AI video generation: How China’s Kling challenges Google’s Veo, OpenAI’s Sora

As AI video generation has evolved from a curiosity to a productivity tool embraced by serious creators, the Kling platform developed by China’s Kuaishou has landed firmly in the top tier alongside Google’s Veo and OpenAI’s Sora.Kling has rapidly grown into a meaningful new business line for the company – long a runner-up to TikTok owner ByteDance in China’s short video arena – since its launch in June 2024, reaching about 12 million monthly active users and annual recurring revenue of roughly US$240 million.The figures are hardly surprising at a time when dancing puppies, alien invasions and digital human live streaming hosts are already everyday scroll-past content, and “AI slop” has become a common concern. While Kling’s success is welcome news for Kuaishou, the question is why Kling has become such a hit.The tool’s latest metrics, from sources and company announcements, show its momentum. It garnered more than US$20 million in revenue in December alone, bringing it to US$140 million for the year, more than double the US$60 million target Kuaishou set internally at the start of 2025. In January, average daily revenue jumped about 30 per cent from a month earlier.That traction has lifted Kuaishou’s long-sluggish Hong Kong shares, which gained 23.3 per cent over the past month to close at HK$78.60 on Monday.Kuaishou positions Kling as the new poster child for the generative-AI era. The Beijing-based company set up a stand-alone business unit in April 2025 for the tool, and executives have repeatedly pointed to its rising user base and revenue in earnings calls over the past year.