Grace Isford
Showing 1–2 of 2 transcripts.
- RAISE Summit18 min
Fireside Chat with Anastasis Germanidis, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Runway | RAISE Summit 2026
Anastasis Germanidis, Grace Isford
Founded in 2019, Runway is pivoting from generative video leadership to creating "world models" that simulate physical physics and 3D consistency through pixel prediction rather than explicit architectural rules. This technical approach enables efficient real-time inference for robotics and gaming, allowing the company to license policy models to clients while achieving superior performance with significantly less compute than larger competitors. Driven by founder Anastasis's philosophy of intentional growth, the firm recently expanded its global headcount to nearly 200 and opened a Paris office to deepen its research focus on physical AI and interactive storytelling.
Computer Science is 'So Hot Right Now' | Grace Isford, Lux Capital
Lux Capital partner Grace Isford discusses New York's emergence as a premier AI hub, noting that the city's deep talent pools and proximity to 44 Fortune 500 headquarters have attracted 35 AI unicorns and secured 20% of the region's venture capital. Isford details Lux's investment strategy within this ecosystem, highlighting portfolio companies like Hugging Face and Runway while emphasizing a rigorous diligence process that leverages internal PhDs and senior engineering networks to assess technical risk. The conversation further analyzes current market dynamics, including valuation premiums driven by growth potential and the transition from basic applications to autonomous agents capable of orchestrating complex enterprise workflows.