Runway unveils $10M fund and Builders program to back early-stage AI startups

AI video-generation company Runway is expanding its focus beyond developing AI video models and is now turning its attention to shaping the ecosystem built on top of its technology.

The company has introduced a $10 million venture fund to back early-stage startups working in artificial intelligence, media, and world simulation. In parallel, it has launched a Builders program that provides startups ranging from seed to Series C with free API credits, signalling a broader effort to establish what Runway describes as a “video intelligence” ecosystem.

Runway has already positioned itself as a key player in the AI video generation space, with its tools widely used in film production, advertising, and marketing workflows. Following the release of its “general world models” in December, the company is now pushing beyond traditional creative tooling into more expansive applications. By investing in startups, Runway aims to explore emerging use cases that it cannot pursue independently.

“We think that through video, we’re going to get to video intelligence, and it’s going to open a wider set of use cases in different industries that we can’t double down on today, but that maybe we can support with our research,” said Alejandro Matamala-Ortiz, co-founder and chief innovation officer at Runway.

The company’s investment strategy is structured around three main areas. The first focuses on technical teams advancing the boundaries of AI through new architectures. The second targets builders developing application layers on top of foundation models to bring AI into new practical use cases. The third century is the time when companies are experimenting with innovative formats for media creation, storytelling, and content distribution.

Over the past 18 months, Runway has quietly invested in several early-stage startups. These include LanceDB, which develops database systems for AI applications, and Tamarind Bio, which applies artificial intelligence to protein design for drug development. Some companies, such as real-time audio-generation startup Cartesia, are building complementary technologies that align with Runway’s core offerings.

“The next generation of AI models will be built on multimodal data – video, audio, images, text together,” said Chang She, co-founder and CEO of LanceDB, in a statement. “LanceDB is building the infrastructure layer that makes that possible, and Runway is one of the few investors who understands why that matters.”

Runway has raised nearly $860 million in funding to date, with backing from major investors including Nvidia and Qatar Investment Authority, and currently has a post-money valuation of around $5.3 billion. The newly launched fund has been seeded by existing investors and strategic partners, with plans to invest up to $500,000 in pre-seed and seed-stage companies.

Runway joins a growing list of AI companies that are investing in emerging startups. OpenAI established its Startup Fund earlier, while Perplexity AI introduced a $50 million venture fund last year targeting seed-stage startups. Similarly, CoreWeave launched CoreWeave Ventures in September to support AI-focused businesses.

“Many companies like ours are investing heavily in the primitives that will unlock a new set of applications or new types of companies,” Matamala-Ortiz said. “Companies like ours that are still fairly small with only 150 people can’t focus on everything. But we do see opportunities in partnering very early with new teams that can benefit from what we’re doing.”

Building with Characters

This broader vision is also reflected in Runway’s newly introduced Builders program. Early-stage startups can now apply to receive up to 500,000 API credits, along with access to Characters — Runway’s recently released real-time video agent API, powered by its latest family of general world models.

Characters enable users to interact with generative AI agents in real time, giving them both a visual presence and a voice that can range from stylised cartoon forms to highly realistic human representations. The Builders program is designed, in part, to explore how startups will use this technology in real-world applications.

“Until recently, we didn’t have the possibility of interacting with a real-time video agent, so we are really trying to see which team recognises the potential and positive impact of this technology,” Matamala-Ortiz said.

The program is already underway, with an initial group of participating companies that includes Cartesia, MSCHF, Oasys Health, Spara, Subject, and Supersonik. These startups are applying Characters in a variety of use cases, including AI-powered customer support agents, interactive branded characters, personalised onboarding tools, real-time sales assistants, and synthetic media platforms.

Matamala-Ortiz highlighted particular interest in applications within telemedicine and education. Given Runway’s strong presence in entertainment, he also expects the technology to play a role in gaming and in new forms of interactive media.

“This is part of our general world models, which is what we’re pushing for next: a set of models that are interactive, real-time, and immersive,” he said. “When you start combining all of these pieces, you can imagine that you will be able to generate and simulate entire environments, and participate and have conversations with the characters in these worlds.”

Other companies are also exploring similar directions. Startups like Inworld AI and Charisma AI are developing interactive AI characters for gaming and storytelling, while companies such as StoReel are experimenting with AI-generated shows that allow direct user interaction. Platforms like Character.AI have already gained popularity by enabling users to engage in conversations with AI-driven characters.

“We do really believe that there’s a new kind of internet that’s going to be more personalised, more immersive, and in real time,” Matamala-Ortiz said.