AI Ad Creator Melius Bags $25M to Revolutionize Campaigns

AI platform Melius announced on October 7, 2026, that it has raised $25 million in total funding. This includes a $20 million Series A investment led by CRV and a $5 million seed round from General Catalyst. The company aims to revolutionize ad campaign and creative asset generation.

Melius, founded by former Ramp engineers, initially focused on performance marketing tools. However, over six months after its first launch, the founders pivoted to building an AI platform that generates creative assets and campaigns. This strategic shift involved scrapping the original codebase and developing a new product.

The New York-based startup claims to have achieved over $1 million in annualized revenue within two months of exiting stealth in July. Melius operates in a competitive landscape with players like Higgsfield, which was recently valued at $5.4 billion. Despite the competition, Melius's co-founder, Joowon Kim, believes the market is large enough to support multiple companies.

Kim expressed a long-standing passion for digital media creation, stemming from his early attempts at making videos. Melius now offers a platform where users, including creative directors, can translate ideas into reality using plain language, effectively building the tool he once wished he had.