Runway, one of many hottest generative AI startups with its text-to-image video instruments, has announced a recent spherical of funding, including $141 million in a sequence C from Google, Nvidia and Salesforce Ventures, amongst different buyers.

The New York Metropolis-based firm mentioned in a press launch that it’s going to use this new financing to “additional scale in-house analysis efforts, broaden its world-class crew, and proceed to convey state-of-the-art multi-modal AI methods to market, whereas constructing groundbreaking and intuitive product experiences.”

Runway started with a mission to construct AI for creatives

In March, VentureBeat spoke to Runway CEO and cofounder Cristóbal Valenzuela. He mentioned the gated launch of Runway’s Gen-2 software, which is now typically out there, and the corporate’s founding 4 years in the past with a mission to construct AI instruments particularly for artists and creatives.

“Since then, we’ve been pushing the boundaries of the sector, and constructing merchandise on prime of that analysis,” he mentioned, saying Gen-2 is a “massive step ahead” within the firm’s text-to-video efforts. He pointed to the corporate’s thousands and thousands of customers, starting from award-winning film administrators and promoting and manufacturing firms all the way in which all the way down to small creators and shoppers.

“We’ve constructed an extremely tight neighborhood that has helped us perceive how really creatives are utilizing generative AI of their work in the present day,” he mentioned, pointing to Runway’s work for the Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once. One of many movie’s editors used Runway to assist with results on a number of pictures.

“So we have now numerous of us who’ve helped us perceive how these fashions are going for use within the context of storytelling,” he defined. “We’re heading to a world the place many of the content material and media and movies that you just eat might be generated, which requires a unique kind of software program and instruments to help you generate these type of tales.”

Runway’s progress comes as artists push again on generative AI

Runway’s efforts, nevertheless, come at a time when artists are pushing again in opposition to generative AI. For instance, hundreds of screenwriters have been on strike for over two months, halting many film and tv productions, as a result of they want limits on the usage of generative AI.

And VentureBeat just lately reported that Adobe Inventory creators are unhappy with the corporate’s generative AI mannequin Firefly. In line with some creators, a number of of whom VentureBeat spoke to on the report, Adobe skilled Firefly on their inventory photographs with out specific notification or consent.

There are additionally a number of lawsuits pending within the generative AI area. Simply in the present day, for instance, plaintiffs filed suit in opposition to OpenAI, claiming the corporate used “stolen information” to “practice and develop” its merchandise together with ChatGPT 3.5, ChatGPT 4, DALL-E and VALL-E. 

Three cofounders attended artwork faculty

“We do numerous listening and are a part of the neighborhood,” mentioned Valenzuela, pointing to Runway’s AI Film Festival in March for instance of driving conversations and understanding how these applied sciences might be utilized by skilled filmmakers and storytellers.

“I do suppose there’s confusion round how these algorithms are already being utilized in artistic environments,” he mentioned. “There’s a false impression that … you’ve the methods do every thing for you and you don’t have any enter. We don’t see it like that. We see these instruments as instruments for human augmentation. They’re instruments for enhancing creativity. They’re not instruments for changing creativity.”

Valenzuela emphasised that he comes from an artwork background. “I went to artwork faculty and I began Runway whereas I used to be an artist,” he mentioned. “These are instruments I wished to make use of.”

Initially from Chile, Valenzuela got here to New York Metropolis to attend the Tisch College of the Arts at New York College — the place he met his cofounders Anastasis Germanidis and Alejandro Matamala — however quickly realized that his paintings was higher suited to creating instruments.

“My artwork was toolmaking, I used to be desperate to see artists utilizing the instruments I used to be making,” he mentioned. “So I went deep into the rabbit gap of neural networks — the concept of computational creativity.”

So far as commenting on problems with copyright, honest use and work substitute cited by artists, Valenzuela maintained that it’s nonetheless “very early” in understanding all of the implications of generative AI. “We’re actually making an attempt to ensure we are able to drive this dialog to a optimistic finish,” he mentioned. “I believe listening continues to be an important facet. I believe being open to vary and having the ability to adapt and perceive how issues are going for use, these are the driving elements of how we take into consideration our product. I can’t actually converse for different firms and the way the opposite firms are eager about the area, however for us, we have now the dedication to our customers.”