How Higgsfield Scaled to $100M ARR in Just 1 Year: The Growth Playbook Revealed

My bold prediction is there are going to be losers who will cumulatively lose more than half a shillion dollar in market cap and that's going to happen in

the next few years.

That's Alex Masherb a Forbes 30 under 30 AI expert and the CEO of Hicksfield AI.

He sold his last company AI factory in a big [music] hit acquisition by Snapchat.

Became an executive at one of the most successful tech companies. then left

that well- paid, wellrespected job to start his next journey. That new company is already a super hit. Everyone's

talking about how he reached the 50 million AR in just 6 months.

>> The content on social media today is not diverse. Any work which which would

diverse. Any work which which would require 3D animation or VFX would be impossible to do for social media because of the high cost for production.

Um [music] we got a lot of advice from investors that videoi is extremely it's like red ocean and we shouldn't be pursuing like this consumer markets. We

expect that by the end of the decades most of the content on the socials are going to be going to be generated by AI.

I I guarantee you the products in 1 month will look completely different than it looks today. No one knows what's going to be. No one knows but there are going to be some losers and meta can be the loser as well. And and we are ready

for this race. We're ready for this race.

So hi everyone uh good afternoon. So uh

welcome to our podcast and today we are really happy to welcome uh my co-host Chong from Hawkey Dick Growth and also uh we are really happy to welcome our

first guest of this podcast is Alex uh the CEO and founder of the Hicksfield and maybe John will also give an introduction and then introduce uh Alex

to our audience. Yeah. So I know that you have a very successful career and the journey so far and your last come AI factory was a big hit and it took a

successful acquired by Snapchat and you you become a executive at the exec at a one of the most successful tech

companies. Um and now that you are

companies. Um and now that you are starting your neck journey um and it already become a super hit and everyone talking about how you reached the 50 million AR in just six months. Uh so we

are super excited to have you today and and to really deep dive into your uh successful journey as well as what's looking for for uh his field in the future.

>> Thank you so much. I definitely spent all my professional career like 10 years working in the space of video AI and it's exciting to see how we progressed

from like images 64 pixels by 64 pixels.

>> Mhm.

>> To to like let's say 15 20 30 second long consistent videos.

>> Gotcha. Gotcha. And uh and and so so uh so so for many early career professional they were like if I can work for Snapchat it will be my dream job. What

what do you see in the market that become the biggest trigger for you to leave uh a well- paid uh well paid and well respected job in the tech industry

to start your your your own journey.

>> Totally. Look, I think um what we have seen is that social media became

um the main distribution platform, the most important form of media.

We have seen how mobile phones and advanced cameras really propel and then Tik Tok they propelled they propelled certain type of um

content to and and I think but that represents only maybe like 5 10% as the content on social media today is not diverse

>> the diversity of content if we look at like um let's say TV or if we look um at Hollywood the diversity of content is

way higher compared to social media >> and I think naturally video AI is closing the gap.

>> Mhm. In the past, um, any work which which would require 3D animation or VFX would not just would would would be

impossible to do for social media because of the high cost for production >> and social media really requires velocity of releasing a few pieces of content a day

>> and I think that's what that's where Genai provides net new benefits.

>> Yeah. And also probably to give the audience who actually right now are not that familiar with our product Hicks view. Maybe could you give us a short

view. Maybe could you give us a short intro about uh what Hicks view is actually is and what's some core products that you think they will

quickly give our audience or user aha moment? What kind of use cases they are

moment? What kind of use cases they are creating right now very frequently?

>> Totally. Um where it all started I think for Hicksfield when we launched March 31st is camera control effects.

>> Mhm.

>> Um I mean we that's extremely popular across um um various use cases especially in the e-commerce space >> and that's where we see consistent usage throughout the time.

>> Mhm.

>> So all the e-commerce use cases drive a lot of adoption.

>> Okay. And uh then I would say we have not probably seen yet the adoption of longer form yet generated

videos.

>> We haven't >> we have not we have not I think Sora gave us like an early preview of how what what what it will look like

>> but the perception was that it's slop >> um brain rods and so on. And I think so for example at Hicksfield we invest uh

we with this with after we successfully raise series A we can invest substantially more >> in

um professional workflows and really focusing on these high value use cases >> right >> then are you implying that right now that a lot of AI video adoption is still

in a more amateur user group more there are more casual use cases not necessarily the professional video producers like for longer form video I for more commercial

use cases >> most of hixel use is um most of hixel use comes from professionals >> okay >> way over 60% um based on like our user

survey and I think what's interesting to me >> but I think all these people they are

they are interested in video AI and Hixold is um probably the easiest u platform to access all those various

models.

>> Mhm.

