Runway will open offices in London, Tokyo and Paris and invest nearly $300 million

Runway, one of the leaders in the generative video market based on artificial intelligence, has announced global expansion: the developer is opening new offices in London, Tokyo and Paris and plans to invest nearly $300 million in business development and research over the coming years.

Where Runway's new offices will open

The company's plans were discussed by its co-founder and CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela in an interview with Bloomberg Tech host Ed Ludlow. In addition to its headquarters in San Francisco, Runway is creating hubs in London, Tokyo and Paris — three cities with strong media, advertising and cinematography industries.

• Runway's new offices will open in London, Tokyo and Paris
• For global expansion and AI research, the company will direct nearly $300 million over the coming years
• The plans were announced by Runway's co-founder and CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela
• The interview aired on Bloomberg Tech with host Ed Ludlow

Why Runway is entering new markets

Runway was one of the companies at the forefront of the generative video market: its Gen line models are used by directors, advertising agencies and studios to create and edit videos using text and visual prompts. In recent years, the AI video market has noticeably expanded and become more competitive: in addition to Runway, it includes models from major technology labs — OpenAI's Sora and Google's Veo, as well as specialized startups like Pika and Luma AI and Chinese developers such as Kuaishou with the Kling model.

By opening offices in London, Tokyo and Paris, Runway seeks to be closer to local film, advertising and fashion industries, as well as to attract research and engineering talent outside the United States. This strategy is typical for AI companies at the scaling stage: local teams allow you to quickly adapt the product for regional clients and compete for talent across multiple markets, not just in Silicon Valley.

For advertising agencies and media companies that are increasingly piloting text-to-video tools in creative production, having local offices and support teams in key creative capitals — London, Tokyo and Paris — makes it easier to implement such tools into real workflows, not just experimental projects.

What this means

Runway's global expansion with investments in hundreds of millions of dollars shows that the generative video industry based on AI is transitioning from an experimental stage to a scaling stage — with international offices, local teams and competition for creative markets around the world. For other market players, including smaller startups, this is an additional signal: competition for clients and talent in AI video is increasingly going beyond the US and becoming truly global.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much money will Runway direct to global expansion?

The company plans to invest nearly $300 million in business development and AI research over the coming years.

In which cities will Runway's new offices open?

The company's new hubs will appear in London, Tokyo and Paris — in addition to its headquarters in San Francisco.