China AI Video Startup Kling Picks Banks for $1 Billion-Plus IPO

Kuaishou Technology’s Kling AI has picked banks for a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise at least $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The artificial intelligence video service is working with China International Capital Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UBS Group AG on the potential share sale, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is confidential. Kling is targeting a listing as soon as next year, they said.

Deliberations are ongoing and details such as size and timing may change, the people added. Representatives for Goldman Sachs and UBS declined to comment. Kling and CICC didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Founded in 2024, Kling is part of a wave of Chinese generative video services aggressively pursuing monetization and seeking to fill a void after OpenAI shuttered Sora. It raised $2.8 billion in a round in July from investors including tech giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., as well as Baidu Inc. That valued Kling at about $15 billion pre-money.

AI Video Creation Leads China’s Kuaishou to 88% Stock SurgeThe AI Video Apps Gaining Ground After OpenAI’s Sora Shutdown

Kling competes with ByteDance Ltd.’s Seedance and startups like Shengshu and PixVerse, which are both planning Hong Kong IPOs, Bloomberg News has reported.

AI has been at the forefront of a Hong Kong deal revival that pushed share-sale volumes to a record third quarter, despite a retreat in the city’s stocks. Kuaishou shares haven’t escaped, shedding more than half of their value this year in Hong Kong.