>> Um and it really and as adoptional as the number of people who are interested in videoi exponentially grows, we expect to see the same growth for Hicksfield as well as we ride the wave.

>> But that's only one part of the story.

Mhm.

>> I think the second part of the story is um um like is like trying to go another

route and really um improving or upgrading existing workflows >> like you for example the storyboarding use cases has been around for quite a while. Y

while. Y >> clearly it can be it can be done with AI.

>> It requires a little bit that requires more than just a model integration.

>> Mhm.

>> It requires collaboration layer and so on.

>> And that's what we are building in Hicksfield as well.

>> Gotcha. So we have the new features uh announcing last week about the popcoin.

>> Yes. And the team plan release like in the next 48 hours. Right. I I have one more question maybe to d uh uh to d

deeper into the user profile. So did you see any change of the users like in the content creation or generative media

group that uh how they are evolving because at the beginning I think a lot of users came from the uh image generation and then came the Sora one or

other uh video models and then some you know some users evolve from image creation to video creation and also bring some new users or new professional

users. So have you seen the um have you

users. So have you seen the um have you seen the same similar trend in the H view and how your product try to involve to meet the different needs from

different group of new users? That's a

good question and I think we don't focus on we we don't focus on animated content that much while majority clearly does.

>> Okay. We're focused on the use cases for social media which really require a lots of like aesthetic photo shoots like

let's say with AI actors and also product placements. I think that's uh

product placements. I think that's uh the most most of the adoption on the platform >> is driven by these two major segments.

>> Okay.

>> Okay. Yeah. And also so uh on the product side I think next question is I think there are different different

kinds of directions or I see on HView platform because one you have like um uh different features or tools based on image and then you have different uh

tools or features based on video and then you create different use cases like for app popcorn for story line. So I

just wonder uh could you share some of your maybe some philosophies of behind this um product or your products roadmap

and how how did it go from zero to you know current um products offered on this on the platform.

Look, I think um the the bet which we make is we will build the best we will build the best product, the best

interface uh for uh social media professionals to access video tools.

>> You're right like um that as models improve the product must drastically improve. So I I guarantee you you the

improve. So I I guarantee you you the products in one month will look completely different than it looks today. Okay.

today. Okay.

>> And and we are ready for this race.

We're ready for this race >> as um we expect that by by the end of the decades most of the content on the socials are going to be is going to be generated by AI. Probably it's going to

happen by the end of 2028 in the next three years. And I think

three years. And I think we and so so when we think about that we

talk really about adoption of maybe 50 100 million paying users. That's what we we we will expect clearly now most of

the companies like Hicksfield are in maybe high digit hundreds of thousands >> Mhm.

>> of paying users.

>> Mhm.

>> It is still what two magnitudes three three magnitudes slower than it will be. Yeah.

>> So clearly today we are going through early adoption stage >> and we do believe that by the end of the next year there are going to be one or two major use cases

>> which will be considered one two major marketing use cases which will be considered to uh be fully covered by AI like you know for example

in LLM everyone is talking that customer support is being replaced by AI by support >> yeah and I think the same we're going to see at least one use case next year.

>> A killer use case.

>> A killer use case. No one knows what's going to be. No one knows >> any predictions.

>> Look, I think what we see, we can I can only transparently say that they the product placement e-commerce is definitely a big one. But I think um the structure of the e-commerce market is

also um not balanced >> meaning that there are large marketplaces which can which impose their own agenda >> but um and they have a lot of control

also there are all these smaller direct to consumer brands think about creative teams of three six people who use Hixel today >> um

>> and and and and when this adoption happens I think it's important to also acknowledge that there is a major part of the markets which is programmatic.

>> Yeah.

>> Like so many companies like Tik Tok, Meta, Google, they're all built on the programmatic advertisements. Yeah.

programmatic advertisements. Yeah.

>> The algorithm.

>> Yes. So it's um really high margin business.

>> So I think the most interesting the most profound application of video Yeah. on

social media is actually going to touch all these ads platforms. >> Yeah.

meaning that they found some um equilibrium where let's say the user experience or on Instagram is good

enough meaning that we see ad every maybe eight or every 10 videos we we we watch ads >> and and users think it's good but also

it makes enough money for meta to pay billion dollar for each researcher right >> um and I think but at some points with Gai equilibrium look is going to look different. So there are going to be

different. So there are going to be winners >> and likely Google and Bance are going to be winners but there are going to be some losers and Meta can be the loser as well.

>> Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

>> That's very bold prediction.

>> Okay. I would say >> since it's it's not a uh very uh view that it's is actually one of the more most popular views right now that are that widely discuss in the Silicon

Valley. Yeah, there there is there is

Valley. Yeah, there there is there is definitely a possibility of this happening, right? I think we it's unfair

happening, right? I think we it's unfair to say today that Google or Bidance are under the risk simply because their distribution is strong,

>> their vertical integration capabilities are strong, but also AI capabilities are strong and the R&D teams are strong and they have the capacity.

