Photo: SaaStr Annual 2026
Alex Mashrabov is a generative AI entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of Higgsfield AI. His full first name is Alexander. He co-founded AI Factory, a startup Snap bought for about $166 million (techcrunch.com), then led generative AI at Snap before founding Higgsfield in 2023 with Yerzat Dulat. In August 2026, the company was valued at $5.4 billion. On October 30, 2026, Mashrabov became a citizen of Kazakhstan (informburo.kz).
Family, Olympiads and education
According to Digital Business, Mashrabov’s father is originally from Uzbekistan, while Mashrabov grew up in Kazakhstan competing in programming Olympiads (digitalbusiness.kz). “I come from an Asian family,” he said in an interview on the 20VC podcast.
Mashrabov graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) with a degree in computer science. While still studying, he worked as a machine learning engineer on Yandex’s search team (ru.themoscowtimes.com).
Alex Mashrabov’s career timeline
- While studying at MIPT: machine learning engineer on Yandex’s search team (ru.themoscowtimes.com).
- 2018: co-founded AI Factory with Viktor Shaburov and Grigory Tkachenko. The startup developed AI technology for animating photos and videos and worked with Snap on Cameos (techcrunch.com).
- Late 2019–January 2020: Snap bought AI Factory for about $166 million, according to TechCrunch. The price was not officially disclosed (techcrunch.com).
- Snap: head of generative AI. According to Higgsfield, he led My AI (more than 150 million users) and Cameos Stories (more than 44 million), while his team’s AR effects generated more than 1 billion impressions (blog.higgsfield.ai).
- Autumn 2023: founded Higgsfield AI with Yerzat Dulat (ru.themoscowtimes.com). Venture investor Nikolay Davydov introduced them (raem.kz).
- April 2024: an $8 million seed round led by Menlo Ventures (businesswire.com).
- September 2025: a $50 million Series A round at a valuation of more than $1 billion, making Higgsfield a unicorn (tech.az).
- January 2026: another $80 million at a $1.3 billion valuation (eweek.com).
- August 2026: a $400 million Series B round at a $5.4 billion valuation; investors included DST Global, Goldman Sachs and Intel (ru.themoscowtimes.com).
- September 2026: Higgsfield’s annual revenue run rate exceeded $1 billion (digitalbusiness.kz).
- October 30, 2026: President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a decree granting Mashrabov citizenship of Kazakhstan; Deputy Prime Minister Zhaslan Madiyev presented him with his passport (informburo.kz).
AI Factory and Snap: the first exit
AI Factory was a computer vision company developing tools to recognise, analyse and process images and videos. It had an office in San Francisco, but most of its roughly 70 employees worked in Ukraine. Snap initially invested in the startup before buying it (techcrunch.com).
Their main joint product was Cameos, a feature Snapchat launched in December 2019. It turns a user’s selfie into an animated clip, inserting their face into a short video. At Snap, Mashrabov went on to lead generative AI. According to Higgsfield, the My AI chatbot and Cameos Stories launched under his leadership (blog.higgsfield.ai). That experience with mass-market consumer products built around generative video laid the groundwork for Higgsfield.
Higgsfield: what Mashrabov is building
Higgsfield is a platform for creating videos and images with AI. The company combines generative models and editing tools into ready-to-use workflows for social media and advertising. It says it has more than 40 million users (digitalbusiness.kz). Its headquarters are in San Francisco, and CTO Yerzat Dulat leads the technical side. Read more in the Higgsfield AI profile on Startup Radar.
In September 2026, Mashrabov told the 20VC podcast that Higgsfield had grown from $1 million to $1 billion in annual revenue in 18 months. By comparison, he said, Cursor took 24 months to reach that milestone. The company calculates its annual run rate by multiplying revenue from the previous four weeks by 13. According to Mashrabov, Higgsfield spends more than $4 million a month on AI models for internal tasks (digitalbusiness.kz).
Kazakhstan’s role in Higgsfield’s story
Higgsfield employs around 400 people: about 50 in California, roughly as many working remotely and more than 300 in Kazakhstan (digitalbusiness.kz). Mashrabov attributes the choice to the country’s strong maths and physics education and its large pool of people with experience in international Olympiads. “I hope we’ll create more dollar millionaires in Kazakhstan,” he said (digitalbusiness.kz).
Mashrabov himself lives mainly in San Francisco and visits Kazakhstan several times a year, according to The Moscow Times (ru.themoscowtimes.com). In January 2026, Tokayev met Yerzat Dulat and described the creation of Higgsfield in Kazakhstan as a major success (informburo.kz).
Net worth: what we know
There is no official information on Mashrabov’s stake in Higgsfield. The Moscow Times wrote that a 20% stake would be worth more than $1 billion and could put him on Forbes’ billionaires list. Venture investor Alexey Milevsky estimated the co-founder’s stake at 25–30%; that is his estimate, not a confirmed figure (ru.themoscowtimes.com). In a post about presenting the passport, Zhaslan Madiyev wrote: “Kazakhstan has one more billionaire!” (digitalbusiness.kz).
How Alex Mashrabov lives and works
In his 20VC interview, Mashrabov said he made more than $1 million from the sale of AI Factory and bought apartments for his parents, relatives and his wife’s parents. He said he does not own an apartment or a house himself and drives a Tesla Model 3. He works 80–90 hours a week and tries to spend at least 3 hours a week with his wife and 5 hours with his son (digitalbusiness.kz).
“I don’t believe there’s any shortcut that lets you get around hard work,” he says (digitalbusiness.kz).
Alex Mashrabov in figures
- ~$166 million — the price Snap paid for AI Factory, according to TechCrunch (techcrunch.com).
- $5.4 billion — Higgsfield’s valuation in its August 2026 Series B round (ru.themoscowtimes.com).
- 18 months — the time it took Higgsfield to grow from $1 million to $1 billion in annual revenue (digitalbusiness.kz).
- More than 300 of ~400 Higgsfield employees work in Kazakhstan (digitalbusiness.kz).
- 40 million+ Higgsfield users, according to the company (digitalbusiness.kz).
- 80–90 hours — the time he says he works each week (digitalbusiness.kz).
Frequently asked questions about Alex Mashrabov
Who is Alex Mashrabov?
The co-founder and CEO of Higgsfield AI, former head of generative AI at Snap and co-founder of AI Factory, a startup Snap bought for about $166 million (techcrunch.com).
What citizenship does Alex Mashrabov hold?
He has been a citizen of Kazakhstan since October 30, 2026, when Tokayev signed the decree. Before that, Mashrabov was a Russian citizen (informburo.kz).
Who founded Higgsfield AI?
Alex Mashrabov (CEO) and Yerzat Dulat (CTO) founded the company in autumn 2023 (ru.themoscowtimes.com).
How much is Higgsfield worth?
In August 2026, the company raised $400 million in a Series B round at a $5.4 billion valuation (ru.themoscowtimes.com).
Where did Alex Mashrabov study?
At MIPT, where he studied computer science (ru.themoscowtimes.com).
Is Alex Mashrabov a billionaire?
There is no official information on his net worth. Media and investor estimates are based on his potential stake in Higgsfield, while Minister Zhaslan Madiyev called him a billionaire in a post.
