Moonshot AI, the developer of China’s popular Kimi chatbot, is seeking to raise between US$1 billion and US$2 billion in a new funding round that could value the company at as much as US$30 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter, as competition among the country’s leading artificial intelligence developers intensifies.

The Beijing-based company was targeting a valuation roughly 50 per cent higher than the US$20 billion it achieved in its previous financing round, completed in May. HF Capital, the financial adviser for the May round, revealed that round’s valuation and transaction details in a since-deleted WeChat post.

If completed at the targeted valuation, the new fundraising would mark a dramatic rise for one of China’s most closely watched AI start-ups and underscore investors’ growing appetite for domestic AI champions.

Moonshot, whose latest funding was first reported by Bloomberg on Monday, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company’s valuation has surged over the past year amid strong investor interest in China’s AI sector, which has also lifted peers such as Zhipu AI and MiniMax.

Both companies made their public market debuts in Hong Kong earlier this year, attracting strong investor demand.