China’s Moonshot AI reportedly seeks $12b valuation in new funding

Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI is raising at least US$700 million in a funding round that could value the company at up to US$12 billion, according to sources.

The round was led by existing investors including Alibaba, Tencent, Andon, and 5Y Capital.

The company’s flagship model, Kimi K2.5, was recently recognized as one of the strongest open models by third-party benchmark firm Artificial Analysis.

Moonshot’s overseas revenue surpassed domestic income for the first time following the launch of K2.5 in late January, with international paid users increasing 4x.

The company also launched a global service called “Kimi Claw,” allowing users to access open-source AI agent OpenClaw.

It is unclear whether the company will reach its valuation target, as the round has not yet closed.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Moonshot’s valuation push follows strong benchmarks and new funding talks

A US$10 billion target would be a sharp jump from the US$2.5 billion price in a February 2024 round led by Alibaba 1.
Talks around that target started in late January, about a month after Moonshot raised US$500 million at a US$4.3 billion valuation 2.
Model performance and reach sit behind the interest. Kimi K2.5 ranks among the most-used large language models on OpenRouter (a platform that routes developers’ requests across multiple AI models) and places second among open-source models on benchmarking site Artificial Analysis 2.
Reports also said Kimi K2 Thinking beat top proprietary models such as OpenAI’s GPT-5 and Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4.5 on benchmark tests 3.

Moonshot’s momentum adds pressure on closed labs as open(-weight) models improve

Moonshot’s results with an open(-weight) model add weight to the shift in how AI capability spreads.
Releases that top proprietary systems on some benchmarks suggest state-of-the-art AI no longer sits with only a handful of closed-source labs 3.
That dynamic could push established labs to open more of their technology or raise performance enough to defend a closed approach.
Moonshot has pointed to overseas traction. It told investors overseas revenue has surpassed domestic revenue after K2.5’s release 4.