Sora Retreats, Kling Discounts: AI Video Generation Hits Commercialization Crossroads—Who Survives?

In early April, Kling AI announced a three-month membership discount plan. On the surface it’s a promotion, but the signal is clear: AI video generation has moved from the ‘show off’ phase to the ‘fight for price and retention’ endgame.

Sora’s Retreat, Kling’s Advance

OpenAI’s Sora used to be synonymous with AI video generation. But recently its presence has faded. Not because the tech failed—it’s too expensive, too slow, too hard to use.

Meanwhile, Kuaishou’s Kling dropped 20-30% membership discounts on April 1st, extending some image model deals too. This isn’t just a price war—it’s explicit user acquisition.

I compared API pricing. For the same 1080p generation, Sora costs 2-3x more than Kling. For commercial projects, that gap is fatal.

‘Multimodal Agents’ Are the Real Endgame

Pure video generation players, whether Sora or Kling, will eventually face commoditization. Real differentiation comes from integrating video generation into larger AI workflows.

OpenClaw’s latest update points the way. It aggregates 11 video providers into one agent platform, letting the AI decide which model to use when. That’s dimensional reduction—not ‘my video is better,’ but ‘I can systematically solve your problem with AI.’

The Window for Chinese Players

The Stanford AI Index has an interesting stat: China surpassed the US in AI papers and patents in 2025. But ‘top-tier models’ remained a weak spot.

AI video generation might be the first category where China takes the lead. Kuaishou Kling, Alibaba Wanxiang, ByteDance Jimeng—their products already match Sora’s quality, with better understanding of Chinese user needs (vertical video, subtitle generation, etc.).

I expect more ‘going global’ moves from domestic video models in H2 2026. The domestic market has a visible ceiling no matter how hard you compete.

A Practical Suggestion

If you’re a developer, don’t bet everything on one video generation provider. MCP protocols make model switching easy. Today’s optimal Kling might not be optimal in three months.

The smarter play: use OpenClaw or similar agent platforms as an abstraction layer, letting AI decide which model to use. Whoever takes the lead later, you switch seamlessly.

Of course, this assumes you’ve figured out what video generation capabilities your business actually needs. Using AI for AI’s sake is the most expensive cost of all.