Moonshot AI, a Beijing-based artificial intelligence startup developing the Kimi chatbot and related large language models, is seeking to raise between $1 billion and $2 billion in a new funding round this month that could value the company at around $30 billion [1, 2, 3, 4].
The company, founded by former Tsinghua University professor and ex-Meta and Google employee Yang Zhilin, has quickly scaled up since its valuation stood just above $4 billion in December 2025 [1]. In May 2026, Moonshot closed a funding round led by Chinese tech giant Meituan that valued it at $20 billion, and the latest talks aim to increase that valuation by about six- to seven-fold since December last year [1, 2, 3, 4]. Bloomberg noted that "the deliberations surrounding Moonshot are at an early stage and details of the fundraising could still change" [1].
Moonshot AI offers tiered chatbot subscriptions and enterprise AI services. It recently launched a general purpose AI agent named Kimi Work to compete in China’s crowded AI market against rivals such as Zhipu AI, Minimax Group, and DeepSeek [1, 3, 4]. The company’s annual recurring revenue surpassed $200 million as of April 2026, reflecting rapid commercial traction [1].
To prepare for a planned Hong Kong IPO, Moonshot is dismantling its offshore corporate structure and aims to use a joint-venture model to maintain access to US dollar funding post-restructuring [1]. Despite requests, a company spokesperson declined to comment on the current fundraising efforts [1].
If the new funding round succeeds, Moonshot AI’s valuation would reach $30 billion, representing a significant leap in just six months since its last confirmed $20 billion valuation in May. The next milestones remain the closing of this funding and the upcoming Hong Kong public listing [1, 2, 3, 4].
