📈 Consumer AI with real traction: Kuaishou’s video generator Kling AI has 60 million users worldwide and generated over USD 20 million in revenue in December alone with a projected USD 240 million ARR, more than double its level in March ‘25.
📊 From laggard to AI play: Long dismissed as a TikTok copycat, Kuaishou has revamped itself within just 18 months. The pivot into AI video has lifted the stock by roughly 84% in 2025, with Kling’s global traction adding the extra upside.
🎬 Video is the new AI battleground: Competition is shifting from large language models to video generation. Kling is taking on OpenAI’s Sora, Google Veo, Runway, and Luma — and is the only Chinese model ranked in the global top three.
🚀 Run-rate rocket: Many well-known GenAI tools are only now approaching USD 100 million in ARR. Kling has already surpassed more than double that after just 19 months, jumping from USD 100 million to USD 240 million in only nine months.
âš¡ China speed: Kuaishou spends far less than US rivals but prioritizes time-to-market. The explicit goal was to ship before OpenAI. Kling launched in July 2024, just a few months after Sora was announced.
Background
China has rapidly produced several market-ready video AI platforms in a short period of time, including:
- Shengshu Tech, offering an end-to-end video production agent
- Alibaba Cloud, enabling personalized video generation using a user’s own appearance and voice
- SenseTime, focusing on low-cost, high-volume production for short-drama series
Video generation is considered one of the hottest segments in generative AI because it directly replaces real production costs in marketing, e-commerce, and entertainment. The global AI video market is projected to reach around USD 4 billion by 2030, with annual growth rates exceeding 120%. Falling compute costs, improving model quality, and intense competition are accelerating adoption.
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