AI Video Startup Runway Receives $141 Million Investment

Runway AI Inc., an artificial intelligence software that can create a short video from just a few typed words, has received investment. Alphabet Inc. has raised $141 million in funding from Google, Nvidia Corp., Salesforce Inc. and other investors. Runway's new funding, which the company plans to announce, is an extension of a $50 million Series C funding round led by Felicis Ventures in December. Runway has raised approximately $237 million in new cash flow.

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Runway

Runway is at the vanguard of a global surge in interest in artificial intelligence. So far this year, investors have poured billions of dollars into AI startups, particularly companies focused on generative AI that takes inputs like written commands and creates new content like poems or images. A growing number of startups are building AI chatbots and image generators. For video, it is still in its infancy. It could present a new frontier for AI technology. Runway's latest deal values the New York-based startup at $1.5 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is confidential. In December, the company was reportedly valued at $500 million. In an interview, Runway co-founder and CEO Cris Valenzuela also said the company plans to use the funding to conduct additional research into AI models of video and image creation.

Runway started with the mission to develop AI tools specifically for artists and creatives. The company was founded four years ago. Let's talk about Runway's newest product. It is Gen-2, an AI system that can output a short, silent video in response to written text. It is now also available online, through an iOS app and on a Discord channel. This tool followed Gen-1, which required users to upload a video as an input source (along with user guidance such as a text prompt or still photo) that was used to create a new, silent, short video. The company also produces web-based editing tools for filmmakers. As such, it helped create the original version of the text-to-image AI model Stable Diffusion. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made a statement. He said that Runway technology could change the way artists work and tell stories.