Melius, an AI platform for generating ad campaigns, images, and videos, announced on Tuesday that it raised a total of $25 million in funding, including a $20 million Series A led by CRV and a $5 million seed round led by General Catalyst.
The New York-based startup, founded by former Ramp engineers, initially aimed to build an AI-powered performance marketing tool but decided to pivot after six months of development.
The co-founders, Joowon Kim, Young Kim, and Arnav Ramu, admitted that their original product did not ‘have legs’ and chose instead to focus on building tools that generate creative assets and campaigns.
Kim stated, ‘We scrapped the entire codebase; we burned all of it.’ The team then began work on an entirely new product, which they describe as an ‘agents lab for creative work.’
Melius is not the only startup in this space, with competitors like Higgsfield, which was valued at $5.4 billion in August, and others such as Krea and Flora AI. Kim acknowledged Higgsfield’s rapid growth but argued that the market is large enough to support multiple competitors. He said, ‘There are a lot of players, which is pretty exciting.’
Kim, who describes himself as a social media influencer, has been passionate about making short videos since elementary school. He said, ‘I tried my best to make vlogs, but my dad was great at using FinalCut Pro, and I wasn’t.’ These early attempts never took off, but his interest in digital media remained, leading to the creation of Melius.
The announcement follows Melius’s initial launch over a year ago, during which it failed to meet its early revenue targets.
The company now aims to provide a platform where anyone, including seasoned creative directors, can turn their ideas into reality using plain language.
Melius did not say when the platform will be available for use, and it remains unclear how it will compete with established players in the AI creative space.
Source: techcrunch
