Matthieu Rouif, also known professionally as Matt Rouif, is a French entrepreneur, technology executive, and the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Photoroom, an artificial intelligence company specializing in image editing and ecommerce product photography.
Rouif co-founded Photoroom in 2019 with machine learning engineer Eliot Andres. The Paris-based company builds AI-powered tools that help users remove image backgrounds, produce professional product visuals, generate creative scenes, and automate photo editing without requiring advanced design skills.
His career combines engineering education, mobile application development, product management, and entrepreneurship. Before Photoroom, Rouif worked on consumer applications including HeyCrowd and Replay and held product leadership responsibilities at GoPro.
Early Life and Education
Matthieu Rouif was born in France in March 1986, according to French business-register information. His exact birth date and birthplace have not been reliably established in the sources reviewed.
Rouif studied at École Polytechnique, one of France's prominent engineering institutions, and continued his education at Stanford University in California, where his studies included materials science and engineering.
His time at Stanford contributed to his interest in entrepreneurship, product development, and mobile technology. He explored application development during the early expansion of the smartphone market, developing an interest in making complex technology accessible through simpler interfaces.
Early Career and Mobile App Development
Before founding Photoroom, Rouif gained experience designing and managing mobile applications.
He developed mobile applications for ski resorts, reportedly adopted by more than 50 resorts internationally. He subsequently co-founded HeyCrowd, a social polling application intended to make surveys more interactive.
Rouif later worked on Replay, a mobile video-editing product developed by Stupeflix. Replay earned recognition from Apple, and the product became part of GoPro's software ecosystem after GoPro acquired Replay's developer.
At GoPro, Rouif worked on image and video editing products, bringing together his experience in mobile applications, consumer interfaces, and visual content creation.
These experiences helped shape his approach to technology: powerful editing features should be available to users without requiring professional training.
Founding Photoroom in 2019
The idea behind Photoroom emerged from a practical problem Rouif encountered while working at GoPro.
When he needed to prepare marketing visuals without help from an available designer, removing photo backgrounds manually proved slow and frustrating. Existing editing software required precision and considerable time for a task that many businesses needed to repeat.
Rouif recognized an opportunity to use artificial intelligence to automate this process.
He partnered with Eliot Andres, an engineer experienced in computer vision and deep learning. Together, they founded Photoroom in Paris in 2019.
Their goal was to simplify professional image editing through AI, starting with automatic background removal.
The product initially became popular among online sellers who needed clean product photographs without the cost of professional studios or complicated desktop editing workflows.
Building an AI Photo Editing Platform
Photoroom launched its initial app in 2020 and participated in Y Combinator's Summer 2020 program.
Over time, Photoroom expanded from background removal into a broader AI-powered visual production platform.
Its capabilities have included:
- Automatic background removal and replacement.
- AI-generated backgrounds for product photography.
- AI-powered image creation and retouching.
- Batch processing for large product catalogs.
- Visual content preparation for ecommerce marketplaces.
- APIs for businesses needing automated image workflows.
As CEO, Rouif has focused on the company's product direction, growth, and its positioning as a practical AI platform for sellers and businesses.
A distinguishing principle in Photoroom's approach is the importance of product accuracy. Ecommerce imagery must be visually appealing while representing the actual items customers are buying.
Growth, Funding, and Industry Recognition
Photoroom attracted venture investment as the market for AI-assisted visual creation expanded.
In February 2024, the company confirmed a $43 million Series B funding round at a reported $500 million valuation.
Photoroom subsequently continued developing technologies for image generation, editing, and large-scale visual production.
By 2026, the company's official website described a platform processing approximately 7 billion images per year and serving 1 million brands. These are company-reported figures, rather than independently audited counts.
Rouif has also become a public commentator on the business applications of artificial intelligence, the evolution of product photography, and how accessible creative tools can support online commerce.
Leadership and Contribution to Artificial Intelligence
Matthieu Rouif's contribution to applied AI is primarily in entrepreneurship, product development, and commercialization.
Rather than being credited as the individual inventor of background-removal algorithms or generative AI, Rouif helped establish and lead a company that made these technologies practical for everyday commercial use.
Working with Andres and Photoroom's engineering and machine learning teams, he helped transform a specialized technical capability into a widely used product.
His work illustrates how advances in artificial intelligence can simplify tasks that previously depended on expert knowledge and expensive creative workflows.
Matthieu Rouif in 2026
As of October 2026, Rouif remains the co-founder and CEO of Photoroom.
The company continues to focus on product visual creation, ecommerce image workflows, enterprise automation, and AI technology designed to help businesses present products more effectively.
Rouif's professional legacy is closely connected to making sophisticated photo-editing technology easier to use, particularly for entrepreneurs, retailers, and ecommerce brands.
Conclusion
Matthieu Rouif is a notable entrepreneur in the applied AI and creative software sector. From early mobile applications to consumer video editing and the founding of Photoroom, his career has centered on translating complex technologies into accessible products.
Through Photoroom, he has helped expand access to AI-powered product photography and image editing for businesses worldwide.
