Alexander Mashrabov, co-founder of the U.S.-based AI video company Higgsfield, has become a citizen of Kazakhstan. The news was announced by Zhaslan Madiyev, the country's minister of artificial intelligence and digital development, in a Facebook post.
The move comes with a significant condition. Because Kazakhstan does not permit dual citizenship, Mashrabov has applied to give up his Russian citizenship, according to a Higgsfield spokesperson.
The change places one of the fastest-rising figures in generative video under a new flag, and highlights Kazakhstan's ambitions to position itself as a home for AI talent and capital.
A Presidential Decree and a Personal Handover
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the decree granting Mashrabov citizenship on October 30. A photo released alongside the announcement appears to show Madiyev handing Mashrabov his new passport in person.
In his post, Madiyev celebrated the addition of a new billionaire to the country and thanked the Higgsfield team for contributing to Kazakhstan's AI sector. He pointed to the product's global reach, noting it has more than 40 million users.
Stepping Away From Russian Citizenship
Bloomberg noted that Kazakhstan's ban on dual nationality means new citizens must give up any other passports. A Higgsfield representative told the agency that Mashrabov had submitted an application to renounce his Russian citizenship.
Mashrabov has been based in the United States in recent years, and his LinkedIn profile lists Los Angeles as his home. Earlier, in August, Forbes Russia had intended to include him on its ranking of Russian billionaires.
Higgsfield's Explosive Growth
Higgsfield, which Mashrabov co-founded in 2023 with Kazakh machine learning researcher Yerzat Dulat, builds AI tools that generate video. Its customers include creators, marketers and brands making content for social media and advertising.
Forbes reported that the company's annual revenue hit $700 million in August 2026, compared with $20 million a year before. Higgsfield was valued at $5.4 billion in 2026 and recently secured $400 million from backers including Intel, Goldman Sachs, DST Global and Liberty Global.
Mashrabov is believed to own roughly 20 percent of the company, which is why Forbes considered him a billionaire.
A Track Record in AI Startups
Mashrabov studied computer science at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and worked on Yandex Search while still a student. In 2018, he and Grigory Tkachenko started AI Factory, a platform that used AI to animate faces in photos and videos.
Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, acquired AI Factory two years later for $166 million, and Mashrabov went on to work at Snap. That experience in AI-driven visual media laid the groundwork for Higgsfield.
Part of a Broader Pattern
Mashrabov joins a list of prominent entrepreneurs who have given up Russian citizenship since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As reported by Meduza, that group includes Oleg Tinkov, investor Yuri Milner, Revolut founder Nikolay Storonsky and Yandex founder Arkady Volozh.
For many founders building global companies, citizenship has become tied to questions of access to capital, partners and markets, as well as personal and political considerations.
What It Signals for Founders and Governments
The episode shows how governments are actively courting successful AI entrepreneurs, with Kazakhstan publicly claiming Higgsfield's success as part of its own tech story. A dedicated AI ministry handing over a passport sends a clear message to other founders in the region.
For the startup world, Higgsfield's jump from $20 million to $700 million in annual revenue within a year underlines how quickly generative video has become a commercial category, and how mobile the people behind it can be.
Source: Meduza
