Firm aims to raise US$1 billion, which would more than quadruple its valuation compared with three months ago
2-MIN READ2-MINBloombergPublished: 6:00pm, 15 Mar 2026Moonshot AI is seeking to raise as much as US$1 billion in an expanded funding round that would value the start-up at about US$18 billion, more than quadrupling its valuation in just three months and underscoring growing interest in Chinese artificial intelligence developers racing to rival Silicon Valley leaders.The company behind the Kimi chatbot kicked off discussions for the latest round, people familiar with the matter said, after securing more than US$700 million earlier this year, which valued it at US$10 billion. That marks a significant jump from its US$4.3 billion valuation in a US$500 million tranche towards the end of last year, according to the people, who asked not to be named discussing private information.It is unclear who is taking part in the latest round, but Moonshot backers including Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings and 5Y Capital increased their bets at the US$10 billion level, Bloomberg News reported last month.
A Moonshot spokesperson did not respond to requests seeking comment.