>> So I wouldn't bet against these two but everyone else I mean Meta, Snapchat, Pinterest, >> OpenAI is also trying. Yeah, open AI is also imposing the risk. Everyone is

under the risk. Obviously, Hixel is under the risk as well, but I'm saying that there is a way bigger market which is going to be impacted by video AI as well.

>> Gotcha. Gotcha. probably another

perspective or another question I have is that so uh you got a lot of huge uh user base right now and then you receive

uh like uh product requests or any uh request from the you know on to for you to u make new twists on your products and then you have your core product road

map right because you have to uh you have to make like ship proh features every two weeks based on your schedule.

So how do you balance overall in the in the feature request from the users and your own vision or your core product road maps especially on such a dynamic?

>> Yeah, my my maybe my learning is to focus less on the um like own vision and really focus on what users need today and just accept

it's going to change. Just accept it's going to change. But the reality is that um those professional users if they pay for video geni today

>> they will be paying for video and AI forever basically cuz they we see this to be the future. So we just need to learn how to adapt to their needs which are adjusting as well. So just to be

fully clear I think nine out of top 10 agencies use today.

>> Mhm.

>> And today they use it for storyboarding.

There are maybe only a few large ads where hixel was involved but it's not being done on daily basis but storyboarding happens on like I don't know like minute every minute someone

make it makes storyboards for hixel for commercial purposes and then I think and then I think naturally the industry is going to evolve from storyboards to like social media ads

it's going to start with social media ads maybe in emerging markets where risks are lower then it's going to go to the United States and then it's going to get uh amplified by performance marketing budget and the whole and the

and the space is going to the space is going to evolve and the use case is going to evolve. So the goal for us is to make sure that the hixel products evolves the when I talk about the team

plans it is it is relatively easy bet to the extent it is not adding complexity not adding complexity for

existing users >> right so it like single player mode and multiplayer mode are kind of two different branches >> right >> so but I think that's but I think for

when I look at our main page Today I I I can I can fully acknowledge that we are actively AB testing different variations.

>> Okay.

>> As we try to also while a lot of users got attracted to Hixel because of visual effects and all these camera effects which I was talking about >> I think the main page should evolve as well.

>> Okay.

>> Gotcha. And in terms of the inter in terms of to verify uh that uh how well that we are actually satisfying the users requests do you use any systems

frameworks to decide >> you're very we are actively monitoring the ratings um number of complaints on Zenesk

>> um we actively monitor the refund rates via stripe number of um support emails we track this very actively

on a weekly basis with breakdown by categories and I can tell you that today like all this AI video tooling including Hicksfield the experience the main issue is the cost

>> is the cost >> is the cost because I think it it ultimately comes down to the fact that um the entry price just to try things out in um mature markets like the United

States maybe $30 a month.

>> Mhm. And like still with Sora, the cost of the video of good-looking video may been like $35

after several attempts >> to get something good. And then I think um someone could try to do a more

sophisticated video with Sora, for example, and it could be difficult to do, >> right? That's where

>> right? That's where >> it's more intense.

>> Yeah. They just run out of credits and they get the initial aha moments where they get their idea like sort of visualized which was never possible before.

>> But then people who want to push it forwards [snorts] they may feel that it just becomes too too too expensive too expensive and too difficult. I think just running out of

difficult. I think just running out of credits and feeling that uh and and again I think most of the people they have this initial aha moment with Hicksfield but then they run out of

credits and they don't get exact piece which they are comfortable posting.

>> So I improving the quality and doing investing more into the R&D and the post training to get more predictable outputs. I think that's a top priority.

outputs. I think that's a top priority.

continuity of the video, the content, >> right? I probably have one more question

>> right? I probably have one more question on on the product because try I actually we we discussed that you mention a lot about the short drama in your previous

podcast. I think you have really uh you

podcast. I think you have really uh you know a forwardlooking view on how this type of content involved in especially in this recent years. So uh does that

actually contribute to your uh your your decision or vision in our product road map or especially like propco you have story line right I think when it gets longer and then probably everyone can create a short

>> we we are not going to go through the short drama markets and what I I learned a lot and happy to share that so clearly the over the last century the most popular type of content which is

consumed drama are dramas >> uh dramas on TV drams Um and it's a it was a huge gap some years ago that no one did dramas for the

phone and that trend started from China.

