I spent six years at Snapchat as a software engineer, the last two working on AI for Snap's advertising and camera features. That's when I realized how powerful AI-generated video could be.

The Problem I Saw

Creating quality video content is expensive - $1,000+ per minute when you factor in scripting, casting, locations, editing, and reshoots. Most businesses simply can't afford it.

Founding Surreal (Now HeyGen)

In December 2020, Wayne and I quit our jobs to start what would become HeyGen. We initially called it Surreal and focused on AI spokesperson videos.

The Pivot to HeyGen

In April 2023, we rebranded to HeyGen and expanded from spokesperson videos to a full video generation platform. We added translation capabilities - upload a video and translate it into 175 languages.

Enterprise Growth

The enterprise market embraced us. Salesforce, Amazon, Nvidia became customers. By late 2024, we had over 40,000 enterprise customers.

Revenue Milestone

We crossed $35M+ in revenue. From a side project to one of the leading AI video platforms.

• Founded: December 2020
• Enterprise customers: 40,000+
• Revenue: $35M+
• Languages supported: 175+