Cristóbal Valenzuela

Cristóbal Valenzuela ‘18 (MPS, ITP) is the co-founder and co-CEO of Runway, a global leader in AI research dedicated to building foundational AI research models and tools to create multimodal simulators of the world. 

Originally from Santiago, Chile, Valenzuela’s journey began through the lens of a camera, making home videos as a teenager. He later funded his education by building websites and producing promotional videos. Valenzuela graduated from Adolfo Ibáñez University (AIU) in Chile with a degree in economics and business management, and pursued his master’s degree in arts and design in 2012. After graduation, he taught design at the university in Chile where he started researching how AI algorithms could be used in art. His lifelong passion for storytelling eventually led him to pursue a degree at NYU Tisch’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), where he ultimately founded Runway with fellow classmates, Anastasis Germanidis ’18 and Alejandro Matamala Ortiz ’18.

Under his leadership, Runway has become a groundbreaking force to the modern creative workflow, integrating image, video, and language models for global use. The company has raised over $860 million, established partnerships with major film studios, and launched initiatives like the Hundred Film Fund and its own AI Film Festival. Runway technology has been used in major film productions such as Everything Everywhere All at Once, and by television shows like House of David. 

Valenzuela’s impact on the industry has been recognized by the Washington Post’s "Next 50" and the TIME100 Next list.