DIFFUSE connects creatives and brands without managing their contracts

DIFFUSE brings together portfolios, projects, and direct contact tools for AI-fluent creatives. Runway’s platform expands its existing Talent Network, although its dedicated jobs section is not live yet.

A director can mark themselves as available, add several films to a profile, and receive briefs directly from brands or studios. With DIFFUSE, Runway is trying to turn the portfolio into the beginning of a professional relationship.

The platform brings together independent artists, directors, creative leads, technologists, and production companies working with AI. Brands, agencies, and studios can browse their work, filter profiles, and contact them without relying on Runway to negotiate the engagement. A directory built around completed work

Search covers names, disciplines, and projects. Profiles are organized across advertising, branding, film, trailers, music videos, fashion, cartoons, photorealistic production, UGC, VSL, and experimental work. Separate filters identify studios and people currently available for projects.

Each page contains a biography, discipline, external links, and selected work. It can also show credited projects, combined views, and freelance availability. Visitors can follow a profile or email the creator a brief directly.

At the time of review, DIFFUSE listed 161 profiles and 500 projects. Those figures are likely to change quickly as creatives and production companies build their own pages.

Projects have their own entries and can be explored by discipline, creator, or production category. View counts and following features also give DIFFUSE an editorial layer closer to a specialized professional network than a conventional talent database. The Talent Network grows into a broader service

DIFFUSE is not being built from scratch. Runway has operated a Talent Network since 2024 to introduce creatives and production companies to organizations using its tools.

That earlier version followed a more controlled structure. Creatives submitted an application form, while companies interested in posting work were directed to contact Runway. Its roster already included EDGLRD, Builders Club, Silverside, Superside, Obsidian, independent directors, and members of the Creative Partner Program.

Several people listed on the former network are now present on DIFFUSE, suggesting that its initial roster has been carried into the new service.

The main change concerns access and profile management. The older directory was largely a static showcase with Runway acting as a point of contact. DIFFUSE lets members maintain a presence, show whether they are available, publish projects, and receive inquiries directly.

Creating a profile still requires a Runway account. The company does not publicly explain whether every submission is published automatically, whether profiles are reviewed first, or how it selects the people featured each week. The job board is still coming

Runway describes DIFFUSE as a place to search for, connect with, and hire creative talent. The first two functions are already available. The third remains more limited.

The navigation includes a Jobs section, but it is marked “Coming soon.” Companies can email briefs to existing profiles, although there is no public job board, application system, or recruitment dashboard visible on the platform yet.

In its current form, DIFFUSE is a professional directory combined with a project gallery. It supports discovery and initial contact without managing the full hiring process.

No public contract, quote, payment, rating, or dispute system is shown. Runway’s terms also state that the company is neither an employer nor an agent. Any engagement forms a direct legal relationship between the creative and the hiring party, who remain responsible for evaluation, agreements, payments, and outcomes.

The platform does not publish a DIFFUSE commission, dedicated subscription, or contact fee. Runway’s general terms allow for paid services, but no business model specific to this network has been disclosed. An internal study supports the demand claim

Runway accompanies the platform with its own reading of the labor market. The company says it reviewed more than 1,000 open creative positions from nearly 400 organizations and found that 17% mentioned AI skills or generative tools.

It also says Runway was the most frequently requested video-specific tool in the sample. That does not mean the company appeared in 17% of all listings. The percentage includes every posting that mentioned any relevant AI skill or generative service.

No full report has been published with the claim. Runway does not provide the countries, collection period, source websites, occupational breakdown, search terms, or exact number of mentions received by each tool.

The sample indicates that these skills are appearing in creative recruitment, but it cannot establish how quickly demand is growing. It was also produced by a company that sells one of the tools being counted and is now building the service connecting candidates with employers.

Runway’s argument is still more nuanced than a claim that AI will leave creative employment untouched. The company acknowledges that some work is being displaced and that production roles are changing. It places greater emphasis on a new group combining art direction, filmmaking, established production practices, and media generation.

The public profiles reflect that transition. Most retain familiar titles such as director, visual artist, creative director, studio, or creative technologist. AI appears as a capability added to those professions rather than a single replacement occupation. Public profiles come with public exposure

Runway’s terms state that users retain ownership of the content they publish. They nevertheless grant the company a broad license to host, use, adapt, and display that material while operating its services.

Profiles and projects shared publicly can be viewed, stored, or copied by other people and search engines. Runway’s privacy policy notes that the company is not responsible for what happens to that information after others collect it.

That exposure is part of the value of a recruitment portfolio, but it also requires contributors to