Moonvalley lands $53M for ethical AI video tools
Just weeks after announcing a $43 million fundraising round, Los Angeles-based AI video startup Moonvalley has secured another $10 million, bringing its total funding to $53 million. Including a $70 million seed round in November, the company’s total backing now stands at approximately $124 million.
Founded by a team of seasoned AI experts — including former DeepMind scientists Mateusz Malinowski and Mik Binkowski, along with ex-Zapier growth lead Naeem Talukdar — Moonvalley is carving out a niche in the increasingly saturated generative video landscape. Its flagship model, Marey, developed in collaboration with new animation studio Asteria, aims to stand apart not just through technical prowess, but with a strong emphasis on legality, control, and creator rights.
Differentiating in a Crowded Market
As the generative video field explodes with activity from startups like Runway, Pika, and Luma, as well as heavyweights such as OpenAI, Google, and Alibaba, the challenge for newcomers is clear: avoid blending into the noise.
Moonvalley’s strategy to distinguish itself hinges on two pillars: proprietary data licensing and creative safeguards. While many video AI models are trained on scraped public data — a practice that continues to spark legal battles over copyright — Moonvalley is buying licensed datasets through third-party partnerships, following models established by companies like Adobe and Bria. The company also promises tools for opting out of training datasets and the ability for users to delete their data at will.
A Tool Built for Creators
Moonvalley is not just building models; it’s crafting a product. Its upcoming software suite, still under wraps, includes storyboarding capabilities and granular video editing tools, designed to give filmmakers and animators more creative control. Its model, Marey, supports generation from text prompts, sketches, images, and even existing video clips, and can produce HD clips up to 30 seconds long with advanced control over camera and motion dynamics.
That emphasis on control is part of Moonvalley’s broader vision to appeal to professional creatives. “We founded Moonvalley to make generative video technology that works for filmmakers and creative professionals,” the team wrote in a March blog post. “That means addressing fear and distrust, as well as solving technical problems that keep generative AI from being a realistic tool for professional production.”
Ethical Boundaries in AI Video
With concern growing across the creative industries — a recent Animation Guild study projected AI could disrupt over 100,000 entertainment jobs by 2026 — Moonvalley is trying to position itself as a responsible actor. Unlike some AI video tools that enable deepfake-style outputs or misuse of likenesses, Moonvalley has committed to implementing strict guardrails: no celebrity recreations, no NSFW content, and protections for user data.
To bolster user trust, the startup is also offering an indemnity policy to shield its customers from potential copyright claims, a rare move in a field still grappling with the legal grey areas of AI content creation.
A Founder-Led Vision for AI’s Creative Future
Co-founded with Bryn Mooser, head of Asteria and a documentary filmmaker, Moonvalley’s leadership is uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology and storytelling. Their vision isn't to replace human creators, but to give them a next-gen toolkit — one that respects intellectual property and empowers professionals rather than undercutting them.
As generative video tools become increasingly powerful and pervasive, Moonvalley is betting that responsibility and refinement — not just flashy demos — will be what wins the race. With $124 million now fueling that vision, the industry will be watching closely to see if they’re right.
