Runway is a New York-based applied AI research startup that builds generative media tools for content creation and editing. Its platform enables artists and filmmakers to generate and manipulate videos, images, and 3D content using cutting-edge machine learning models. The company was founded in 2018 by Cristóbal Valenzuela, Anastasis Germanidis, and Alejandro Matamala while they were graduate students at NYU Tisch. Initially a thesis project, Runway evolved into a full-featured creative software company.

The platform first gained traction with “AI Magic Tools” that offered features like green screen effects, style transfers, and custom model training. In 2022 and 2023, Runway became a pioneer in generative video with the launch of Gen-1 (video-to-video) and Gen-2 (text-to-video), followed by the release of Gen-3 and Gen-4. It also launched Runway Studios and a timeline-based video structuring tool called Frames to support longer-form AI storytelling and cinematic experiences.

Runway’s models have been used in professional projects, including Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All At Once, and in content from major creators and musicians. The company partnered with studios like Lionsgate to build tailored AI tools and continues to serve both individual creatives and enterprise media teams.

To date, Runway has raised over $536 million from investors including General Atlantic, Google, Nvidia, Salesforce Ventures, SoftBank, Felicis Ventures, and others. In April 2025, the company announced a $308 million Series D funding round valuing it at over $3 billion.

Runway has around 80 employees and continues to grow with offices in New York, San Francisco, London, and Seattle. It operates at the forefront of the generative AI movement and is building multimodal tools that empower creators to produce high-quality video content using just text or reference images. With products like Gen-4 and Frames, Runway aims to become the default video engine for the next generation of digital storytelling.