Melius Raises $20M Series A for AI Ad Campaign Platform After Codebase Overhaul

Melius has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by CRV, bringing its total funding to $25 million. Co-founders Joowon Kim, Young Kim, and Arnav Ramu, all former engineers at Ramp, scrapped their initial product and rebuilt the platform from scratch, with Kim stating, "We burned all of it." Melius, which emerged from stealth mode in July, focuses on generating ad campaigns, images, and videos. Within two months of its relaunch, Melius achieved over $1 million in annualized revenue.

The company faces competition from Higgsfield, which is valued at $5.4 billion and reported over $700 million in annualized revenue as of August, as well as other players like Krea and Flora AI. Joowon Kim noted the market's size can support multiple competitors, indicating a robust landscape for AI-driven advertising solutions. This funding follows a $5 million seed round led by General Catalyst, demonstrating investor confidence in Melius's potential despite its initial setbacks.