# Joshua Xu

> Joshua Xu is the Los Angeles-based co-founder and CEO of HeyGen. A Carnegie Mellon graduate and former Snapchat engineer, he co-founded the company with Wayne Liang in December 2020 to make AI video creation accessible to people and businesses, including people uncomfortable appearing on camera.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at HeyGen
- **Organizations:** HeyGen, Snapchat
- **Education:** Master’s, Robotic Systems Development (MRSD), Carnegie Mellon University
- **Known for:** Co-founded HeyGen in December 2020., Helped build Snapchat advertising and AI camera technology., Led HeyGen through a $60 million Benchmark-led Series A announced in June 2024.

## Career timeline

- **2014** — Graduated from Carnegie Mellon and joined Snapchat, initially working on advertising ranking and recommendations.
- **2018-2019** — Work on AI camera technology helped inspire his interest in generating video.
- **2020-12** — Co-founded HeyGen with Wayne Liang.
- **2022-07** — His early growth account dates the product launch to July 29, 2022.
- **2023-04** — Published the company’s account of reaching $1 million ARR and early profitability.
- **2024-06** — HeyGen announced a $60 million Series A led by Benchmark.
- **2025-07** — Discussed making his avatar the face of HeyGen and continuing hands-on product work in a founder Q&A.
- **2025-12** — Published Why we build HeyGen, explaining the founders’ personal motivation.
- **2026-06** — HeyGen announced more than $200 million ARR, doubling in eight months.

## Achievements

- Co-founded HeyGen in December 2020.
- Helped build Snapchat advertising and AI camera technology.
- Led HeyGen through a $60 million Benchmark-led Series A announced in June 2024.
- HeyGen reported surpassing $200 million ARR in June 2026; this is a company metric.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — HeyGen reported surpassing $200 million ARR, with more than 30 million users across 196 countries.
- **2025-12** — Published Why we build HeyGen with Wayne Liang, describing the founders’ motivation to serve camera-shy creators.

## Links

- Website: https://www.heygen.com/author/joshua-xu
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/buffxz
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/joshua_xu_

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joshua-xu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14