UK-founded AI workload startup Runware has raised $3 million from A16Z’s Speedrun, LakeStar’s Halo II, Lunar Ventures, Begin Capital, Zero Prime, and others.

The company has launched what it calls the world’s fastest media generation API, combining sub-second generation times for full-quality Stable Diffusion images with the lowest cost in the industry.

 Runware is also achieving sub-second speeds with their fastFLUX.ai,  built on the recently released Flux model, which is already recognised as  one of the most accurate and delivers image quality on par with Midjourney. 

Large tech companies are struggling to meet the energy demands of  AI-ready applications. Runware solves the problem through  proprietary data centres equipped with custom-designed servers, GPUs, and  efficient cooling, all powered by hydro and solar energy. Runware can  produce thousands of full-quality images, each in milliseconds, all for  less than $1.

Speed of media generation (inference time) is key for AI-powered  applications. Current speeds — 10-60 seconds for base models — are inadequate for real-time content needs. Runware’s proprietary technology allows real-time, affordable-at-scale content generation, crucial in sectors where delays impact user experience and revenue.

Runware states it has set record inference times for the most popular Stable  Diffusion base models, including sub-second generation times for FLUX and  SD1.5. 

Additionally, it enables any company to integrate AI into any application  via a single API call, without steep budgets or AI-focused internal teams, and solves some of the industry’s shortages — such as the scarcity of  Nvidia GPUs, which left many companies without computing power.

 Runware is led by Flaviu Radulescu, a seasoned entrepreneur and tech expert with over 20 years of experience in  big data and cloud platforms. Under his leadership, Runware has developed a new technology that has been rigorously tested by AI image services like CivitAI, Colossyan,  and Synthesia.

“Runware delivers near real-time generative media at a cost that’s lower  than other providers’ energy expenses alone. And with our distributed data  centres, powered by renewable energy, we handle the growing AI compute  demands sustainably and scalably,” said Flaviu Radulescu, founder and  CEO of Runware. 

“As one of the only end-to-end solutions, we’re also creating a platform where product managers in any vertical can integrate  production-ready AI into their apps without dedicated AI teams or multi-million dollar budgets.

 We’re not just making AI accessible, we’re  paving the way for a future where innovation is limitless and  sustainability is at the core of technological advancement.” 

According to Elad Verbin, Lead Scientist and Founding Partner at Lunar Ventures: 

“GenAI is bringing to life new forms of media and creativity. The biggest challenge is computation cost, latency, and ease of use. Runware’s proprietary inference engine is the lowest-latency, most-cost-effective solution.

At Lunar Ventures, we believe Runware will power AI workloads across all sectors for image generation, video generation, and new forms  of personalised media to come.”