Business
Kling AI Hits 60 Million Users
Kling, a Chinese video generator, hits $240 million ARR
Kling, a Chinese video generator, has hit a major milestone with a $240 million annual revenue run rate.
A video of a golden retriever in a tutu, created with Kling AI, has been viewed 47 million times on TikTok this week. This playful clip, one of many going viral on social media, helped boost Kuaishou Technology’s stock by 11.1% on January 5. JPMorgan analysts credited “AI-generated pet dancing videos” for the surge. Kling’s viral moment comes as it reaches 60 million users worldwide, a milestone announced on January 13
Three days before Kuaishou’s announcement, OpenAI ended free access to Sora 2, limiting it to subscribers who pay $20 a month for Plus or $200 for Pro. Kling’s starting price is still $8, underlying the competitive pricing strategy employed by video platforms. “Timing is critical, as this is a resource-constrained game,” said Kuaishou’s Chief Technologist Gai Kun in January. “If you go in too early, you burn cash in vain; too late, and you lose the advantage.”
Since Kling launched in July 2024, users have created over 600 million videos. In December 2025 alone, revenue reached $20 million, putting the annual run rate at $240 million. This is a major achievement for an AI tool less than two years old, especially against big Silicon Valley competitors.
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Accessibility is clear. For $8, a Kling user can make about 66 videos each month. A Sora Pro subscriber gets 500 videos for $200, which is a better deal per video but requires a higher upfront cost.
"Investors are massively underestimating demand," says Dan Ives, Wedbush Securities' Global Head of Technology Research, about the wider AI market, not just Kling. "This is a true fourth industrial revolution playing out."
JPMorgan analysts see ways to make money beyond subscriptions. "Industry leaders like Kling AI possess substantial upside potential for monetization not only on the enterprise side but also on the consumer side," they wrote in a January 6 note. The bank did not provide details on its revenue models, but it’s likely that advertising, content licensing, or API access could boost revenue.
Kuaishou CEO Cheng Yixiao calls Kling "the new infrastructure for video creation in the AI era," hinting at goals beyond just consumer apps. The company did not share its profit margins on $20 million in monthly revenue, which can be sizable given the high cost of video inference.