Kling Valued at 122.8 Billion Yuan: The Son Nearly Catches the Father
The essence of the Kling IPO rumour is not 'the AI prodigy returns in glory' but a precise asset shuffle: Kuaishou is pushing a two-year-old business to the public market at an $18 billion valuation, letting retail investors pay for AI video's compute black hole while hedging away doubts about its own market value going to zero.
- 01THE PRODUCT — The Kling AI video generator launched and quickly became one of the world's benchmark AI video products.
- 02THE RAISE — A $2.8 billion private round, with Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu and state funds all entering, at an $18 billion valuation.
- 03THE RUMOR — Bloomberg revealed CICC, Goldman Sachs and UBS have been selected, targeting an early-2027 Hong Kong listing.
WHAT HAPPENEDWhat Happened
On October 6, 2026, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Kling AI has selected CICC, Goldman Sachs and UBS as sponsors and underwriters for a Hong Kong listing targeted for early 2027 at the earliest, raising at least $1 billion. Just three months earlier, it had completed a private round of about $2.8 billion at a post-money valuation of roughly $18 billion — about 122.8 billion yuan at the exchange rates of the time.
Compare that with its parent: Kuaishou closed on September 30 with a Hong Kong market capitalisation of about HK$132.8 billion. In dollar terms — $18 billion against $16.7 billion — Kling has indeed 'overtaken' its parent; in yuan terms, 122.8 billion against 130.8 billion, it still falls just short. The accurate statement is that the two are roughly level — but as a headline, 'the son catches the father' has already won the communications battle.
THE MONEYThe $2.8 billion private round: who is carrying the sedan chair
The July round of $2.8 billion speaks volumes in its roster: Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu all showed up; Huace Film & TV and Mango-affiliated funds came too; and the National AI Industry Investment Fund put in 1.4 billion yuan for 1.14%. This is not financial investment; it is the entire 'AI video' sector taking a side — everyone fears missing the next Sora moment.
Tencent's move is the most interesting: it cut its Kuaishou stake, cashing out over HK$10 billion, while increasing its bet on Kling. Rotating from 'consumer internet assets' to 'AI model assets' — a textbook sector rotation. When the giants vote with their feet, it means that in their eyes Kling's asset character has changed: it is no longer a business inside Kuaishou, but a standalone AI asset.
THE NUMBERSFrom 1.1 billion to 5 billion: how solid is the revenue curve
Kling's revenue for full-year 2025 was about 1.1 billion yuan; Q1 2026 exceeded 650 million yuan, up more than 300% year on year; Q2 exceeded 850 million yuan, up more than 200%; annualised revenue as of March approached $500 million. The curve is real — AI video generation is one of the few AIGC scenarios that has already proven people will pay.
But an $18 billion valuation prices in growth of 200-300% a year. AI video's compute cost is a bottomless pit: every generation burns money, and every doubling of revenue doubles the compute bill. Hence Zubiqo's harsh line — pushing a two-year-old product to the public market at an $18 billion valuation amounts to having retail investors subsidise AI video's astronomical compute costs.
THE CLOCKThe five-year bet: listing is not a choice, it is a deadline
Buried in the financing agreement is a hard clause: a five-year IPO bet — if the company has not listed by October 30, 2031, investors can require the equity to be repurchased at 8% simple annual interest. This is not 'aiming to list'; it is 'must list', or the founders pay to buy the shares back.
That is why early 2027 is not an arbitrary date: the $2.8 billion private round needs an exit channel, and the bet's clock is already ticking. Kuaishou's May announcement said only that it was 'evaluating a restructuring plan and bringing in external investment', declining to comment on the underwriter list — official wording always trails the rumours by half a beat, but capital's timetable waits for no one.
THE SHIFTWhat Changed
SIGNAL JUDGMENT — ANALYSISThe son lists; the father exits
Every 'spin-off listing' story has the same core sentence: sell the most expensive asset to the most optimistic buyers. Whether Kling is worth $18 billion, the public market will vote. But Kuaishou has already won this move — it carved the 'AI narrative' out of its financial statements and sold it separately at a good price.
WHAT REMAINS UNCERTAINWhat Remains Uncertain
EVIDENCEEvidence
Bloomberg reported on October 6, citing people familiar with the matter, on the underwriter list (not officially confirmed); valuation and revenue figures come from the July private round disclosures and Kuaishou announcement figures.
PRIMARY SOURCESPrimary Sources
- Bloomberg: Kling AI selects CICC, Goldman Sachs and UBS as sponsors for Hong Kong IPO (2026-10-06, unconfirmed report)
- Kuaishou HKEX announcement: Evaluating a restructuring plan for Kling (2026-05)
- Zubiqo: Commentary on retail investors subsidising compute costs
- cryptobriefing.com: Original article
https://cryptobriefing.com/kuaishou-kling-ai-hong-kong-ipo/
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