{"id":2673,"date":"2026-01-19T13:52:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T13:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/alibaba-backed-startup-moonshot-ai-valuation-up-500-million-sources\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T13:52:32","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T13:52:32","slug":"alibaba-backed-startup-moonshot-ai-valuation-up-500-million-sources","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finzexpert.com\/blog\/alibaba-backed-startup-moonshot-ai-valuation-up-500-million-sources\/","title":{"rendered":"Alibaba-backed startup Moonshot AI valuation up $500 million: sources"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Pictured here is Moonshot AI’s Kimi chatbot displayed on a smartphone.<\/p>\n

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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BEIJING \u2014 An\u00a0Alibaba-backed AI startup is currently being valued at $4.8 billion in a fresh funding round, two people with knowledge of the deal said, just weeks after it was valued at $4.3 billion.<\/p>\n

Moonshot AI is the company behind the\u00a0Kimi chatbot, which surged in popularity in China months before DeepSeek’s release last year.<\/p>\n

Since Moonshot’s previous in December, rival Chinese AI companies \u2014\u00a0Zhipu\u00a0and\u00a0MiniMax\u00a0\u2014 surged after\u00a0going public in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

The sources told CNBC that Moonshot was closing a funding round that will value it at least $500 million\u00a0higher than the December round.\u00a0The sources said the round would likely close soon due to high demand.<\/p>\n

Both asked to remain anonymous while discussing private information. Moonshot AI had not responded to a request for comment as this article went live.<\/p>\n

The sources added that the company could be valued even higher in subsequent rounds that could follow, due to a surge of interest in Chinese AI IPO candidates.<\/p>\n

Chinese AI companies have particularly boomed as U.S. AI chatbots, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, aren’t officially available in mainland China.<\/p>\n

Beijing restricts access to many U.S.-based internet services, while American companies have faced growing restrictions from the White House on doing business with China.<\/p>\n

The previous funding round was announced on Dec. 31. IDG, Alibaba and Tencent participated in\u00a0it, according to Chinese financial news outlet LatePost.<\/p>\n

Moonshot AI has not commented on any plans for an IPO.<\/p>\n

Zhipu, listed under the name Knowledge Atlas, had a market value of $13 billion as of Monday’s close, according to Wind Information data. MiniMax was worth $15.2 billion, the data showed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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