Introducing Runway’s Gen-3 Alpha Turbo: Create AI Videos Faster Than You Can Type!

After a preview last month, Runway ML has officially launched Gen-3 Alpha Turbo, the latest upgrade to its AI video generation model. The company claims Turbo is seven times faster and half the cost of its predecessor, Gen-3 Alpha, making AI video production more accessible across all subscription plans, including free trials.

Runway announced on its X account: “Gen-3 Alpha Turbo Image to Video now generates videos 7x faster for half the price of the original Gen-3 Alpha, all while matching performance across various use cases. Turbo is available for all plans, including free trials, with more improvements on the way for control mechanisms and real-time interactivity.”

Building upon the impressive capabilities of Gen-3 Alpha, known for its realistic video generation, Gen-3 Alpha Turbo prioritizes speed without sacrificing quality. Runway co-founder and CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela noted, “It now takes me longer to type a sentence than to generate a video,” addressing a key issue in AI video generation: time lag. This enhancement allows for near real-time video production, facilitating a seamless workflow for users in fast-paced industries.

Runway’s decision to lower costs further supports its goal to encourage widespread adoption. While the regular Gen-3 Alpha model costs 10 credits per second of generated video, Gen-3 Alpha Turbo is priced at just 5 credits per second, reflecting a significant 50% reduction. Credits can be purchased in bundles starting at $10 for 1,000 credits, or $0.01 each.

Making Gen-3 Alpha Turbo available across all subscription plans, including free trials, ensures a diverse user base—from hobbyists to professionals—can take advantage of the new features. This strategic move positions Runway to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving AI video generation market alongside rivals such as Pika Labs and OpenAI’s Sora.

Users are already sharing impressive videos created with Gen-3 Alpha Turbo. Although the seconds spent generating may not always correspond directly to video length, many are delighted by the model's speed and visual quality, producing a variety of styles from realistic footage to animations.

However, some users, like @LouiErik8Irl on X, still prefer the regular Gen-3 Alpha model for its superior quality, while appreciating the quick motion generation offered by Turbo.

Looking ahead, Runway plans to enhance its new model further, adding improved control mechanisms and real-time interactivity capabilities. Previously, the Gen-2 model allowed users to edit specific video segments using tools like the Multi Motion Brush, enhancing creative direction.

As these advancements unfold, Runway faces ongoing scrutiny regarding the sources of its training data, with concerns raised about potentially using copyrighted content from platforms like YouTube without authorization. As the industry contends with ethical dilemmas surrounding AI training, Runway and its peers may need to disclose more about their data and methodologies, influencing the future landscape of AI development and deployment.