Ex-Ramp engineers raise $20M for platform Melius after scrapping their first product

Melius, a New York startup founded by three former Ramp engineers, raised $25 million in total funding — a $20 million Series A led by CRV and a $5 million seed round led by General Catalyst — to build an AI platform for generating ad campaigns, images, and videos. The company pivoted from an earlier performance-marketing product, relaunched from stealth in July, and says it reached more than $1 million in annualized revenue within two months of that relaunch.

By AI Newsroom· Reviewed by Pranav, Founder & Editor-in-ChiefPublished 1 minute agoUpdated 1 minute ago0 views

Ex-Ramp engineers raise $20M for platform Melius after scrapping their first product

Why It Matters

The raise and early revenue milestone highlight investor interest and early commercial traction in AI-driven creative tools for marketers, a crowded but rapidly expanding segment that already includes well-funded competitors. The story also illustrates a full-product pivot by founders who abandoned their initial codebase and strategy after concluding it lacked promise.

Key Facts

Total funding: $25 million
Series A: $20 million led by CRV
Seed round: $5 million led by General Catalyst
Founders: Joowon Kim, Young Kim, Arnav Ramu
Founders' prior employer: Ramp

Melius, a New York-based startup founded by three former engineers from Ramp, announced a total of $25 million in funding to expand its AI toolkit for generating advertising creative, including campaigns, images and video. The financing breaks down into a $20 million Series A led by CRV and a $5 million seed round led by General Catalyst. The company came out of stealth in July and reports it hit more than $1 million in annualized revenue within two months of that public relaunch.

The product on offer today is the result of a significant mid-course change. When the team first launched over a year ago, they built an AI-powered performance-marketing tool, but after more than six months they concluded the original idea lacked sufficient potential. The founders decided to discard that initial codebase and build a new platform focused on creating the assets and campaigns themselves, which they describe as an "agents lab for creative work."

Melius enters a competitive market for AI creative tools. TechCrunch notes rivals ranging from Higgsfield — which was valued at $5.4 billion in August and has reported over $700 million in annualized revenue — to smaller startups such as Krea and Flora AI. Melius's co-founder said he is not overly concerned about competition, arguing the market is large enough to sustain multiple players and pointing to clear customer demand.

The pivot also reflects the founders' personal interests: co-founder Joowon Kim has long been interested in making short-form videos and digital media, and said part of the motivation for Melius was building a tool that lets users turn ideas into finished creative using natural language. The funding will be used to develop the platform further as the company scales after its post-pivot launch.