ShengShu Technology is exploring a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise more than $500 million, based on information from people with knowledge of the discussions. A potential listing could occur within the coming year, but negotiations remain preliminary and the terms might be altered. China International Capital Corp. and Citic Securities Co. are advising ShengShu on the listing. None of the companies responded to requests for comment, and the people involved asked not to be named because the details are private.
ShengShu is not the only player in this space. Its Vidu tool, which helps create advertising, animated projects, and film content, is going up against some serious competition. ByteDance, Alibaba, and Kuaishou all have their own AI video products, and newer entrants like PixVerse are trying to grab market share.
Bloomberg News has reported that PixVerse, another Alibaba-backed company, is eyeing a Hong Kong listing that could happen by the end of this year. Kuaishou's Kling AI has raised $2.8 billion, with backers such as Alibaba and Tencent Holdings, and is expected to go public later.
These companies are all chasing the same opportunity: the gap left by OpenAI, which shut down its Sora video-generation product to focus on its core GPT models. That move opened the door for Chinese startups to lead in AI video, and they are moving fast.
ShengShu has not been shy about raising money. In April, the company said it had completed a 2 billion yuan ($297 million) funding round led by Alibaba, with Baidu Ventures and Luminous Ventures also joining in. Earlier backing came from Qiming Venture Partners, Baidu, and a municipal government fund in Beijing.
The company was founded in March 2023 by Zhi Jun, a Tsinghua University professor, which means it has grown from a university project to a potential IPO candidate in just a few years. Alibaba's involvement is worth noting. That gives ShengShu not just cash but a powerful partner with deep pockets and existing infrastructure.
Hong Kong has become a popular destination for Chinese tech companies looking to raise money, and the market is having a strong year. The city has drawn roughly $40 billion in IPOs so far this year. That could surpass 2021 and approach the roughly $52 billion raised in 2020, potentially ranking among the strongest years ever.
If ShengShu follows through with its listing, it would join a wave of Chinese AI companies tapping into that momentum. The timing matters because investor appetite for AI stories remains strong, even as some markets have cooled on the sector.
For investors, this is a sign that the AI video race is moving from the lab to the public markets. ShengShu is still early in its process, and there is no guarantee the IPO will happen on the timeline being discussed. But the fact that it is even considering a listing says a lot about how much money is flowing into this corner of the AI world.
The bigger question is whether these companies can turn flashy demos into real, lasting businesses. Video generation is expensive to run and hard to make profitable. The companies that figure that out first will be the ones worth watching when they finally hit the stock market.
For now, the story is simple: AI video is a crowded, well-funded race, and ShengShu just told the world it wants to be in it for the long haul.