Alibaba is heavily investing in generative AI, leading a $1 billion funding round in the Chinese startup Moonshot AI, which now holds a valuation of around $2.5 billion—an impressive eight-fold increase compared to its initial financing round.
According to the South China Morning Post, owned by Alibaba (BABA), Moonshot’s latest funding marks the largest amount raised by a Chinese AI startup since the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022.
Other investors in this round included existing backers such as Monolith Management, the investment arm of food delivery giant Meituan, and HongShan, formerly known as Sequoia China.
Last year, Moonshot introduced its Kimi chatbot, developed using its own large language model capable of processing up to 200,000 Chinese characters in a context window. Additionally, the company launched an open platform for developers to create AI applications using this model.
In its seed funding round last year, Moonshot raised $200 million from HongShan and angel investor Zhen Fund, giving it a valuation of $300 million.
The recent investment underscores the increasing interest in generative AI startups within mainland China. Nevertheless, according to a previous report by the New York Times, tech experts suggest that China trails the United States by at least a year in the field of generative AI and may even be falling further behind.
Jenny Xiao, a partner at the investment firm Leonis Capital, noted that AI models developed entirely by Chinese companies are generally not of high quality. As a result, they frequently rely on refined adaptations of Western models.
Alibaba spearheads a historic $1 billion funding round for China’s Moonshot AI, elevating the company’s valuation to approximately $2.5 billion. The investment signifies a remarkable eight-fold increase from its initial funding round. According to the Alibaba-owned South China Morning Post, Moonshot AI’s latest funding round stands as the largest ever secured by a Chinese AI startup since the debut of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022. Moonshot AI unveiled its Kimi chatbot last year, powered by its proprietary large language model capable of processing up to 200,000 Chinese characters within a context window. Additionally, the company launched an open platform enabling developers to construct AI applications utilizing the model.
In its previous seed funding round last year, Moonshot AI secured $200 million from HongShan and angel investor Zhen Fund, valuing the company at $300 million.
The recent investment underscores a burgeoning interest in generative AI startups across mainland China. Nonetheless, as previously reported by The New York Times, tech experts caution that China trails the United States in generative AI by at least a year and could potentially be falling further behind.
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