Chinese unicorn Moonshot AI has started and is expected to close its latest financing round by the end of this month, as it dismantles its offshore structure to pave the way for a potential Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) as early as the end of the year, according to two sources familiar with the matter.The company was expected to raise capital at a valuation of up to US$50 billion in this latest round, one of the sources said.The South China Morning Post, citing sources, reported last month that Moonshot was accelerating its fundraising ahead of a planned IPO, with a new round to be raised in August.The round, set to be its final fundraising before the IPO, comes shortly after Moonshot completed another financing round last month at a roughly US$30 billion valuation.The sharp increase in valuation within a short window reflects strong investor appetite after the mid-July release of its latest flagship AI model, Kimi K3.The open-weights model outperformed leading US systems from Anthropic and OpenAI in certain capabilities, according to the company, bolstering Moonshot’s standing in a competitive domestic market.