Toronto-based AI research company Moonvalley has raised an additional $84 million USD in a seed extension round to meet surging demand for its film-friendly, legally compliant AI video generator.
This round brings Moonvalley’s total funding since its 2023 inception to a striking $154 million USD.
Led by General Catalyst, the latest round also saw participation from industry players including Creative Artists Agency (CAA), CoreWeave, and Comcast Ventures. The company’s focus: high-resolution, licensed training data that steers clear of copyright gray zones plaguing rivals like OpenAI and Meta.
Building IP with AI, Not Legal Risk
Moonvalley’s core product, the Marey model, is trained exclusively on licensed footage, enabling the company to avoid copyright disputes while targeting enterprise clients. The model allows creators to generate videos with tools such as 2D-to-3D transformation, motion transfer from reference clips, and motion control through sketching — all without relying on user-generated data.
“This funding proves you don’t have to choose between powerful technology and responsible development,” said co-founder and CEO Naeem Talukdar.
The company plans to scale its engineering and support staff, expand its licensed content library, and roll out more features for its enterprise clients. The investment comes at a time when entertainment unions and talent agencies are pressing for ethical AI practices in Hollywood. CAA’s Alexandra Shannon said the agency supports “ethically led and talent-friendly applications of AI,” aligning with Moonvalley’s artist-first approach.
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Built by Experts, Trusted by Filmmakers
Moonvalley’s leadership includes AI researchers from DeepMind and Google Research. Its film arm, Asteria Labs, is led by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Bryn Mooser and actress Natasha Lyonne. Their mission: to empower creatives without replacing them.
With new capital in hand, Moonvalley aims to scale responsibly — showing that innovation and ethical alignment can go hand-in-hand, even in the AI arms race.
