China's AI sector draws $2 billion funding and attracts leading scientist

An analyst said global investors undervalue China's full‑stack AI ecosystem, noting that the $2 billion capital raise by Kling AI – a Kuaishou Technology unit – provides a benchmark for future Hong Kong listings and could help narrow the valuation gap with U.S. peers.

Meanwhile, renowned AI researcher Song‑Chun Zhu left a three‑decade career in the United States to return to Beijing. He founded the Beijing Institute for General Artificial Intelligence (BigAI) and is developing the TongTong system, a child‑brain‑inspired model. The venture has received hundreds of millions of dollars in state investment, and Zhu now serves on a top Chinese political advisory body, urging the country to treat AI with the strategic urgency of a nuclear program.