Histopedia

Here’s a comprehensive history of YouTube:

Early Days (2005)

1. Founded by Jawed Karim, Steve Chen, and Chad Hurley.
2. Initial idea: Video-sharing platform for college students.
3. First office: Garage in San Mateo, California.

Launch and Growth (2005-2006)

1. Launched on February 14, 2005.
2. First video: “Me at the zoo” (April 23, 2005).
3. Seed funding: $3.5 million from Sequoia Capital.
4. User growth: 50,000 users (October 2005) to 1 million users (December 2005).

Acquisition and Expansion (2006-2010)

1. Acquired by Google (November 2006) for $1.65 billion.
2. Introduced video ads (2007).
3. Launched YouTube Partner Program (2007).
4. Introduced HD video playback (2008).
5. Launched live streaming (2010).

Innovations and Milestones (2011-2015)

1. Introduced YouTube Premium (2011).
2. Launched YouTube EDU (2011).
3. Introduced video editing software (2012).
4. Reached 1 billion monthly active users (2013).
5. Introduced YouTube Music Key (2014).

Recent Developments (2016-Present)

1. Introduced YouTube Red (2016) (now YouTube Premium).
2. Launched YouTube TV (2017).
3. Introduced YouTube Reels (2018).
4. Reached 2 billion monthly active users (2019).
5. Introduced YouTube Shorts (2020).

**Key Statistics:”

1. 2 billion+ monthly active users.
2. 5 billion+ videos viewed daily.
3. 31 million+ channels.
4. 80+ languages available.
5. 70% of YouTube views come from outside the US.

**Founders:”

1. Jawed Karim (Co-Founder & former CEO).
2. Steve Chen (Co-Founder & former CTO).
3. Chad Hurley (Co-Founder & former CEO).

**Acquisitions:”

1. Google (2006).
2. Next New Networks (2011).
3. Songza (2014).