Kling's new model doubles its maximum output to 30-second clips. It can take guidance from over a dozen reference formats, including text, images and existing video, and users can define up to 10 keyframes to shape how different parts of a clip should look.
The company says the model is still being tested with a select group. Annual subscribers can access a lite version now, and the full rollout is planned for October.
Kling's Beijing-based team operates out of its own offices and runs independently from Kuaishou. The spinoff rolled out the new system while preparing for a possible Hong Kong listing, in a bid to shrink the gap with ByteDance.
In July, Kling secured $2.8 billion in its first funding round from investors including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Baidu Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., putting the unit's value at about $18 billion after those investments. Kuaishou maintains a majority stake, even as its own market value hovers around $17 billion. Over the past year, Kuaishou has shed more than 60% of its value, with enthusiasm about AI video tempered by monetization hurdles and the rise of ByteDance's offering. Its core ads and livestreaming business is weakening, and last quarter it posted the steepest earnings decline in five years.
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Kling belongs to a rapidly expanding cohort of Chinese AI video services seeking income from worldwide filmmakers, advertisers and creative studios. It picked up momentum when OpenAI shut down Sora, but recently ByteDance's Seedance has set the pace, producing AI clips that rank among the most lifelike to date. Seedance 2.5, released in July, has become the go-to for many creators. Rival tools from Alibaba and MiniMax Group Inc. are also winning users with appealing price-to-performance.
Despite the pressure, Kling has been among the quickest to turn its model into cash through subscriptions and developer access. In March, annualized revenue surpassed $500 million, while the most recent quarter recorded growth of 200%, compared with 300% in the period immediately before. In a space where technical edges can be brief, keeping that momentum is the trick.
Kling's upgrade, October timeline and hefty fundraising signal that big checks are still chasing AI video. For Kuaishou, a stronger Kling could be a path toward more durable profitability while its main short-video business stalls. The tell will be whether Kling can keep expanding past that $500 million annualized mark as Seedance and others push hard on quality and cost.
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