# Jawed Karim

> Jawed Karim is the co-founder of YouTube and the man behind the internet's most historically significant 19 seconds of footage — 'Me at the zoo,' uploaded on April 23, 2005. Born in East Germany to a Bangladeshi father and German mother, Karim built YouTube's anti-fraud infrastructure at PayPal alongside Chad Hurley and Steve Chen before pivoting to change how humanity watches video. After Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006, Karim quietly enrolled at Stanford, co-founded early-stage fund Y Ventures, and became one of Airbnb's first investors. He communicates publicly almost exclusively through the description box of his single YouTube video.

- **Role:** Partner at Y Ventures
- **Organizations:** YouTube (co-founder), Y Ventures (co-founder), PayPal (early engineer), Silicon Graphics (intern)
- **From:** Merseburg, East Germany
- **Nationality:** German-American
- **Education:** High School Diploma, Saint Paul Central High School, B.S. Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, M.S. Computer Science, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded YouTube, the world's largest video sharing platform, on February 14, 2005, Uploaded the first-ever YouTube video 'Me at the zoo' on April 23, 2005 - now with 389+ million views, Designed PayPal's real-time anti-internet fraud system as an early engineer

## Career timeline

- **1979** — Born on October 28 in Merseburg, East Germany
- **1992** — Family relocates to Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA
- **1997** — Graduates Saint Paul Central High School; enrolls at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- **1998** — Interns at Silicon Graphics working on 3D voxel data for the Visible Human Project
- **2002** — Joins PayPal as an early engineer; designs the real-time anti-internet fraud system; meets future YouTube co-founders
- **2005** — Co-founds YouTube on February 14 with Chad Hurley and Steve Chen; uploads first YouTube video 'Me at the zoo' on April 23
- **2006** — Google acquires YouTube for $1.65 billion; Karim receives 137,443 Google shares (~$64M); enrolls at Stanford as graduate student
- **2008** — Completes B.S. from UIUC; delivers youngest-ever commencement speech in UIUC history; co-founds Youniversity Ventures with Keith Rabois and Kevin Hartz
- **2009** — Invests in Airbnb's $600K seed round via Y Ventures
- **2013** — Publicly criticizes Google+ YouTube comment integration via 'Me at the zoo' description
- **2019** — Receives Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement jointly with Hurley and Chen
- **2021** — Publicly criticizes YouTube's removal of public dislike counts
- **2024** — Reddit IPO delivers exit on Y Ventures portfolio position; Invests in Truebill/Rocket Money Series B
- **2025** — Updates 'Me at the zoo' description warning about microplastics and brain health; invests in Wavedash (Seed)
- **2026** — Victoria and Albert Museum in London acquires 'Me at the zoo' for its permanent digital collection

## Achievements

- Co-founded YouTube, the world's largest video sharing platform, on February 14, 2005
- Uploaded the first-ever YouTube video 'Me at the zoo' on April 23, 2005 - now with 389+ million views
- Designed PayPal's real-time anti-internet fraud system as an early engineer
- One of Airbnb's earliest investors (seed round, 2009) - $30K stake grew to ~$141M+
- Co-founded Y Ventures (Youniversity Ventures) with Keith Rabois and Kevin Hartz in 2008
- Received Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement jointly with YouTube co-founders (2019)
- Youngest commencement speaker in University of Illinois history (2008)
- 22+ documented early-stage investments including Airbnb, Reddit, Palantir, Eventbrite, Gusto, Postmates
- Received 137,443 Google shares (~$64M) upon YouTube acquisition by Google in 2006
- 'Me at the zoo' acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (February 2026)

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — Victoria and Albert Museum in London acquires 'Me at the zoo' and a reconstructed early YouTube webpage for its permanent digital collection
- **2026-04** — 'Me at the zoo' surpasses 389 million views; San Diego Zoo's pinned comment becomes YouTube's most-liked comment ever
- **2025-12** — Invests in Wavedash (Seed Round) - most recent documented investment
- **2025-02** — Updates 'Me at the zoo' description to warn about dangers of microplastics to brain health
- **2024-03** — Reddit IPO delivers exit on Y Ventures portfolio position

## Links

- Website: https://jawedkarim.com
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/jawedkarimtweet
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jawed
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jawedkarim.official/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JawedKarim.online/

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/jawed-karim
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-04