Exclusive: Runway launches $10M fund, Builders program to support early stage AI startups

Runway, the innovative AI video generation company, is taking a major step forward by establishing a $10 million venture fund aimed at nurturing early-stage startups in the realms of AI, media, and world simulation. The founders revealed this exciting development to TechCrunch, highlighting their ambition to cultivate an ecosystem centered around what they term 'video intelligence.' Beyond its current offerings, Runway is introducing a Builders program that provides seed to Series C startups with complimentary API credits. This initiative signals the company's desire to expand its impact beyond creative tools and into broader applications. Runway has solidified its position as a leader in AI video generation, with its technology being utilized across various sectors including film, advertising, and marketing. The company’s co-founder and chief design officer, Alejandro Matamala Ortiz, shared insights on their vision, stating, “We believe video will lead us to video intelligence, paving the way for diverse use cases across industries that we might not be able to explore independently, but can support through our research.” Runway's investment strategy is categorized into three main areas. Over the past year and a half, they have discreetly supported several early-stage founders and companies, such as LanceDB, which specializes in AI databases, and Tamarind Bio, leveraging AI for protein design in drug discovery. Some of these startups, like Cartesia, which focuses on real-time audio generation, are developing products that complement Runway’s own technology. LanceDB's co-founder and CEO, Chang She, emphasized the importance of multimodal data in creating the next generation of AI models, stating, “Runway is one of the few investors who truly understands the significance of building the infrastructure layer that enables this.” Having raised nearly $860 million from investors like Nvidia and the Qatar Investment Authority, Runway holds a post-money valuation of approximately $5.3 billion. The new fund will provide investments of up to $500,000 for pre-seed and seed-stage startups, a move reflecting a growing trend among AI startups to invest in nascent companies. Notably, OpenAI has established its Startup Fund, while AI search firm Perplexity launched a $50 million venture fund last year. CoreWeave also initiated CoreWeave Ventures in September to support AI startups. Ortiz remarked, “We recognize that companies like ours, though relatively small with a team of 150, cannot tackle every opportunity. However, we see immense value in partnering with new teams early on.” The Builders program is already operational, inviting eligible early-stage startups to apply for 500,000 API credits, along with access to Runway’s innovative real-time video agent API, Characters. This tool allows users to interact with generative AI agents in real time, bringing them to life with various visual and auditory styles. Current participants in the Builders program include Cartesia, MSCHF, Oasys Health, Spara, Subject, and Supersonik, who are leveraging Characters for applications such as AI customer support, interactive brand characters, personalized onboarding, real-time sales assistance, and synthetic media solutions. Ortiz expressed enthusiasm for the potential applications in telemedicine and education, while also anticipating the use of Characters in gaming and new entertainment formats. As Ortiz articulated, “This is part of our broader vision for general world models, which we aim to develop further—creating interactive, real-time, immersive experiences.” The ultimate goal is to generate and simulate entire environments where users can engage and converse with characters. Other startups like Inworld and Charisma are also venturing into the development of interactive AI characters for storytelling and gaming, while companies like StoReel are delving into AI-generated shows that offer user interaction. As Ortiz noted, “We genuinely believe in a new kind of internet that will be more personalized, immersive, and real-time.”