Melius Raises $25M for AI Ad Platform After Scrapping First Product

Executive Overview

New York-based startup Melius, founded by former Ramp engineers, announced on Tuesday a total funding of $25 million, comprising a $20 million Series A led by CRV and a $5 million seed round led by General Catalyst. The platform is now available as an "Agents Lab for Creative Work," enabling users to generate advertising campaigns, images, and video using AI. After scrapping its entire initial codebase, Melius has achieved over $1 million in annualized revenue within two months of emerging from stealth in July 2026.

Deep-Dive Features & Architecture

Melius was founded by three former Ramp engineers: Joowon Kim, Young Kim, and Arnav Ramu. The first product launched over a year ago as an AI-powered performance marketing tool to help marketers manage and optimize ad spend. After more than six months of development, the founders decided the original idea "didn't have the ingredients for success," leading to a radical decision: delete the entire codebase and rebuild from scratch.

Melius pivoted to a broader opportunity: building tools that generate creative assets and the campaigns themselves. After nearly a year since the initial launch, the company unveiled its new platform described as an "Agents Lab for Creative Work," where anyone—including professional creative directors—can turn ideas into reality using natural language.

This shift was driven by Joowon Kim's personal background as a social media influencer and his lifelong passion for short-form video creation. The platform targets ad agencies, marketers, and brands, competing directly with solutions like Higgsfield, Krea, and Flora AI.

Benchmark & Competitive Performance

While Melius achieved $1 million in annualized revenue in two months, its main competitor Higgsfield—three years old—reached over $700 million in annualized revenue and a $5.4 billion valuation in August. Joowon Kim believes the market is large enough to accommodate multiple players, noting that "having many players means there are customers to win and real demand in this space."

The fundamental difference in Melius's model is its focus on generating creative assets and campaigns rather than managing ad spend, placing it in a different category from traditional marketing tools and closer to comprehensive creative generation platforms.

Industry Impact & Enterprise Adoption

Despite no explicit Arabic language support, the entry of players like Melius into the AI ad content generation market opens opportunities for developers and agencies in the Arab region. The cost of developing ad campaigns through traditional methods is high, while platforms like Melius offer the ability to generate visual and video assets at lower cost. In the medium term, these platforms may move toward multilingual support including Arabic, especially as the e-commerce market grows.

Conclusion

Melius's rapid pivot and early revenue traction demonstrate the growing demand for AI-powered creative generation in advertising. With $25 million in fresh funding, the startup is poised to challenge established players like Higgsfield, Krea, and Flora AI. While pricing and Arabic support remain unspecified, the platform's agent-based approach could reshape how agencies and brands produce ad content globally.

Media Source: TechCrunch AI | Fact Verification & Analysis: AI Tools Oasis