GoKawiilMelius raises $25M after pivoting from ad-spend tool to AI creative platform
Melius, founded by former Ramp engineers Joowon Kim, Young Kim and Arnav Ramu, has raised $25 million total — a $20 million Series A led by CRV plus a $5 million seed round led by General Catalyst. The company originally built an AI performance-marketing tool but scrapped that codebase after six months, relaunching as a platform for generating ad creative, images and video. Melius says it has surpassed $1 million in annualized revenue within two months of exiting stealth in July.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The pivot shows how quickly AI startups are reshuffling their focus as generative tools make creative production, not just ad optimization, the more lucrative target. Competitors like Higgsfield, valued at $5.4 billion with over $700 million in annualized revenue, suggest investors see a large market that co-founder Joowon Kim believes can support many players rather than a single winner.
- Melius raised $25M total: $20M Series A (CRV) and $5M seed (General Catalyst).
- The startup abandoned its original ad-spend optimization product to build an AI creative-generation platform.
- It claims over $1M in annualized revenue within two months of launch, entering a crowded field including Higgsfield, Krea, and Flora AI.
Source: techcrunch.com — Marina Temkin, 2026-10-06
Published there as: “Ex-Ramp engineers raise $20M for platform Melius after scrapping their first product”
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