Now this market was over 10 billion dollar globally and it grew over 10 and it was less than a billion I think five years ago it was less than a billion. So

it grew very very quick >> and I think so they so when I look in and and when you go to airports here in the United States most

of the books >> are going to be like drama related. You

go to Kazakhstan the same story. It's

it's it's it's sort of the >> it's it's sort of the type of content which goes really well throughout the world and which can be monetized really well. When I say monetize really well, I

well. When I say monetize really well, I really want to um double down on the demographics as dramas tend to relate with older demographics

and especially the fictional dramas. So

the fictional dramas, the dramas about werewolves, vampires have a lot of opportunity to grow >> due to videoi capabilities as uh the

cost of as typically these dramas are made um >> with like budgets 1000 times lower than

traditional TV budget. So we talk about a few thousand a minute. Clearly no 3D animation could can be done with under

this budget. So that's where video genai

this budget. So that's where video genai provides essential capabilities.

Although this is not where the disruption is going to come from. I

think the first area for disruption is actually going to be related with promotion of these dramas. These drama

companies they grow heavily through per performance marketing. Right.

performance marketing. Right.

>> Yeah. Yep. They also have uh or they also have organic distribution channels where they cut the the most exciting part from the drama trailer. Yes.

Trailers >> uh on the social media channel. Some

some short drama company they have like a thousand organic account from themselves. So So that can also

themselves. So So that can also potentially be one of the channel they use but they they they spend a lot on the performance marketing.

>> Right. Right. Exactly. Exactly. So I

think we're going to just see the systems multi- aent systems which help to make variations of the top performing creative.

>> Yeah.

>> And that's day and night difference for performance marketing. Um when you think about that

marketing. Um when you think about that then budget to make a good drama can be 500k.

>> Mhm.

>> Maybe one out of seven one out of 10 dramas must be a hit.

>> Mhm.

>> But then the budget to promote it can be tens of millions of dollars.

Yeah, it's way way bigger. So, and there are going to be just one creative who takes most of this budget. So, that's

that's why I say this is a major opportunity.

>> Mhm.

>> And so, this is the first area and I think the second area is really going to come outside of the outside of the so I think that's sort of

like the bottomup approach as we have seen some companies actually like Fox News partnered with uh short form drama company recently and invested in them.

So but that's really a little bit like bottom up approach. I think what we're going to see is that today the way how the funding in TV and Hollywood the funding in TV and Hollywood is being

changed as well as everyone tries to rely on wellperforming IP so that they

can guarantee some return of capital.

>> Um ultimately there is a lot of IP which was popular in 80 and 90s. And today one of the popular topics which I which

which I constantly hear is to do reskinning.

>> Mhm. Y

>> so meaning like take like kind of so it's like it's not like exactly video to video.

>> Mhm.

>> But it's sort of video to video.

>> Okay.

>> So it's not just like applying anime style and saying it's good. So it's not like what I was doing with face filters in the past, but it's really about okay, what if we take

>> like Mickey Mouse from 90 cents, which is even like now in public domain, and what if we make it uh what if we just iterate with over

different visual styles.

>> And the same can be applied to uh taking old movies >> and trying to kind of make sort of the next chapter of the movie.

Yeah.

>> And sort of do this youngification or how say make like older actors >> change different things, different actors >> and change different details. So it's

present in the in the movie.

>> Yeah. So the IP is well trusted and they just make different skins that's popular in games like Counter Strike, even like these hyper casual games. They all

typically monetize reskinning really well.

>> Yeah.

>> Same machine, same engine.

>> Yeah. The same engine. And I think that we are going to we will see some of that by the end of the decade as well >> where there are going to be like new AI

first franchises. They those franchises

first franchises. They those franchises likely going to start from something which was already battle tested before.

>> I see. I see. Yeah. Great. And probably

we're gonna dive into the growth and marketing because I saw just as Trump mentioned his view just really such a

heat this year and go from you know u go to 50 million AR really quickly and so for part of our audience right you know

uh Hex actually enter into a very noisy market at the beginning because there are also a lot of tools regarding video generation or the image generation

already in the market. So like could you share us uh some uh co story of co-starting at the very beginning how

actually you uh grow actually from one feature to to the market or what kind of experiments you have tried at beginning

to uh co-star on the platform.

Look I think that our approach doesn't really change. We see there are two

really change. We see there are two types of creators. Mhm.

>> First type of creator is those who want to make just viral content and the second type are AI educators. AI

educators is the most popular type of key opinion leadersh >> for us as um and I can tell you that's the same story which we have seen in Snapchat

>> as like the natural interest to adopt AI visual tools is just very high >> and these accounts grow. So partnerships

with those accounts with those uh influencers >> uh with those creators actually helped to build awareness about what we're building at Hicksfield.

>> Mhm.

>> And also um so at the beginning like to dive um to dive deeper like which channels do you find these two group of people like are active most or which

type of channels have you? Instagram is

the most. Okay. Instagram is the most productive and YouTube is going to be next.

