Runway, a notable entity in the realm of generative AI in Hollywood, is now expanding its focus towards the gaming sector. The startup, which is valued at $3 billion, has exciting plans for this new venture.
This week, I had the opportunity to experience a new interactive gaming application that Runway aims to launch to the public next week, as revealed by CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela. While the current version of this consumer-facing product is basic, featuring a chat interface for text and image generation, Valenzuela assures that video game generation capabilities will be introduced later in the year. Additionally, Runway is exploring partnerships with gaming companies to utilize its technology and leverage their datasets for training purposes.
Valenzuela’s discussions indicate that the gaming industry shares similarities with the film sector during the early days of generative AI. Despite initial skepticism, AI has found a foothold in various production processes over time. He mentioned that Runway’s technology was utilized in Amazon’s recent series, House of David, and emphasized that the company collaborates with “pretty much every major studio” and “most of the Fortune 100 companies.”
Valenzuela noted, “If we can help a studio make a movie 40 percent faster, then we’re likely positioned to assist game developers in speeding up game development as well. The pace of change in their world is notably quicker than what we saw from studios two years ago.”
During our Zoom conversation, I couldn’t miss the opportunity to inquire about Valenzuela’s recent discussions regarding a possible acquisition involving Zuckerberg: “I think we have more interesting intellectual challenges being independent, and remaining independent for now.”
This story was first published in Command Line.
