Runway, Known for Its AI Video Generation Models, Raises $308 Million

Runway, a startup developing a range of generative AI models for media production—including AI-powered video generation—has raised $308 million in its Series D funding round.

The round was led by General Atlantic, with participation from Fidelity Management & Research Company, Baillie Gifford, NVIDIA, SoftBank, and others. In a press release, Runway stated that the new funds will be used to advance AI research, expand hiring, and grow its Runway Studios division, which focuses on film and animation production.

With this latest investment, Runway has now raised a total of $536.5 million.

The company described this funding milestone as a significant step toward its vision of building a new media ecosystem powered by AI-driven simulators. Runway stated, “Our latest advancements are not just incremental improvements—they form the foundation of a completely new approach to media, built on AI systems that can simulate the world around us.”

AI-Powered Media Tools and Industry Competition

Runway offers a suite of AI media tools, including video and image generation models. However, it faces intense competition from companies like OpenAI and Google, which are also investing heavily in AI video generation. Despite this, Runway has secured partnerships with major Hollywood studios and has allocated millions of dollars to finance films using AI-generated footage.

Launch of 'Gen-4' Video Model

This week, Runway launched ‘Gen-4’, its latest video generation model. The company claims that Gen-4 can create consistent characters, environments, and objects across different scenes, maintain a coherent world structure, and recreate elements from various angles and perspectives within a scene.

With Gen-4 and a newly launched API for video models, Runway aims to reach $300 million in annual revenue this year.

Legal Challenges from Artists

A potential obstacle for Runway and other AI content generation companies is the ongoing legal battle with artists, who have sued them for allegedly training AI models on copyrighted artwork without permission. Runway argues that its practices fall under “fair use”, which it believes provides legal protection. However, it remains unclear whether the company will prevail in court.