
AI Video Startup Moonvalley Raises Fresh $43 Million in Funding
Los Angeles-based startup Moonvalley has secured a significant $43 million investment, as revealed by an SEC filing. This fresh influx of capital comes just a week after the company unveiled its first AI video-generating model, Marey.
Moonvalley’s previous seed funding round brought in $70 million from prominent investors such as General Catalyst, Khosla Ventures, and Bessemer Ventures. While the newly filed paperwork does not disclose the total amount raised, the startup has assured TechCrunch that a formal announcement will be made in due course.
The rapid proliferation of video generation tools is leading to an oversaturation of vendors in this space. Several prominent players, including Runway and Luma, as well as tech giants like OpenAI and Google, are rapidly releasing models with little differentiation between them. Moonvalley’s Marey model stands out from the crowd by offering customizable camera and motion controls, allowing for high-definition clips up to 30 seconds in length.
What sets Moonvalley apart, however, is its commitment to working with partners to handle licensing arrangements and packaging videos into datasets that the company then purchases. This approach mirrors Adobe’s strategy of procuring video footage from creators through its Adobe Stock platform.
The AI video space has faced concerns over potential copyright issues. Many generative video startups train their models on public data, which inevitably includes copyrighted content. While some argue that this practice falls under fair-use doctrine, rights owners have still taken action and filed cease-and-desist notices. Moonvalley’s approach aims to mitigate these risks.
Moonvalley plans to allow creators to request removal of their work from its models, permit users to delete their data at any time, and offer an indemnity policy to safeguard against copyright challenges. Furthermore, the startup is building guardrails into its creative tooling to prevent unfiltered content, such as explicit phrases or images.
In a move similar to OpenAI’s Sora model, Moonvalley will block specific content like NSFW language and disallow users from prompting models to generate videos featuring specific individuals or celebrities.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/07/ai-video-startup-moonvalley-raised-a-fresh-43m-sec-filing-shows/