Reddit's 20-Year Rise: From Humble Beginnings to a $28 Billion Valuation
Reddit, now valued at $28 billion, started as an idea from two University of Virginia graduates, Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian. Inspired by Digg and Slashdot, they created a platform based on user voting and discussion, quickly differentiating itself through unique subreddits. After overcoming early challenges like faking activity, competing with Digg, a Condé Nast acquisition, and infrastructure issues, Reddit exploded in popularity with the introduction of AMAs (Ask Me Anything) and subreddits. Despite facing content moderation and business model struggles, Reddit successfully went public, achieving profitability through advertising, premium memberships, and AI tools (like AI-powered moderation and search). It now sells content access to OpenAI and Google. Today, it's the ninth most popular website globally, influencing various sectors, yet its founders remain committed to its core value of 'real people, real opinions'.