
Is AI video just a prequel? Runway's CEO thinks world models are next
From Equity by TechCrunch, Rebecca Bellan, Kirsten Korosec, Anthony Ha, Sean O'Kane, Theresa Loconsolo
April 29, 2026 · 32 min
About this episode
Rebecca Bellan interviews Runway's CEO Cristobal Valenzuela about the future of AI-generated video and its implications beyond Hollywood.
AI-generated video has gone from novelty to creative tool in AI-generated video has gone from novelty to creative tool almost overnight, and Runway has a front-row seat to the shift. The New York-based company has raised close to $860 million at a $5.3 billion valuation, and its models are going toe-to-toe with the most well-funded labs in the world, including Google and OpenAI. And the technology goes way beyond making videos: it's now pushing into general world models with applications in gaming, robotics, and maybe something closer to general intelligence. On this episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, host Rebecca Bellan sits down with co-founder and CEO Cristobal Valenzuela to talk about where video generation goes from here, and why Runway's ambitions now reach well beyond Hollywood. Listen to the full episode to hear about: Why Valenzuela thinks the real constraint on filmmaking has never been technology, and what changes when it is How Runway thinks about world models differently than Google and other labs building in the space What "nonlinear media" means, and why real-time video generation opens up use cases way beyond content creation Why Valenzuela pushes back on the…
People in this episode
Host: Rebecca Bellan
Guest: Cristobal Valenzuela
Topics covered
- AI video
- Runway
- world models
- filmmaking
- technology
- gaming
- robotics
Keywords
- AI-generated video
- Runway
- world models
- filmmaking
- technology
- gaming
- robotics
- nonlinear media
- real-time video generation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Runway, Google, OpenAI
Places: New York
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