Runway Gen-4.5 Edges Past Industry Giants to Claim Top Spot in Video AI Benchmark

Runway, the leading independent AI startup, has released Runway Gen-4.5, its latest text-to-video model, immediately shaking up the competitive landscape. The new model currently leads the authoritative Artificial Analysis Text-to-Video benchmark with an Elo score of 1247, placing it narrowly ahead of Google's Veo 3 and OpenAI's Sora 2 Pro. This victory showcases the strength of Runway's focus on responsive, controllable, and integrated workflow tools, built in collaboration with Nvidia using optimized hardware. Gen-4.5 is described as significantly more visually consistent and responsive to user instructions than its predecessor, delivering cinematic-quality output aimed at boosting creative possibilities for content creators and enterprises alike. Runway's traditional strength lies in its comprehensive, browser-based ecosystem, which allows for fast iteration, creative control over camera movements, and seamless integration with existing professional editing tools—making it favored by solo creators and content agencies who prioritize agile workflow over complex infrastructure.

However, despite these technical gains, familiar challenges persist for the industry. Runway acknowledges that Gen-4.5 still struggles with fundamental weaknesses affecting all current video models, including causality (the system fails to accurately model physical events like a door opening only after the handle is pushed) and object permanence (objects may momentarily disappear when obscured). The model also shows a "success bias," simulating successful actions more often than would realistically occur. These persistent issues highlight that the industry has yet to achieve truly reliable "world models" that accurately simulate real-world physics, an area Runway plans to continue developing. Meanwhile, the competition remains intense in specialized fields: rivals like Google's Veo 3 maintain an edge in dedicated 4K photorealism and integrated native audio, while Sora 2 Pro prioritizes complex physical simulation and multi-shot consistency. Gen-4.5 is being gradually introduced and will be accessible to all of Runway's users in the coming days, consolidating Runway's position as the benchmark leader for integrated creative tools.