Alibaba Leads 2 Billion Yuan Investment in AI Video Startup ShengShu
Alibaba’s cloud division led a 2 billion yuan ($293 million) funding round for AI video startup ShengShu Technology, two months after its 600 million yuan raise. The financing aims to accelerate a general world model’s development and drive adoption of Alibaba Cloud’s AI video generation services.
1. Funding Round and Leadership
Alibaba Cloud led a 2 billion yuan funding round for ShengShu Technology, with Baidu Ventures and Luminous Ventures also contributing. This follows ShengShu’s 600 million yuan Series A round raised just two months earlier, boosting the startup’s war chest for AI video development.
2. ShengShu’s Technology and Growth
Founded in March 2023 by Tsinghua professor Zhu Jun, ShengShu developed the Vidu video generator, which supports up to 16 seconds of synchronized audio and video, multishot composition and camera control. In 2025, the company reported more than tenfold user and revenue growth and has users in over 200 countries.
3. Strategic Rationale for Alibaba
Alibaba is one of the most active backers of Chinese AI startups, using such investments to drive usage of its cloud platform. Cloud computing has overtaken e-commerce as Alibaba’s fastest-growing revenue stream, with AI video services seen as a key growth catalyst.
4. Competitive Landscape in AI Video
China’s AI video sector features players like ByteDance, Kuaishou and PixVerse, as well as emerging tools such as the anonymous Happy Horse generator. ShengShu’s Vidu model ranked among the top upon its January launch and currently sits ninth on leading text-to-video performance charts.