Jawed Karim
Jawed Karim (born 28 October 1979) is a German-American software engineer and internet entrepreneur. He is one of the co-founders of YouTube and the first person ever to upload a video to the site.[1][2]
Jawed Karim | |
|---|---|
 Jawed Karim, co-founder of YouTube | |
| Born | 28 October 1979 Merseburg, East Germany |
| Education | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (BS); Stanford University (MS) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Co-founder of YouTube |
Early life and education
Karim was born on 28 October 1979 in Merseburg, East Germany, to a Bangladeshi father and German mother. His family moved to the United States in 1992.[1] He studied computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, leaving before graduating to join PayPal, and later earned a master's degree from Stanford University.[1] At PayPal he met Steve Chen and Chad Hurley and designed core components including its real-time anti-fraud system.[1]
Career
In 2005, Karim co-founded YouTube with Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, though he took a smaller operational role to continue his studies at Stanford. On 23 April 2005 he uploaded "Me at the zoo", the first video ever published on YouTube, which has been viewed hundreds of millions of times.[1] When Google acquired YouTube for US$1.65 billion in 2006, Karim received a substantial share as a co-founder.[1] He later founded the venture fund Youniversity Ventures (now YVentures), investing in startups including Airbnb.[1]
He edited the 'Me at the zoo' description to criticize YouTube's removal of dislike counts.[3]