China’s Kuaishou Looks to Cash In on AI-Powered Video Generation

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Kling subscriptions cost between 66 yuan ($9) and 7,992 yuan depending on length of commitment and tier of service, Kuaishou said.

Chinese short-video specialist Kuaishou Technology has started charging users to subscribe to its artificial intelligence-powered video generator Kling, taking a step toward cashing in on the technology that has captured the imagination of the tech world.

Kuaishou’s move to monetize its text-to-video model marks a milestone in the development of the burgeoning technology in China, which investors have been pouring hundreds of millions of yuan into to catch up to the industry leader, OpenAI’s Sora.

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Kuaishou Technology has begun charging users for its AI-powered video generator Kling, with subscription fees ranging from 66 to 7,992 yuan.
Kling, launched in June, allows text-to-video generation and has seen major upgrades since; over 1 million people have applied to test it.
Competing Chinese companies are also developing similar AI technologies, spurred by the success of OpenAI's Sora.

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Who’s Who

Kuaishou Technology: Kuaishou Technology is a Chinese short-video specialist that has started charging for its AI video generator Kling, with subscriptions ranging from 66 yuan to 7,992 yuan. Launched in June, Kling uses text prompts to generate high-definition videos up to 2 minutes long. The platform has attracted over 1 million testers and is competing in a rapidly growing field sparked by OpenAI's Sora.

ByteDance Ltd.: ByteDance Ltd., the parent company of TikTok, owns Dreamina, a web-based AI platform. In late March, Dreamina unveiled a text-to-video model capable of generating three to six seconds of footage. The company is among the Chinese firms competing to develop advanced AI-driven video generation technologies.

Shengshu Technology: Shengshu Technology, a Beijing-based generative AI startup, unveiled Vidu in late April, a model capable of generating high-definition videos lasting up to 16 seconds. It is one of the Chinese companies heavily invested in AI video generation, aiming to compete with industry leaders like OpenAI’s Sora.

Alsphere: The article mentions that Chinese video generation startup Alsphere is a rival of Shengshu and has plans to catch up with industry leader OpenAI’s Sora. Investors are betting big on companies like Alsphere in the burgeoning text-to-video technology sector in China.

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What Happened When

February 2024：: ChatGPT-developer OpenAI unveiled Sora, sparking Chinese companies’ interest in developing their own versions.

Late March 2024：: Dreamina, a web-based AI platform owned by TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd., unveiled a text-to-video model that can generate three to six seconds of footage.

Late April 2024：: Tsinghua University and Beijing-based generative AI startup Shengshu Technology unveiled Vidu, which can generate high-definition videos lasting up to 16 seconds.

June 2024：: Kuaishou launched Kling, a text-to-video model that uses technology similar to Sora.

Wednesday, 2024-07-24：: Kuaishou announced in a statement that Kling subscriptions would cost between 66 yuan ($9) and 7,992 yuan depending on the length of commitment and tier of service.

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