaishou's shares rose after Beijing Keling secured roughly RMB 19 billion from a 21-investor syndicate, valuing Kling AI at $15 billion pre-money and about $18 billion post-money, and reducing Kuaishou's stake to around 68%.