Melius Raises $25M for AI Creative Generation Platform After Pivot

Melius, an AI platform for generating ad campaigns, images, and videos, announced that it has raised $25 million in total funding, including a $20 million Series A led by CRV and a $5 million seed round led by General Catalyst.

The New York-based company emerged from stealth in July and says it surpassed $1 million in annualized revenue within two months. However, its initial product direction was different. Co-founder Joowon Kim and his co-founders, all former engineers at corporate spending company Ramp, originally built an AI-powered performance marketing tool. More than six months into development, they decided the idea didn't have legs, scrapped the entire codebase, and pivoted to building a platform for generating creative assets and campaigns, which they describe as an "agents lab for creative work."

Melius faces competition from rapidly growing startups like Higgsfield, which was valued at $5.4 billion in August, as well as smaller players including Krea and Flora AI. Kim said the large market can support multiple competitors, and the demand in the space is real.