Kling, the AI video business spun out of Kuaishou, has announced Kling 4.0. The model can produce clips of up to 30 seconds, twice the old limit, and takes more than a dozen reference inputs across text, images and existing footage. Users can also pin up to 10 keyframes to fix how particular stretches of a shot should look.
For now the full model is with a group of testers. Annual subscribers get a lighter version straight away, and Kling says the complete release follows in October. The unit now runs from its own Beijing offices, apart from its parent, and is chasing filmmakers, advertisers and studios as paying customers.
The reporting, carried from Bloomberg, frames the launch as a bid to catch ByteDance, whose Seedance 2.5 has become many creators' default since July. Kling benefited when OpenAI shut down Sora, and it has made money early through subscriptions and developer access, but Alibaba and MiniMax are also winning users on price.
Money is the backdrop. Kling raised $2.8 billion in July at about an $18 billion valuation, which is more than the roughly $17 billion Kuaishou itself is now worth after losing over 60% of its value in a year, and a Hong Kong listing is in view. With Kuaishou's core business slowing and profit last quarter falling the most in five years, AI video is its hoped-for route to steadier earnings.
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