Moonshot AI is close to finalizing a new funding round that could value the company at about USD 4.8 billion, according to CNBC, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter. If completed on the current terms, the round would represent an increase of roughly USD 500 million from the company’s valuation just weeks earlier.

The Beijing-based startup, best known for its Kimi chatbot and large language model (LLM) series, was valued at about USD 4.3 billion in a Series C funding round reported on December 31. Alibaba, Tencent, and IDG Capital were among the participants, according to Chinese media outlet LatePost.

CNBC added that the latest round is nearing completion amid strong investor demand, although discussions are ongoing and terms could still change.

Moonshot’s rising valuation comes as investor interest in Chinese artificial intelligence companies has picked up, partly driven by recent public listings of peers such as MiniMax and Z.ai (Zhipu AI) in Hong Kong. Those debuts have helped establish fresh valuation benchmarks for AI startups and bolstered expectations around potential IPO candidates.

Beyond broader sector momentum, Moonshot has drawn attention for its emphasis on LLMs and advanced reasoning capabilities. Its latest flagship model, Kimi K2 Thinking, has performed well on independent benchmarks including Artificial Analysis’ Intelligence Index and LiveBench, showing gains in reasoning, coding, and long-context tasks.

Moonshot AI’s Kimi K2 Thinking ranks highly on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, which aggregates ten evaluations to provide a holistic measure of AI capabilities across mathematics, science, coding, and reasoning. As of January 19, it is the second-highest-ranking Chinese-made model on the benchmark, trailing only DeepSeek’s V3.2 by a single point. Graphic source: Artificial Analysis.

The company’s focus on foundational models, rather than narrowly scoped applications, has helped set it apart in China’s crowded AI landscape. Kimi gained widespread adoption months ahead of several domestic rivals last year, giving Moonshot an early advantage in building brand recognition.

Chinese AI startups have also benefited from restricted access to US-based AI services, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which is not officially available in mainland China. At the same time, regulatory and geopolitical tensions have encouraged investors to back domestic alternatives positioned as long-term technology champions.

Moonshot has not commented on the funding round or any potential IPO plans as of publication.