In a major move for the creative technology sector, Adobe has entered into a strategic, multi-year partnership with the pioneering AI video startup, Runway. Announced on Friday, December 19, 2025, this collaboration is set to bring advanced generative video capabilities directly to the workflows of creators, brands, and major studios worldwide.
Early Access to Next-Gen AI Video
The cornerstone of this deal is the immediate early access to Runway's new Gen-4.5 video generation model within the Adobe Firefly application. This integration allows creators to start generating and refining AI-powered video content using what is touted as Runway's most advanced model to date. The AI company claims Gen-4.5 offers significant improvements, including enhanced motion, stronger adherence to text prompts, and higher visual fidelity. This enables the creation of complex scenes with consistent characters and realistic physics.
Ely Greenfield, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Digital Media at Adobe, emphasized the shift, stating that as AI transforms video production, professionals are increasingly relying on Adobe's ecosystem. He noted that combining Runway's generative video innovation with Adobe's professional workflows will help creators expand their potential and meet the soaring demand for modern content.
Deepening Integration and Exclusive Features
The partnership extends far beyond simple API access. Adobe is now officially designated as Runway's preferred API creativity partner. This status grants Adobe customers privileged access to Runway's latest video models well before their public release. Furthermore, the two companies have committed to jointly developing specialized AI video features that will be available exclusively within Adobe's suite of applications, starting with Firefly.
This initiative aims to make generative video a reliable and integral part of professional video pipelines. The software giant highlighted the focus on catering to the explosive growth in demand for short-form social content, streaming media, and branded video. To ensure real-world applicability, both Adobe and Runway plan to collaborate closely with independent filmmakers, major studios, advertising agencies, and large enterprises.
Seamless Creative Workflows
For users, the workflow is designed to be seamless. Creators can generate initial video clips from simple text prompts directly in Firefly, experiment with pacing and visual styles, and then refine the output using Firefly's built-in video editor. The AI-generated footage is not an isolated asset; it can be effortlessly transferred into Adobe Creative Cloud applications like Premiere Pro and After Effects for advanced editing, compositing, and finishing.
This bridges the gap between cutting-edge AI generation and traditional post-production, allowing AI clips to sit alongside conventionally shot video. Runway's co-founder and CEO, Cristóbal Valenzuela, expressed that the partnership will bring their latest technology to a vast audience of storytellers by embedding it directly into the industry-standard tools they already use.
The alliance also solidifies Adobe Firefly's position as a comprehensive, multi-model generative AI platform. Alongside Adobe's own commercially safe Firefly models, users can now access and leverage partner models from Runway and other leaders like Google, OpenAI, Luma AI, and ElevenLabs, as well as custom models trained on their own unique style.
