"Who is stronger: Kuaishou Keling vs Byte JiMeng? Goldman Sachs: There is no 'winner takes all,' but AI will significantly change the value distribution in the entertainment industry."

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Although ByteDance’s Imagine recently launched Seedance 2.0, attracting significant market attention, Goldman Sachs believes that the AI video generation sector is not a “winner-takes-all” zero-sum game. Both Kuaishou’s Kling and ByteDance’s Imagine 2.0, as leading models, will benefit from this rapidly expanding market, and advances in AI technology will reshape the value distribution across the entire entertainment industry.

On February 13, according to Zhuifeng Trading Desk, after ByteDance’s Imagine 2.0 officially opened to the public on February 12, investors were highly focused on the competitive landscape of the two main platforms. Goldman Sachs analysts Lincoln Kong, Ronald Keung, and Luqing Zhou stated in their latest research report that Kling 3.0 upgraded on February 5, several days ahead of Imagine 2.0, and both have achieved significant breakthroughs in audio-video consistency, video length (15 seconds), and narrative control.

Although some testers believe Imagine 2.0 performs better in terms of fluency and multi-scene coherence, Goldman Sachs emphasized that Kling 3.0 still maintains competitiveness in cinematic-level detail and pricing advantages, and continues to be among the world’s top models in third-party benchmark tests. More importantly, Goldman expects the global AI video generation market to grow tenfold in the next five years, reaching about 29 billion US dollars by 2030, enough to accommodate the coexistence of multiple leading players.

Kling 3.0 vs. Imagine 2.0: Technology Comparison and Market Positioning

Goldman Sachs’ latest report gives a detailed comparison of both platforms’ technological capabilities and market strategies.

The report stated that the Kling 3.0 series includes Kling Video 3.0, Kling Video 3.0 Omni, Kling Image 3.0, and Kling Image 3.0 Omni. The main upgrades are:

Native multi-language and dialect audio generation, video lengths extended to 15 seconds, multi-shot narrative capability, in-image text retention, and cinematic-level realistic output. Kling Video 3.0 Omni offers advanced generation based on reference videos, allowing replication of the subject’s visual and sound features, and supports scripting for multi-shot storyboarding.

By comparison, Imagine 2.0 began closed beta on February 6 and opened to the public on February 12.

Goldman Sachs stated that based on user feedback on social media, this model stands out in understanding physical laws, smoothness of natural movement, and “realistic” quality, being able to generate complete long videos with multiple clips, scenes, camera angles, and emotional rhythms from single prompts. Its “all-round reference” feature supports multi-modal inputs such as images, audio, and video, enabling more accurate control.

Goldman Sachs pointed out that Kling 3.0’s strategic positioning focuses mainly on companies and professional users, with overseas market penetration as a core priority, allowing Kuaishou to expand its user base with positive profit margins. Meanwhile, Imagine 2.0 is oriented toward the consumer market, focusing more on entertainment needs. In terms of pricing, while Kling 3.0 has raised prices compared to the earlier O1 and 2.6 Motion Control versions, it still offers clear price advantages compared to overseas competitors.

Video Generation Market Landscape: Not a Zero-Sum Game, but Coexistence of Leading Enterprises

Goldman Sachs believes it is still too early to identify a winner in the AI video generation/application market. Even if a "winner" emerges, it will likely be multiple companies, not a singular "winner-takes-all" situation.

The analysts estimate that the global AI video generation and editing market will rapidly expand, growing 10 times over the next five years, from about $3 billion in 2025 to around $29 billion in 2030.

The expansion of the market is mainly driven by the surge in AI penetration and adoption rates in advertisement video and entertainment video production (such as short films, miniseries, and movies/TV series). Qualitative leaps in model capabilities and a paradigm shift in the video production industry will accelerate this process. A larger market will benefit leading models like Kling.

The report notes, based on third-party benchmarks (such as Artificial Analysis), Kling remains among the world’s top models. Goldman Sachs’ tracking via Sensor Tower data indicates that Kling’s user count and revenue have surged since the end of December last year, with January’s monthly revenue growing at least 30% to 50%. A strong start is expected for 2026, with upside risk to the $280 million full-year revenue forecast.

AI Reshaping the Entertainment Value Chain: Upstream IP Design and Distribution Platform Value Enhancement

The release of Imagine 2.0 has raised attention to AI’s broader impact on the entertainment industry, including long- and short-form video, gaming, music, and advertising.

Goldman Sachs believes that improvements in multimodal AI capabilities will significantly lower the threshold for video creation, leading to an almost infinite supply of content in the medium term. While AI tools help individuals more easily realize creative ideas, product quality and the ability to create differentiated IP and design concepts remain critical.

It is still too early to fully assess how video/music streaming or game distribution platforms will be affected. However, their existing user communities, user insights, and traffic/algorithm advantages remain key differentiating factors.

Therefore, as Imagine and other AI models mature, Goldman Sachs believes industry value will shift upstream, with IP/creative design and distribution platforms gaining higher added value.

This means that while AI tools lower content creation barriers, companies with high-quality IP, creative design ability, and strong distribution networks will hold more advantageous positions in the new value distribution landscape.

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The above content is from Zhuifeng Trading Desk.

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