Runway earmarks $5M to fund up to 100 films using AI-generated video
To jump-start the new AI film ecosystem, Runway has set aside $5 million in cash and more in service credits to fund up to 100 original films. If you’re an AI-curious director, now’s your chance to get a little backing.
Runway’s Hundred Film Fund is intended to help kick-start any video-based project that uses the company’s generative video model in some way. “Traditional funding mechanisms often overlook new and emerging visions within the larger industry ecosystem,” the company wrote in the blog post.
Specifically, Runway is dedicating $5 million of its own money to award as grants to filmmakers creating “features, shorts, documentaries, experimental projects, music videos,” or some as-yet-unknown format. The awards would also come with up to $2 million in Runway credits.
The announcement post does say that the cash side has “the potential to grow to $10M.” I asked what this means, and Runway Head of Creative Jamie Umpherson said they want to be “as flexible as possible in how we’re approaching the scope of this fund. We are starting with one hundred films but we hope to do more over time.”