>> Okay.

>> Okay.

>> But you guys are also super super successful on Twitter. Then how do you position?

>> Yeah, Twitter Twitter is a great platform, but I think it has its own like um it has like this very let's say it's like it has like very

well-defined subcommunities sort of.

>> Each sub community is could be a little extreme >> to the level they push. Mhm.

>> Um, but it also includes a lot of professionals as well obviously and I think Instagram is just a little more if you think just about like like the growth machine

>> and really making sure that there is a well standardized process and you appeal to wider audience not just each of these small sub communities Instagram is definitely that platform.

>> Gotcha.

>> And as Hixel builds more this workflow uh functionality then YouTube becomes more important as well.

>> Gotcha. And then and [clears throat] then you also talking about the e-commerce company, different marketing teams. Then how do you think about distribution on linking and more on the B2B side of a partnership?

>> Yeah, I think Lind comes after YouTube.

>> After YouTube. So we still are not necessarily in a position to go after like specific use cases yet. So

now we cover like those workflows for creative marketing teams first. That's

why presence on Instagram and YouTube is very important.

>> Yeah.

>> And as we feel that the technology is mature, the hopefully platform is mature as well, >> then uh focusing on specific use cases

is going to be important.

>> Gotcha. Gotcha. So, so um so from the very beginning that you are more targeting to have a really broad appealing type of brand campaigns so that uh the early adopter for the AI

technology especially with AI video technology will get familiar with our brand and they because they their nature that they are they will be a lot easier to start to adopt

>> before we started to have more uh verticalized um operation to targeting very specific use caseas.

marketing.

>> Exactly. Because when we talk about more like it becomes more more and more verticalized like every month but it's important to acknowledge that like story is the only model today.

>> Yeah.

>> To make like the final video like it's it can be done with like hix popcorn and like when model as well >> but I think it's still a little bit

early. So clearly

early. So clearly clearly social media professionals they don't need to make those small segments they need the final video >> but the technology is not fully there yet.

>> Mhm.

>> It's coming in the next 3 months again the hixo platform is going to look completely different is like completely different. I just think that we just

different. I just think that we just kind of follow the natural evolution of the technology.

>> Gotcha. Gotcha. And and for all your peer competitors that they're also following the same technology trend.

What what would you say the biggest thing that set you guys apart that how how come that you stand out well the other they may or may not >> Yeah like open AI they build their own

social media I think Luma is a very talented team of researchers also um obviously VO I mean they probably go through like TV and Hollywood >> in the social media space yes there are

companies which try to take different approach we're just taking approach of riding the wave and betting that the wave is gonna get just bigger and we can

be like on top of the wave like really riding the wave right that's that's our >> bet >> and I think um and I think but we stay within the realm of social media

marketing it's just going to get more verticalized by use cases as we move forward >> the storyboard is just the first example of that like the camera control was the

example number zero like this um storyboard board is number one and like you are just going to see way higher pace of iteration by use cases from Hixel going forwards and this is a

function of technology maturing and market maturing >> as well. Mhm. Mhm. And to deep dive on the like social media or you just mentioned the influencer marketing

because I heard a lot of stories today that you know influencers or Kos are getting really you know the really competitive right now because everyone

want to chase for you know the top Kos or >> that's by the way a good point.

>> Yeah >> that's a very good point. So that's

really actually surprising to me number of people who want to make like mind-blowing content. Yeah,

mind-blowing content. Yeah, >> it's crazy. They want to make kicks to platform is good for that. They just do and it goes viral and it's like but but

so this number there is definitely no not there is enough these people there.

But I think the question is about AI educators and I can tell you it's like less than 50.

>> Oh okay.

>> Yeah that's definitely a problem. Yeah,

>> cuz in the adoption of AI is especially let's say we talk about marketing um like in marketing space the there are

pros and cons about that. Pros is that there are a lot of experimental budgets.

>> Yeah.

>> Cons is like people are people kind of love to be thoughts they love the workshops and so on >> but the number of people who can do that is very small.

>> Mhm. Mhm.

>> And right now they're actually seeing a lot of companies, brands big and small, they they they're all trying to pitching to the top AI educators.

>> Um, and what and what what's your suggestion to your uh to to to the peer founders that they are they also trying to pitch the same group of uh creators to start?

>> I mean we are competing with them, right? So there is no like good advice.

right? So there is no like good advice.

[laughter] >> There is no good advice. I think that's that's definitely a limitation. I see

some companies trying to develop their own AI spokesperson, grow their own accounts. It becomes more important.

accounts. It becomes more important.

>> Mhm.

>> Look, I think but that's definitely if we look at this >> takes longer time to develop your own account.

