Synthetic Media Startup Runway Raises $141M in Funding
Synthetic media software startup Runway has secured an additional $141 million in funding for its Series C round. The company, known for its text-to-video and video-to-video generative AI technology, recently signed a deal with Google Cloud. The funding will support Runway’s mission to revolutionize the creative industry and create a more diverse and equitable world through its products and research.
Rebuilding the Creative Stack
Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela stated that the company is rebuilding the creative stack from scratch and conducting impactful research that will transform various industries. The next phase of storytelling will be highly democratized, and Runway aims to be a major force in driving this change. The company has received continued support from investors, partners, and customers who share its vision.
Expanding into Entertainment
Since its founding in 2018, Runway has expanded into the entertainment industry. It provided technology for visual effects in the film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and played a role in the development of the open-source AI image generator Stable Diffusion. The company has also organized AI Film Festivals and established Runway Studios to produce its own movies. The recent funding will further support these endeavors.
Investors and Industry Impact
Runway has raised a total of $237 million and has a reported valuation of $1.5 billion. The latest funding round includes major investors who have also participated in other notable funding rounds. Typeface, a synthetic media for business startup, raised $100 million in a round led by Salesforce Ventures, while Inflection AI, a large language model startup, secured $1.3 billion with Nvidia as one of its leaders. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praised Runway’s work with Nvidia accelerated computing in the cloud, stating that generative AI is transforming the content creation industry.
With this new funding, Runway is poised to continue its innovative work in the field of synthetic media, pushing the boundaries of creativity and storytelling for artists worldwide.
(Original article: voicebot.ai)