We bet Kuaishou’s Kling earns at least RMB 850 million in the fourth quarter — resolves 2027-03-31

The debate is whether video models, like language models, need more money with each generation, and whether a ceiling on training costs would let video-app companies run like software companies.

Every clip generated costs more electricity and chip rent, known as compute cost, and who pays it is one of the keys to profit or loss; OpenAI’s video app Sora reportedly burned about $1 million a day and has shut down.

SecondSource bets that video products charging paying customers can hold up, and what could crush them is compute cost or big companies building video generation into their products for free.

SecondSource’s reading: video has two sets of books. Training is a one-off: once viewers cannot tell the picture from the real thing, it has reached its end point, so training costs look capped. The public evidence is limited, resting for now on one founder’s words and our own interpretation.

Generation costs money every time, which makes who pays one of the keys to profit or loss. A Wall Street Journal investigation, as relayed by TechCrunch, put Sora’s burn at about $1 million a day; OpenAI has not confirmed it.

Kuaishou’s Kling, which charges creators and businesses, is an example that can be checked: revenue was over RMB 650 million in the first quarter of 2026 and over RMB 850 million in the second, both as reported by the company, with no gross margin published.

We bet that Kling’s revenue for the fourth quarter alone will be no lower than the second quarter’s RMB 850 million, showing that this paid business has not been crushed by compute costs or free offerings from big companies.

We go only as far as saying the business can sustain itself; whether its margins can match ordinary software companies’ cannot be judged from any public figure yet.

Colossus

The figure this card checks comes from Kuaishou’s own announcements: its second-quarter 2026 results release.

The program listed here is where the idea of a ceiling on video training costs comes from; it is paid content, so it is not quoted. No public cost figure backs that ceiling, which is SecondSource’s interpretation.

Settled by Kling’s single-quarter revenue in Kuaishou’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results announcement; scheduled check 31 March 2027, with a 30-day grace period. Right at RMB 850 million or more; wrong below that. Void if Kuaishou has not separately disclosed Kling’s fourth-quarter revenue by 30 April 2027.

What would overturn it

Kuaishou discloses Kling revenue below RMB 850 million for the fourth quarter of 2026.

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