Turning AI into a paid platform is a key criterion for China’s success, writes marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok on her weblog, as video AI has become a major commercial success in setting up paid platforms. “Chinese video AI has become one of China’s clearest tests for artificial intelligence commercialization. The category is being judged by paid usage, creator demand, and platform placement,” she writes.
Ashley Dudarenok:
Chinese video AI has become one of China’s clearest tests for artificial intelligence commercialization. The category is being judged by paid usage, creator demand, and platform placement.
China has a rare advantage here. Video tools can enter short video feeds, ecommerce stores, ad accounts, and creator studios at the same time. This embedded distribution gives Chinese video AI a faster route from model release to business use…
Chinese video AI now has commercial numbers that most generative video categories still lack. Kling AI crossed USD20 million in monthly revenue in December 2025. That translated into USD240 million in Annualized Revenue Run Rate (ARR).
Annualized Revenue Run Rate means the yearly revenue implied by one month of recurring revenue. Kuaishou said Kling had reached USD100 million ARR in March 2025, ten months after launch.
The pace did not slow at the start of 2026. Caixin put Kling’s ARR above USD300 million by January 2026, with 2025 revenue of 1.04 billion yuan (USD153 million). Kling’s business had also entered funding talks. A possible spinoff carried a target valuation of up to USD20 billion.
These figures put commercial viability at the center of the story. The useful test is whether users keep paying after the launch excitement fades. Kling’s curve suggests that professional creators, merchants, and commercial teams are paying for repeat output.
China’s wider AI base gives this category more room to mature. The State Council said China’s core AI industry exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan (USD176.4 billion) in 2025, with more than 6,200 AI companies. A separate State Council summary put China’s internet user base at 1.125 billion and generative AI adoption at 42.8 percent by the end of 2025.
Ashley Dudarenok is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.
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