As creators buy into AI-generated content, Runway extends Series C round to $141 million

Runway is lengthening its runway. The five-year-old startup, which equips creators with the tools they need to produce AI-generated content, has now raised $141 million through its Series C funding round.

The fresh funding will allow Runway to hone its generative AI product, which is currently in its second iteration. The current Gen-2 model creates videos inspired by text-based descriptions. According to Runway CEO Cris Valenzuela, the company’s user base includes Fortune 500 companies and “millions” of creators.

“Content creation today is very expensive and time-consuming,” Valenzuela told TechCrunch. “We want to help bring those cost and time factors as close to zero as possible, especially as companies’ content needs are only increasing…[Our goal is to] reimagine content creation and [build] a new type of creative suite, the generative suite.”

For Runway, the development of a generative suite requires more than just creator-friendly tools. The company has also launched a production wing called Runway Studios, through which it delivers AI-driven programming.

The rise of generative AI programs has induced a fair amount of skepticism among the general public, but for the creator class, the rise of services like Runway Gen-2 presents new opportunities. In a recent study published by Lightricks, 86% of creators said that they believe AI has a positive effect on creativity. 71% of the surveyed videomakers said their fans had reacted positively to AI-driven content.

But as companies like Runway grow, they’ll have to navigate the potential pitfalls of AI-generated media. Deepfakes have become a serious problem on social media, which has led to policy changes at major platforms.

Though Runway probably can’t solve the deepfakes problem all on its own, it now possesses enough capital to develop its own array of innovative AI solutions. Its $141 million funding round came with a valuation of $1.5 billion, according to TechCrunch. Participants in the round included Google, Nvidia, and Salesforce.