Runway, recognized for its artificial intelligence models to generate videos, secures 308 million dollars.

Runway, a startup focused on developing generative artificial intelligence models for media production, including models for video generation, has raised $308 million in a Series D funding round. This round was led by General Atlantic, with participation from Fidelity Management & Research Company, Baillie Gifford, Nvidia, SoftBank, among others. The new funds will be used for research in artificial intelligence, hiring staff, and expanding the film and animation production arm, Runway Studios.

To date, Runway has raised a total of $536.5 million, according to Crunchbase data. In a statement, the company mentioned that this event marks a significant milestone in its journey toward creating a new media ecosystem based on world simulators. They assert that their advancements are not just incremental improvements but lay the groundwork for a completely new approach to media, building an ecosystem supported by AI systems capable of simulating reality.

Runway offers a suite of media tools based on artificial intelligence, which includes models for generating videos and images. Despite strong competition in the video generation sector, which includes OpenAI and Google, the company has taken steps to differentiate itself by signing a deal with a major Hollywood studio and allocating millions to fund films that utilize AI-generated content.

Recently, Runway launched Gen-4, a video generation model that, according to the company, can create consistent characters, locations, and objects across different scenes, maintain "coherent environments," and regenerate elements from various perspectives within the scenes. With products like Gen-4 and its recently launched API for video models, Runway aims to achieve annual revenues of $300 million this year.

However, a potential hurdle is a lawsuit filed by artists against Runway and other generative AI companies, accusing them of training their models using copyrighted works without permission. Runway argues that the doctrine known as "fair use" protects it from potential legal repercussions, although it remains unclear whether the company will come out victorious in this matter.