>> Yeah. But that's Yeah, exactly. And I

think this is uh definitely uh like lack of AI educators is one of the it was one of the major concerns holding industry back.

>> Mhm. [clears throat] I think the other uh trend that I see that is that so for the uh there are top kos and there are educators who want to grow itself

themselves to be uh top kos. So I mean uh do you have like a strategy or way to develop this like partnership or we call

ecosystem to help those uh you know um the educators or those people in the middle layer to you know to um get involved into to to develop into

>> we are actively working on that. We are

actively working on that. It's just

difficult to it's just difficult for us to engage like maybe like let's say 2,000 of creators whom we kind of closely work with. It's just difficult to kind of fully operationalize the process.

>> Yeah, >> we are actively working on that sometimes. Uh but it's I'm telling you

sometimes. Uh but it's I'm telling you it's not easy to personalize the community of like 2,000 creators >> all over the world. Um

>> where we are actively experimenting with that.

>> I see. Uh probably another question is so could you share maybe some metrics that how you actually evaluate the the

performance of those influencers or like in today's especially today in such a noisy market like what kind of metric do you think still very important in terms

of evaluate the performance or like to continue the partnership?

>> Yeah, that's a good point. I think you always want to measure uh the performance of posts over the time your post versus competitor's post and so on >> and I think just I think that's always

well defined you look at like CPM cost per engagement try to measure um which channel is the most productive

most efficient and the mo but I would say the most challenging thing is to work with bots >> bots is a real issue Mhm.

>> Like a lots of engagement numbers are fake.

>> Yeah. Just fake.

>> Impression numbers too.

>> Impressions for sure, but engagement as well.

>> In the past it was easy. You look at engagement to views ratio and you say it's fake or fake. Not fake. Now both

engagement and view numbers can be fake.

>> And that's by the way is the major problem for the whole industry. I think

that's >> even that's way bigger problem than Hicksfield. You go to Snapchat ads, you

Hicksfield. You go to Snapchat ads, you go to meta ads, you go to any ad platform, you see some number of views, >> you can never verify if that's the case.

>> Yep. Y

>> so and I think that's there is an overall problem of trust.

>> Mhm.

>> Of the numbers presented on social media, >> right?

>> And I think we hope that gen is going to become the new sort of form of media.

Mhm.

>> When I say that today, it's hard to kind of imagine that, but over the time videos are going to get personalized and I hope this will eventually bring more transparency.

>> Yeah.

>> And there will be more like horizontal solutions across all the so across all the let's say social media platforms to drive higher level of transparency. Mhm.

>> Today it's a major issue >> right >> for everyone even for for bigger brands for smaller companies up and rising companies like Hixfield it's the same issue.

>> Okay.

>> Yeah. And which platform would you say is doing better in terms of fighting against the bot providing with [clears throat] parity?

>> I I I I know that at Snap when I was at Snap it was it top priority.

>> I know that a lot of people like to say that bitter is not doing a great job but I don't have any recent research so I would reserve my opinion.

>> Okay. Okay. Yeah. And uh you just mentioned about the creators community.

I think create uh uh creators community is a really important part for you to create uh you know to foster the the ecosystem. Uh yeah uh I think also users

ecosystem. Uh yeah uh I think also users create uh community is also very important. I see you have this core for

important. I see you have this core for the community. So I just wonder if you

the community. So I just wonder if you have any um best practices for building the user community because everyone knows uh you can put UGC content on the

website for everyone to see but uh probably that's that's what we see but how to build out a community. Do you

have any >> Yeah. Yeah. Like at we have several

>> Yeah. Yeah. Like at we have several tiers of kind of communities and creators.

>> Yeah.

>> It comes with pros and cons. The cons is that when some creators learn they're not like top tier community. either like

>> yes but I think we also tried to support a lots of a lot of sports external communities competitions and so on.

>> Okay.

>> Okay. I think it's because I think to that point is it's like trying to maybe upgrade like amateur creators to like middle

level creators and incentivize them to make a good looking AI generated video which may actually inspire others to try

video AI. I think there is still

video AI. I think there is still >> and being like a educator I think is the best job today. Mhm. Mhm.

>> And then we also we are seeing that there are kind of new professionals probably called like like uh video AI video you know tutor or mentor on the

internet right now. They're just you know making different kind of using different kind of tools to make videos and also tutorials or workshops. Yes.

>> For the you know people who want to quickly learn the AI AI AI tools.

>> Yeah. The first time I that I got that I got to learn about Hicksfield is actually through a creator. The creator

has a portfolio on Hicksfield and when we were actually looking for UTC creators and that actually send over the Hickfield portfolio saying hey these are all the video that I generated.

>> Yes.

