Cris Valenzuela: Runway Accelerates AI Video With Nvidia and Adobe
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This is an AI-assisted summary of my Fortt Knox Update with Runway CEO Cris Valenzuela. View the full interview here:
In this Fortt Knox Update, Jon Fortt speaks with Cris Valenzuela, CEO and founder of Runway, about how the company is extending its lead in AI-generated video through deep partnerships with chipmakers and creative software platforms.
Valenzuela explains that Runway was among the first to port a cutting-edge video model, Gen-4.5, to NVIDIA’s new Vera Rubin architecture, completing the transition in a single day thanks to backward compatibility. Early testing shows meaningful inference speed gains and improved efficiency, enabling longer, more coherent video generation with less hardware. That efficiency, Valenzuela argues, is central to Runway’s strategy: delivering top-tier visual quality while keeping unit economics viable at scale.
The conversation also explores Runway’s positioning relative to large platforms like Adobe. Rather than replacing traditional creative tools, Valenzuela frames Runway as an accelerator that embeds advanced video and audio generation directly into familiar workflows in Photoshop and Premiere. Jon likens Adobe’s emerging AI marketplace to consumers choosing between store brands and premium options, with Runway aiming to be the consistently best-in-class choice.
Looking ahead, Valenzuela positions Runway as an applied-research company building “world models” that extend beyond media and advertising into gaming, robotics, and simulation. While demand from large tech players remains strong, he emphasizes Runway’s independence, capital efficiency, and focus on creating entirely new markets rather than simply automating existing ones.
Highlights
Runway ported its Gen-4.5 video model to NVIDIA’s Vera Rubin architecture in one day
Early benchmarks show faster inference and lower hardware requirements
Video generation is far more compute- and memory-intensive than language models
Runway focuses on high performance and strong unit economics
Gen-4.5 integrates video and audio in a multimodal training approach
Media, advertising, and entertainment are the most mature use cases today
New opportunities include gaming, architecture, and robotics training
Runway embeds directly into Adobe tools rather than replacing them
Valenzuela sees consolidation toward one or two “best” models per workflow
Runway plans to remain an independent, applied-research-driven company
If you’d like to join me – and peers – for deeper conversations on innovation and leadership, get on this list for Fortt Knox Executive Communities, launching soon: mba.fortt.com.