Video generation AI startup Runway has secured a new round of funding, attracting significant investor attention. The company recently raised $315 million (approximately 4.548 trillion won) in its Series E funding round, bringing its valuation to $5.3 billion (approximately 7.632 trillion won).
This funding round was led by global private equity firm General Atlantic, with participation from prominent investors including Nvidia, Adobe Ventures, AMD Ventures, Fidelity Investments, and Felici Ventures. Since completing its $308 million Series D funding round last April, the company's valuation has surged by over 60% in less than a year. New York-based Runway, founded in 2018, has raised a total of $860 million (approximately 1.2384 trillion Korean won) in funding.
Runway describes itself as an applied AI company developing "world models." Users can generate high-quality videos simply by inputting text or images. Last year, the company launched its AI model "Gen-4," which made significant progress in video generation capabilities that maintain consistency between backgrounds and characters. Reportedly, this technology has attracted tens of millions of businesses and users.
Currently, investment enthusiasm for the video generation AI market has reached unprecedented levels. According to Crunchbase data, global video AI startups received $3.08 billion (approximately 4.4352 trillion won) in investment last year, nearly doubling from $1.58 billion in 2024. Luma AI, in the same field, also successfully completed a $900 million Series C funding round last November, valuing the company at $4 billion.
While Runway has not disclosed specific revenue figures, its Chief Operating Officer, Michelle Kwon, stated that the company's growth momentum is "very rapid." Currently, Runway generates revenue through individual subscriptions and a pay-per-seat model for corporate clients. Its major clients include major Hollywood production companies, as well as Robinhood, PayPal, Siemens, Sophos, Yamaha, Allstate, and Prudential.
Furthermore, leveraging its AI models' ability to simulate real-world environments, Runway is actively expanding collaboration opportunities in robotics and autonomous driving. Michelle Kwon explained, "We are continuously designing next-generation AI-based video generation models, while focusing on developing world models that can solve challenges in fields such as healthcare, climate, energy, and robotics."
This funding will support Runway's technology research and development and product expansion. The company plans to accelerate the commercialization of its technology through a computing infrastructure agreement with CoreWeave and actively promote cooperation with large enterprise customers. Kwon emphasized, "While enhancing our R&D capabilities and computing infrastructure, we will rapidly build and expand our products on top of them. The company will also comprehensively strengthen its talent recruitment and market entry strategies."
