The sources reported that an Alibaba-backed AI startup, Moonshot AI valued at $4.8 billion in a new round of funding, which was announced just weeks after it was valued at $4.3 billion.
Moonshot AI is the developer of the Kimi chatbot, which gained popularity in China months before DeepSeek’s release in the previous year.
The two competitors of Moonshot AI, Zhipu and MiniMax, shot up after being listed in Hong Kong in December. According to the sources of CNBC, Moonshot was raising a round of funds that will be worth at least $500 million more than the December round. The round would likely close soon due to high demand.
Both requested anonymity when talking about confidential information. Moonshot AI had not responded to a request for comment as this article went live.
The sources further noted that the company might be further rewarded during subsequent rounds that might follow, due to an influx of interest in Chinese AI IPO candidates.
Chinese AI companies have especially flourished as U.S. AI chatbots, like ChatGPT by OpenAI, are not officially licensed in mainland China. Beijing had blocked most of the U.S.-based internet services, and the White House has imposed increasingly restrictive regulations on business with China.
However, the last funding round was announced on December 31. Chinese financial news outlet LatePost stated that IDG, Alibaba, and Tencent participated in the event.
Moonshot AI has not provided any statement regarding an IPO. Wind Information data indicated that the Zhipu, listed under the name of Atlas, had a market value of $13 billion on Monday. The data revealed that MiniMax had a value of $15.2 billion.
