Alexis Ohanian Born: Birthday, Birthplace and Bio

Alexis Ohanian was born on April 24, 1983, in Brooklyn, New York, which makes him 43 years old as of 2026. He is best known as a co-founder of Reddit and as a venture investor.

Quick facts

Early life and education

Although born in Brooklyn, Ohanian grew up in Columbia, Maryland, where he went to high school. He later attended the University of Virginia, studying history and commerce. It was at university that he met Steve Huffman, with whom he would build one of the web’s best-known communities.

His surname points to Armenian heritage, and he has talked in interviews about the influence of his family background. Growing up in the Baltimore-Washington corridor put him close to a mix of government, business and early internet culture, and he has described himself as someone who was curious about the web from a young age.

Building Reddit

Soon after graduation, Ohanian and Huffman took part in an early Y Combinator program in 2005 and launched Reddit, a social news and discussion site. The platform grew rapidly and was acquired by Condé Nast in 2006, a few months after launch. Ohanian stayed with the company for a time as it expanded into the sprawling network of communities it is today.

Their first idea was actually a different one, a food-ordering service by phone, and Y Combinator’s founders nudged them toward something else. That pivot is often cited in startup circles as a classic example of how an idea changes once you’re in the room with experienced advisors. Reddit itself went public in 2024, which brought his early work back into the headlines.

Investing and new ventures

After leaving Reddit’s day-to-day operations, he turned to investing. He co-founded the venture firm Initialized Capital, which backed many early-stage startups, and later launched Seven Seven Six, a fund focused on technology and culture. He has also written a book about entrepreneurship, Without Their Permission, and spoken widely on startups, digital culture and parental leave.

He has also invested in sports ventures, including women’s sports, and co-founded a National Women’s Soccer League club, Angel City FC, with a group of investors. The club, based in Los Angeles, has drawn attention for its community focus and its high-profile group of backers.

Advocacy

Ohanian has been vocal on internet policy and, more recently, on family leave and equity in sports. He has used his platform to support causes and campaigns, and has appeared in media discussing technology and society. In 2020 he resigned from Reddit’s board and asked that his seat be filled by a Black candidate, a move that drew wide coverage and led to the appointment of investor Michael Seibel.

His earlier work also included campaigning against internet censorship bills in the early 2010s, when Reddit and other sites staged a blackout to protest proposed legislation. That episode made him a familiar face in debates over how the web should be regulated.

Personal life

He married tennis champion Serena Williams in New Orleans in 2017. The couple are frequently in the news for their business and philanthropic work. We keep this article to his own career and public facts.

Why the birth question

Searches about where and when someone was born usually come from curiosity about origins. In Ohanian’s case, the answer is a Brooklyn birth and a Maryland upbringing, followed by a Virginia degree and a startup that changed the internet.

What his story shows

Ohanian’s path is often held up as a lesson in timing. He started a company young, sold it early and then used the proceeds and the reputation to invest in others. Whatever you make of the results, it’s a different sort of career from the long climb of a corporate executive, and it helps explain why so many people look up the basic facts of how he got started.

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