Overview
- A deal announced Thursday, June 11, 2026 gives Lionsgate a non-cash equity stake in Runway and launches a joint development program to co-create new AI-generated films and series.
- The expanded work will draw on a library of more than 20,000 Lionsgate titles that Runway first began using in 2024 to train a custom video model for production tooling.
- Runway’s position is strengthened by a $308 million Series D and a roughly $5.3 billion valuation that attracted backers such as Google and Nvidia, which underpins studios’ interest in partnering.
- Lionsgate has positioned AI as a core production tool, hiring Kathleen Grace as chief AI officer and projecting large annual production savings, according to company statements.
- Legal, rights and labor questions about copyright, performer likeness and union compliance remain unresolved and pose a clear risk to when and how AI projects can be released.