Runway

Runway is an applied AI research company and creative platform specializing in AI-powered video generation and world models. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in New York City, Runway has become one of the most prominent AI video generation platforms, serving tens of millions of consumers and enterprises globally, including every major film studio. ¹⁾

The company has raised a total of $860 million in funding, with its most recent Series E round of $315 million (February 2026, led by General Atlantic) valuing the company at $5.3 billion. ²⁾

Runway has developed multiple generations of AI video models, each representing significant advances in quality and control:

• Gen-1 – video-to-video transformation, applying styles and edits to existing footage
• Gen-2 – text-to-video and image-to-video generation with improved fidelity
• Gen-3 Alpha – a major leap in temporal consistency, expressive human motion, and cinematic quality. Introduced advanced directing controls and higher resolution output. Gen-3 Alpha Turbo offers faster generation at lower cost. ³⁾
• Gen-4 – consistent characters and backgrounds across generated scenes, enabling multi-shot coherent video
• Gen-4.5 – the latest model as of early 2026, featuring high-definition video generation, native audio, long-form and multi-shot generation capabilities, character consistency, and advanced editing tools ⁴⁾

Beyond raw video generation, Runway provides a full creative suite: ⁵⁾

• Motion Brush – paint motion onto specific areas of an image to control movement
• Camera Control – specify camera movements (pan, tilt, zoom, orbit) for cinematic direction
• Lip Sync – synchronize AI-generated video with audio
• Audio Generation – create sound effects and ambient audio
• Green Screen – AI-powered background removal
• Inpainting – selectively edit portions of video frames
• 4K Upscaling – enhance video resolution
• Keyframing – set start and end states for precise control over generated motion
• Extend Video – lengthen generated clips beyond initial duration

Runway uses a credit-based subscription model with tiered plans: ⁶⁾

Credits are consumed per second of video, varying by model: Gen-4.5 uses 25 credits/second, Gen-4 uses 12 credits/second, and Gen-4 Turbo uses 5 credits/second. Monthly credits do not roll over.

In December 2025, Runway released its first world model and introduced GWM-1 (General World Models). World models are AI systems that construct internal representations of environments to simulate and plan for future events. ⁷⁾

Runway believes world models are essential for solving challenges in medicine, climate science, energy, and robotics, extending the company's ambitions well beyond creative video generation.

Runway has achieved remarkable penetration in the entertainment industry:

• Every major film studio uses Runway's tools ⁸⁾
• Enterprise customers span advertising, gaming, architecture, and robotics/autonomous vehicles
• Named clients include Chime, Robinhood, Allstate, PayPal, Yamaha, Palo Alto Networks, Siemens, SoFi, Prudential, and AAA
• Recently partnered with Adobe for creative tool integration
• Signed an infrastructure agreement with CoreWeave to expand compute capacity

The company employs approximately 140 people across offices in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, London, and Tel Aviv. ⁹⁾

• Total raised: $860 million since 2018
• Series D (April 2025): valued at $3.3 billion
• Series E (February 2026): $315 million led by General Atlantic, with participation from Nvidia, Adobe Ventures, AMD Ventures, Fidelity, Felicis Ventures, AllianceBernstein, and others; valued at $5.3 billion

Global funding for AI video companies totaled $3.08 billion in 2025, up 94.6% from $1.58 billion in 2024, reflecting the sector's explosive growth. ¹⁰⁾

• Synthesia
• Sora
• Pika
• AI Video Generation