Bloomberg: Moonshot AI closes $3.5bn round at $35bn valuation

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Moonshot AI, the maker behind the world’s largest open-weight AI model, has reportedly closed a $3.5bn funding round at a $35bn valuation. Sources told Bloomberg that the raise was far higher than the anticipated $1bn to $2bn, highlighting the fervour for cheaper Chinese AI models that are able to compete with their US contemporaries.

China’s National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment was among the lead investors in the round. The $8bn state-backed fund also invested in DeepSeek’s recent $7.4bn round.

The fresh funding round comes just after Moonshot unveiled Kimi K3 earlier this month, boasting 2.8trn parameters and performances closely rivalling those of OpenAI and Anthropic’s newest models. The model quickly gained in popularity, causing a rush of new subscribers that overwhelmed Moonshot’s GPUs.

The company, as a result, temporarily paused taking on new users. Bloomberg previously reported that initial interest drove daily sales at Moonshot up sixfold since K3’s debut. New subscriptions are still paused – however, interested buyers can join the waitlist.

Sailing on its popularity, Moonshot AI is now aiming to raise new funds at a $50bn pre-money valuation, sources told Bloomberg. The company is reportedly working towards a public listing in as little as six months’ time. Moonshot was last valued at $20bn after a $2bn raise announced in May.

K3’s launch garnered a similar reaction to DeepSeek’s release early last year, which authorities in the West viewed with scepticism, floating security concerns. Other Chinese companies, including Alibaba, Zhipu and MiniMax, have also launched successful AI models in recent months, as US and China continue their tug for dominance in the AI space. Both countries are also ramping up their investments to build AI infrastructure and support AI start-ups in their plans to grow even bigger by tapping the stock market.

Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news. Related: China, AI, funding and investment, Moonshot Suhasini Srinivasaragavan is a sci-tech reporter for Silicon Republic editorial@siliconrepublic.

com Moonshot AI is now aiming to raise new funds at a $50bn pre-money valuation. Moonshot AI, the maker behind the world’s largest open-weight AI model, has reportedly closed a $3.5bn funding round at a $35bn valuation.

Sources told Bloomberg that the raise was far higher than the anticipated $1bn to $2bn, highlighting the fervour for cheaper Chinese AI models that are able to compete with their US contemporaries. China’s National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment was among the lead investors in the round. The $8bn state-backed fund also invested in DeepSeek’s recent $7.

4bn round. The fresh funding round comes just after Moonshot unveiled Kimi K3 earlier this month, boasting 2.8trn parameters and performances closely rivalling those of OpenAI and Anthropic’s newest models.

The model quickly gained in popularity, causing a rush of new subscribers that overwhelmed Moonshot’s GPUs. The company, as a result, temporarily paused taking on new users. Bloomberg previously reported that initial interest drove daily sales at Moonshot up sixfold since K3’s debut.

New subscriptions are still paused – however, interested buyers can join the waitlist. Sailing on its popularity, Moonshot AI is now aiming to raise new funds at a $50bn pre-money valuation, sources told Bloomberg. The company is reportedly working towards a public listing in as little as six months’ time.

Moonshot was last valued at $20bn after a $2bn raise announced in May. K3’s launch garnered a similar reaction to DeepSeek’s release early last year, which authorities in the West viewed with scepticism, floating security concerns. Other Chinese companies, including Alibaba, Zhipu and MiniMax, have also launched successful AI models in recent months, as US and China continue their tug for dominance in the AI space.

Both countries are also ramping up their investments to build AI infrastructure and support AI start-ups in their plans to grow even bigger by tapping the stock market. Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.

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