AI startup Runway unveiled new video model Gen 4.5, that outperforms similar models from Alphabet’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) Google and OpenAI (OPENAI) in an independent benchmark.
Gen 4.5 enables users to generate high-definition videos based on written prompts that describe the motion and action they want.
Runway said Gen-4.5 sets new standards for dynamic, controllable action generation, temporal consistency and precise controllability across diverse generation modes.
With 1,247 Elo points, Gen-4.5 currently holds the top position in the Artificial Analysis Text to Video benchmark, surpassing all other models, according to the company.
The model has the number one spot on the Video Arena leaderboard, which is maintained by AI benchmarking and analysis firm Artificial Analysis.
Google’s Veo 3 took second place, while OpenAI’s Sora 2 Pro model is in seventh place.
Runway noted that the new model has realistic physics with believable collisions and natural movement; nuanced emotions, natural gestures and lifelike facial detail in characters; and renders multi-element scenes with precision, among other things.
“We managed to out-compete trillion-dollar companies with a team of 100 people,” Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela told CNBC in an interview. “You can get to frontiers just by being extremely focused and diligent.”
The company’s customers include media outlets, studios, brands, designers, creatives and students. The startup’s valuation has grown to $3.55B, according to PitchBook, CNBC reported.
Valenzuela said Gen 4.5 was dubbed “David” in a nod to the biblical story of David and Goliath. The model was “an overnight success that took like seven years,” he added.
Gen 4.5 is rolling out gradually, but it will be available to all Runway customers by the end of the week. Valenzuela noted that it is the first of several major releases that the company has in store, the report added.
“It will be available through Runway’s platform, its application programming interface and through some of the company’s partners,” Valenzuela noted.