>> So so do so in terms of user community do you see it more as a way to engage creators existing users or you you also see it as a different way to grow and

expand? I think that's the most

expand? I think that's the most difficult thing is like how you like operationalize build a fair process for a few thousand people. I think that's just difficult.

>> Mhm.

>> Right.

>> As creator especially when it's public >> Mhm.

>> it like unfair let's say treatments [snorts] >> or evaluation >> can really spark a lot of controversy.

>> I think this is this uh it's it's a little bit niche it's still a little bit niche community.

>> Okay. Gotcha.

>> And and among all the goto market channels and and you talk a lot about creative marketing and then we also touch a little bit on the user uh community. Are there any other channels

community. Are there any other channels that you prioritize at the moment?

>> Just getting as much educational materials out as possible.

>> Gotcha. Gotcha.

>> And also um probably have you start to try maybe this also my personal question. have to try anything in terms

question. have to try anything in terms of the geo like because the the or a we call it like um you know to make it you our products or contents appear more in

those trajectory or those chat bots if you try something like >> yeah how we start yeah we do we do work on that of course we do work we do work yes

>> but not a priority some >> yeah I think that's not not yet I mean like we are really I mean I know that this is going to grow our priority

priority is just to cover all the like the sort of to cover the all the make making sure that whatever social media marketing workflow exists >> today >> and is growing Hixold is part of that

>> on the AI video generation for us we are not building on ad platform >> but I think it's important for us to build become the backbone for social for

social media video generation using generi >> yeah okay Mhm. This a bold idea because you talk about like how the different social media platform will change. Um

and and even right now open AAI is trying to tap into become a new social media platform. Is it somewhere that

media platform. Is it somewhere that down the road there also possibility that we can become a social media platform?

>> No, we don't we don't want to be that.

Yeah, we you know like I know that you think I mean I know that you mentioned privately that our statements of building creative operating system is a

bold statement but what I want to really unpack this a little bit when I say the when it comes to larger teams like over 50 people >> Mhm.

>> then it typically evol it typically involves management of several social media channels >> y >> and like really trying to make sense of content and data.

>> Yeah. So I think that's what I mean by creative operating system.

>> Oh, okay.

>> How I can make relevant content um today for those different social medias and how I can make sense out of the results and do better tomorrow.

>> Okay. So have you already built actually a engine or a way to quickly monitor what is uh going hit on the social media and then you try to build or build the

content as quickly as possible and ship it to the >> actively we're actively working with the partners on that. Yes, that's a top priority.

>> Okay. Nice. Nice. And probably we got some few more minutes and we can talk about a little bit about the vision and the future. So I think overall you have

the future. So I think overall you have seen and you have tested a lot of models you can see you know the pros and cons of current models and you definitely see they are evolving. So uh riding with the

trend. So in two or three years probably

trend. So in two or three years probably uh what are some use cases that you said uh our product or his field is going to unlock?

>> In three years we are going to be at the moments where it's the impact of social impact of video AI and social media content

>> is just going to be so profound.

>> Mhm. And I just I think it is we talk about tens of millions of social media professionals making like maybe 10

million social media professionals making uh videos using AI. I think ultimately the diversity of content is going to drastically increase.

>> Yeah. But also I think it's also going to make it a bit more balanced meaning that um

today um you will not I I can tell you like just a funny story. So um one of the companies Kixel clients they use

Hicksfield to make UGC ads for a wellness product >> targeting people in their 50 and 60.

It's almost impossible for them to find um creator on Tik Tok marketplace.

>> Oh yes.

>> Yeah. Who's going to represent the >> brand a lot of like really opportunity marketing opportunities for their products? Yeah.

products? Yeah.

>> Yeah. And they just say look and also I think like all this Barbie stereotype of marketing doesn't work for like these wellness products. They kind of need to

wellness products. They kind of need to show the transformation, right?

>> Um marketers need to show the transformation. So I think that's uh

transformation. So I think that's uh that's just one example and I think today we are not fully I mean it's difficult just for us to scope because social media became the it it's like we

live in this attention economy and became the most important form of media and it's going to be drastically transformed. I again I hope that it

transformed. I again I hope that it leads to higher level of diversity.

>> We saw that slope content brain rods like let's say this animated content >> Mhm. which people are pushing from Sora

>> Mhm. which people are pushing from Sora is just one of the examples but there are going to be much more than that slope is just the easiest one that's why we see it the first >> Mhm.

>> Mhm.

>> Okay. And also probably would you see um also the film industry or maybe you know the the movie industry would you see some um disruptions or been disrupting

in the next two or three years or just still >> I I don't I'm not really focused on this market there are so many external forces and I I'm not sure I obviously I think when you think about like some types of

the videos >> and like let's say Sydney Sweeney ad it's going to rem it's going stay there >> because it's a very cuz people want to see Sydney.

