Illustration: AI
Higgsfield co-founder and CEO Alex Mashrabov has become a citizen of Kazakhstan. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev personally presented him with his passport. According to the minister, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the decree granting him citizenship on October 30, 2026 (informburo.kz).
What Zhaslan Madiyev said
“Kazakhstan has one more billionaire!” Madiyev wrote in a post about presenting the passport (digitalbusiness.kz). Mashrabov himself has not publicly disclosed his net worth.
“The president pays particular attention to developing artificial intelligence and supporting talent. We want professionals creating the technologies of the future to see Kazakhstan as part of their future and find the opportunities they need to bring their ideas to life in our country,” the minister wrote.
According to Digital Business, Madiyev also described Mashrabov as an example of how world-class technologies can be developed in Kazakhstan and brought to international markets. Before receiving his Kazakh passport, Mashrabov was a Russian citizen.
Who is Alex Mashrabov?
Before Higgsfield, Mashrabov co-founded AI Factory, a startup that developed AI technology for animating photos and videos. The company was acquired by US company Snap for around $166 million, according to TechCrunch. After the deal, Mashrabov led generative AI at Snap.
In 2023, he founded Higgsfield with Kazakh engineer Yerzat Dulat, who became the company’s chief technology officer. In January 2026, Tokayev met with Dulat and called the creation in Kazakhstan of a company considered one of the world’s AI leaders a major success.
What we know about Higgsfield
Higgsfield is a platform for creating videos and images using AI. According to the company, it has more than 40 million users worldwide. In August 2026, the startup raised $400 million in a Series B round at a valuation of $5.4 billion.
Most of the team works in Kazakhstan. In September, Mashrabov told the 20VC podcast that the company had around 400 employees, more than 300 of them in Kazakhstan (digitalbusiness.kz).
