Melius raises $25M for AI-driven creative advertising platform

Melius, a New York-based AI platform designed to generate advertising campaigns, images, and videos, has raised a total of $25 million in funding. This includes a $20 million Series A led by CRV and a $5 million seed round led by General Catalyst.

The startup was founded by former Ramp engineers Joowon Kim, Young Kim, and Arnav Ramu. The company underwent a significant pivot after its initial product, an AI-powered performance marketing tool, failed to gain sufficient traction. The founders decided to scrap their original codebase to focus on an “agents lab for creative work” that generates the creative assets themselves.

Melius reports achieving more than $1 million in annualized revenue within two months of exiting stealth mode in July. The company enters a competitive market featuring players such as Higgsfield, Krea, and Flora AI.