Melius, a New York-based AI platform for generating ad campaigns, images and videos, has secured $25 million in total funding, comprising a $20 million Series A led by CRV and a $5 million seed round led by General Catalyst. The company said it surpassed $1 million in annualized revenue within two months of emerging from stealth in July.
The startup was founded by Joowon Kim, Young Kim and Arnav Ramu, who previously worked together as engineers at Ramp. They initially set out to build an AI-powered performance marketing tool, but Joowon Kim said that after more than six months the team concluded the idea lacked staying power. The founders scrapped the entire codebase and pivoted to what they saw as a bigger opportunity: tools that generate creative assets and campaigns directly. Nearly a year after its first launch, Melius revealed a platform it describes as an agents lab for creative work, allowing users to turn ideas into content using plain language.
Melius faces competition from Higgsfield, valued at $5.4 billion in August, as well as Krea and Flora AI. Kim said he is not concerned, arguing that the market is large enough to support multiple players and that the number of competitors signals strong customer demand.
Featured image: Credit: Melius
