Midjourney vs Runway: Founders, CEOs and History
Midjourney was founded in 2021 by David Holz and is led by David Holz. Runway was founded in 2018 by Cristóbal Valenzuela, Alejandro Matamala-Ortiz, Anastasis Germanidis and is led by Cristóbal Valenzuela and Anastasis Germanidis (co-CEOs).
Company facts
Midjourney
- Founded
- 2021
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Current CEO
- David Holz
- Employees
- 100
Runway
- Founded
- 2018
- Headquarters
- New York City, New York, United States
- Current CEO
- Cristóbal Valenzuela and Anastasis Germanidis (co-CEOs)
- Employees
- 140
Founders
Midjourney
David Holz
David Holz is the founder and CEO of Midjourney, Inc. He previously co-founded Leap Motion in 2010 and served as its CTO, then started Midjourney in 2021 as a self-funded research lab.
Runway
Cristóbal Valenzuela
Cristóbal Valenzuela co-founded Runway in 2018 and has led it as CEO since; he has shared the role as co-CEO with Anastasis Germanidis since early 2026.
Alejandro Matamala-Ortiz
Alejandro Matamala-Ortiz co-founded Runway in 2018 and led product design, shaping the browser-based interface that made machine learning models usable by artists and editors without code.
Anastasis Germanidis
Anastasis Germanidis co-founded Runway in 2018 and led its research and engineering as CTO. In 2026 he became co-CEO alongside Valenzuela, a change Runway said formalized his role driving research.
CEOs and their tenures
Midjourney
- David Holz2021–present
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Founded Midjourney in 2021 after co-founding Leap Motion; has run it as a self-funded lab with no venture capital, overseeing the V1-V8 model line and the 2025 launch of Video V1.
Source - Philip Rosedale2022–present
Advisor
Provided critical early structural advice and scaled governance consulting for the rapidly growing generative AI image synthesis platform.
Source
Runway
- Kamil Sindi
Chief Technology Officer
Listed by Runway as CTO for its 2026 AI Summit in San Francisco.
Source - Anthony Maggio
Chief Product Officer
Listed by Runway as CPO for its 2026 AI Summit in San Francisco.
Source - Cristóbal Valenzuela2018–present
Co-Founder & Co-CEO
CEO since founding; led Runway through Gen-1, Gen-2, Gen-3 Alpha, Gen-4 and Gen-4.5 and fundraising from Series A to the $315M Series E at $5.3B.
Source - Anastasis Germanidis2018–present
Co-Founder & Co-CEO
Long-time research and technology lead; named co-CEO in 2026. Announced the $200M ARR milestone and the Kinetix team joining in September 2026.
Source
Timeline: Midjourney and Runway side by side
2018Runway
Runway founded
Founded in New York by three NYU ITP alumni as a no-code toolkit for running machine learning models.
2021Midjourney
Midjourney Founded in San Francisco by David Holz
Leap Motion co-founder David Holz founded Midjourney as a self-funded independent AI research lab.
2021Runway
Latent diffusion paper
Runway researchers co-authored the latent diffusion paper with LMU Munich, the basis of Stable Diffusion.
2022Midjourney
Launches Midjourney V1 on Discord & Goes Viral Globally
Debuted text-to-image synthesis inside Discord, creating a worldwide spectator co-creation phenomenon.
2022Midjourney
Wins Colorado State Fair Digital Art Competition & Stirs Global Debate
An artwork generated with Midjourney ('Théâtre D'opéra Spatial') won first prize, sparking global debates on AI in fine art.
2022Midjourney
Holz says Midjourney is profitable
In August 2022 Holz said the company was already profitable without outside funding.
2023Midjourney
Releases Midjourney V5 & The Viral Pope Puffer Jacket Moment
Launched photorealistic V5; viral Pope image demonstrated AI's alarming realism, sparking global deepfake debates.
2023Midjourney
V6 and growing Discord community
Revenue was estimated by outside analysts near $200 million in 2023; Midjourney does not disclose figures.
2023Runway
Gen-1 and Gen-2 launch; $1.5B valuation
Released Gen-1 (video-to-video) and Gen-2 (text-to-video) and raised a $141M Series C extension from investors including Google and NVIDIA.
2024Midjourney
Launches Midjourney Web Studio & Consistency Parameters (--cref / --sref)
Expanded beyond Discord into a dedicated web canvas studio and introduced character consistency for storytellers.
2024Runway
Gen-3 Alpha and Lionsgate deal
Launched Gen-3 Alpha and Act-One, and agreed to train a custom model on Lionsgate's library.
2025Midjourney
Video V1 launch and studio lawsuits
Midjourney launched Video V1 in June 2025; Disney and Universal sued the same month, and Warner Bros. Discovery followed in September.
2025Runway
Series D, Gen-4, Gen-4.5 and GWM-1
Raised a $308M Series D at just over $3B in April, then released Gen-4, Gen-4.5 and its first general world model, GWM-1.
2026Midjourney
V8 series released
V8 alpha launched March 17, 2026; V8.2 became the default model on July 24, 2026.
2026Runway
$315M Series E at $5.3B
General Atlantic led the February round; Germanidis became co-CEO.
2026Runway
$200M ARR and Kinetix team joins
ARR doubled from about $100M in April to $200M in September; the Paris-based Kinetix team joined to work on robotics.
Acquisitions
Midjourney
No verified acquisitions are listed.
Questions about Midjourney vs Runway
Who is the CEO of Midjourney, Inc. and Runway?
Midjourney, Inc. is led by David Holz and Runway is led by Cristóbal Valenzuela and Anastasis Germanidis (co-CEOs). Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Midjourney, Inc. founded vs Runway?
Runway was founded in 2018 — 3 years before Midjourney, Inc., which was founded in 2021. Runway's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Midjourney, Inc..
How many employees does Midjourney, Inc. have compared to Runway?
Midjourney, Inc. employs approximately 100 people, while Runway employs approximately 140. Runway has the larger workforce at 140 employees, compared to Midjourney, Inc.'s 100. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Midjourney, Inc. and Runway headquartered?
Both Midjourney, Inc. and Runway are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Midjourney, Inc. and Runway?
Midjourney, Inc. was founded by David Holz. Runway was founded by Cristóbal Valenzuela, Alejandro Matamala-Ortiz, Anastasis Germanidis.
Which company has a longer operating history — Midjourney, Inc. or Runway?
Runway has been operating for approximately 8 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Midjourney, Inc. has been in operation for around 5 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Midjourney vs Runway overview