>> Mhm. it none no AI can like make it like exactly pixel perfect right >> so and this video can be reused many times it doesn't have the life cycle of

just one day most of social media can't has a life cycle of one day >> right yeah >> so there are going to be a place for

uh like physical production of um genuine content >> original content which has lifespan more than a day but That's going to be just the premium part of the market maybe

like 10% 80 20%.

>> Right.

>> Yeah. Yeah.

>> Yeah. Some people are going to keep recording themselves. Of course that's

recording themselves. Of course that's going to be substantial part of the markets but the rest of that is going to be geni.

>> Sure. I think you also talk about like the biggest issue in the AI generated video industry right now is high cost.

>> Yes. Um and uh I assume that a lot of cost will be just the cost for user models and um and and in terms of that uh has in the next three years is there

any product direction that you want to optimize so that we can mitigate some of the cost related issues?

>> Of course as the as these use cases mature we are running a lot of post training and optimization to drive to make cost 10 times down.

>> Mhm. So that's where we could be differentiated for let's say um for 20% of maybe like let's say 5 10% of the use

cases which drive most of the adoption >> we can deliver very efficient models.

>> Gotcha. Gotcha. But there always be new models coming out that people always expensive.

>> Absolutely. In the next six months it's likely to be the case as the pace of innovation is like one new model a week.

I mean at some point the models get bigger >> the pace of innovation is going to become more like an LLM today which is a little slower >> and while I live in like let's say new

deepc comes out Kimmy or whatever it doesn't necessarily make people to switch from open AI we're going to get to that level of maturity with video probably is the most difficult domain

>> y >> that's why it takes more time for industry to mature and it's probably like two years behind the coding space we are going to get there as well.

>> Yeah. Yeah. Agree. Agree. So maybe one prediction I hope you can make is that because last week I read from the article that like they say AI articles

takes just over past 50% of all the web articles contents right now last week I think.

>> So in your prediction how did the video content >> the same true the same true at least half is going to be generated in the next three years probably.

>> Next three years. Okay.

>> Yes.

>> Um that's a bot. [snorts] Yeah, I think we talk about double digit percent of con being a generated in the next three years for sure. I think earlier, but the

timeline max timeline is 5 years.

>> So, um and I think so my bold prediction is they're going to be like out of the current companies today in the market,

>> Mhm. There are going to be losers who

>> Mhm. There are going to be losers who [snorts] cumulatively lose more than uh half a trillion dollar in market cap >> and there are going to be some company

which gains this half a trillion dollar cap and that's going to happen in the next three years.

>> Mhm. Probably

>> in the space of social media video. We

just don't know who it is but some but I think it's I think they're going to be clearly winners and losers.

>> Okay. Yeah. Nice.

>> All right. So I think I was come to an end probably we have two more quickfire questions that we prepared and just you know what pops to your mind at the very

first very beginning and just answer it.

So I have one question on my hand uh is so what's the most counterintuitive decision you have made in the past years after building the hix of course. So I

think that's a very easy question as um we got a lot of advice from investors that uh videoi is extremely it's like house called red ocean blood ocean very

saturated space a lot of companies different to difficult to differentiate and we shouldn't be pursuing like this consumer markets >> and I think look I think it's even today no one has

>> the viable team plan and storyboarding and also table six we are filling this gap >> and with hickfield And I think we're just very early. So

that naturally most of these companies maybe except Google, they will have to like verticalize over the time. So

>> um yeah, but I think just really being less receptive to what some investors say and really focus on adoption patterns I think is the most difficult decision.

>> Okay.

>> Nice.

>> And then what's your most exciting moment since started Hicksfield?

Um, the most exciting moments for me was um to see Oh, but that's that's like a long question, but I think look, I I I I

think it's not probably the right time and place to talk to talk deeper about that, but I'm really excited that about this new model of AI agencies like the teams like maybe like up to 10 people,

up to 20 people >> who are revolutionizing like the all way bigger agency model.

>> Yeah.

>> Mhm.

>> As like in agency world as I see there is a lot of consolidation but on the one side and it may look a little um and it may look like bigger players get only

bigger at these new agencies they redevelop process completely with AI. So

seeing that Hicksfield can drive [snorts] >> their success I think was very important. And most of these agencies

important. And most of these agencies they come from emerging markets. So

seeing that it become provides net new economic opportunities I think that's that's something which excites me. Okay.

>> Super excited.

>> Super excited.

>> All right. I think that's the end and >> and thank you so much for Alex coming today and we really hope that we can invite you interview again in the next

next six months and we see we're going to see a huge change in this market as well. Sounds good. Thank you. Super

well. Sounds good. Thank you. Super

excited to see what comes to next.

>> Okay. Yes. Thank you very much.