BEIJING — An Alibaba-backed AI enterprise, Moonshot AI, is experiencing a notable valuation increase to $4.8 billion thanks to a recent funding round, as reported by two individuals familiar with the deal. This development comes just a few weeks after the company was valued at $4.3 billion.
The startup is the creator of the popular Kimi chatbot, which gained widespread attention in China months before DeepSeek's rollout last year.
Since its previous funding in December, other Chinese AI firms such as Zhipu and MiniMax have seen significant growth after going public in Hong Kong.
The sources informed CNBC that Moonshot is in the final stages of a funding round that will increase its valuation by at least $500 million compared to last December's round. They mentioned that the round is expected to close soon due to high investor interest.
The individuals requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information. Moonshot AI has not yet provided a comment at the time this report was published.
The sources further suggested that Moonshot's valuation could rise in subsequent funding rounds, as there's growing enthusiasm for potential Chinese AI IPOs.
The expansion of Chinese AI firms coincides with the lack of access to U.S.-based AI products like OpenAI's ChatGPT in mainland China, restricted due to Beijing's regulations on American internet services, and increasing limitations imposed by the U.S. government on enterprises dealing with China.
The previous round of funding concluded on December 31 with participation from IDG, Alibaba, and Tencent, as per the Chinese financial news outlet LatePost.
There has been no official announcement from Moonshot AI regarding plans for an initial public offering.
According to Wind Information data, Zhipu (listed as Knowledge Atlas) had a market valuation of $13 billion at the close of business on Monday, with MiniMax valued at $15.2 billion.