Steve Chen Biography

(One of the Co-Founders of the Video-Sharing Website ‘YouTube’)

Birthday: August 25, 1978 (Virgo)

Born In: Taipei City, Taipei, Taiwan

Steven Chen is an American internet entrepreneur, best known as a co-founder of YouTube. Though his is not a household name, his innovations have permanently changed the way that we communicate. In the ten years since the creation of YouTube and its subsequent popularity, his creation has revolutionized the viral video model, making it easier for us to document and share parts of our lives with people all over the world. Never one to linger past his time, Chen left YouTube after it was sold to Google. He later went on to co-found AVOS Systems, Inc. and create ‘MixBit’, a video-sharing app. His work on the cutting edge of technology keeps him relevant a decade after he came onto the scene, and he has been noted as one to watch in the technological field by many sources. He is known for his secrecy in regards to his upcoming projects, as well as for being finance savvy, a reason that made him a multimillionaire. However, Chen does not just sit on his wealth; he uses his keen eye to reinvest his earnings, and also makes donations to charities and other organizations of his choice. He currently lives in San Francisco, California and works with Google Ventures to find and fund the next generation of technological innovations.
36
Quick Facts

Also Known As: Steven Shih Chen

Age: 46 Years, 46 Year Old Males

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Park Ji-hyun (Jamie Chen)

Born Country: Taiwan

IT & Software Entrepreneurs Internet Entrepreneurs

Height: 5'7" (170 cm), 5'7" Males

Ancestry: Taiwanese American

City: Taipei, Taiwan

Founder/Co-Founder: AVOS Systems, YouTube

More Facts

education: University Of Illinois At Urbana-Champaign

awards: PGA Vanguard Award

  • 1

    What is Steve Chen known for?

    Steve Chen is best known as one of the co-founders of YouTube, the popular video-sharing platform.

  • 2

    How did Steve Chen come up with the idea for YouTube?

    Steve Chen, along with his co-founders Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim, came up with the idea for YouTube when they had difficulty sharing videos online and wanted to create a platform where users could easily upload and share videos with others.

  • 3

    What was Steve Chen's role at YouTube?

    Steve Chen served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at YouTube, overseeing the technical aspects of the platform and playing a key role in its development and growth.

  • 4

    What impact did Steve Chen have on the internet?

    Steve Chen's work with YouTube revolutionized the way people consume and share video content online, paving the way for the rise of user-generated content and influencing the digital media landscape.

  • 5

    How did Steve Chen's background contribute to his success with YouTube?

    Steve Chen's background in computer science and technology, as well as his previous experience working at PayPal, provided him with the knowledge and skills necessary to co-create and lead the development of YouTube into a global phenomenon.

Childhood & Early Life
Steven Shih Chen was born on 18th August 1978, in Taipei, Taiwan. He and his family immigrated to the United States in 1993, and settled in Illinois.
After graduating from ‘Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy’, where he finished high school, he attended the ‘University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign’. He graduated in 2002 with a degree in computer science.
Continue Reading Below
Career
Chen worked at ‘PayPal’ when he met Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim, the other two founders of ‘YouTube’. He then moved from ‘PayPal’ to work for ‘Facebook’, which he quit several months after to found ‘YouTube’.
In 2005, he and the other two co-founders launched ‘YouTube’ and Chen held the position of Chief Technology Officer. The site grew rapidly, and within months they announced that they were receiving 100 million video views every day, and that 65,000 new videos were uploaded per day.
In 2006, the site was ranked as the 10th most popular website. That June, they entered into a marketing partnership with NBC. They sold the company that year to Google for the price of $1.65 billion dollar in stock.
Chen started another internet company, ‘AVOS Systems, Inc.’, with Chad Hurley and Vijay Karunamurthy. In April 2011, AVOS purchased ‘Delicious’, a social bookmarking website, from ‘Yahoo’.
In May 2011 they purchased ‘Tap 11’, a social analytics company; however, they sold Tap 11 last year. AVOS’ sole focus as a company right now is ‘MixBit’, an app that allows you to create and share short videos. It is in direct competition with ‘Instagram’ and ‘Vine’.
In 2014, he joined ‘Google Ventures’, a subsidiary of Google which provides funding to technology companies in all stages of development. They invest in startups from a variety of fields, from computer software to healthcare.
Major Works
Chen is best known for the creation of ‘YouTube’ in 2005. After receiving a startup investment from Sequoia Capital to the tune of $11.5 million the founding team offered a beta test to the public in May, and officially launched the site in November.
After their incredible growth, Chen and his partners sold the company. Chen received 625,366 shares of Google, which were reported to be worth $326 million, and an additional 68,721 in trust.
‘YouTube’ is currently the major provider of online video in the United States, and is ranked third behind Google and Facebook as one of the most visited sites on the web.
Awards & Achievements
In 2005, Chen was named one of the “50 People Who Matter Now” in business by the magazine Business 2.0. He and his partner were praised for their humility and for revolutionizing the video sharing industry with the viral video model.
In 2008, he and Hurley were recognized by the ‘Producer’s Guild of America’. They received the ‘Vanguard Award’, which is given to those who have outstanding achievements in new media and technology formats.
Personal Life & Legacy
Chen is married to Park Ji-hyun (now Jamie Chen), a product marketing manager for Google Korea. The couple exchanged the wedding vows in 2009 and welcomed their son a year later.
Facts About Steve Chen

Steve Chen co-founded YouTube, which was originally intended to be a video dating website before pivoting to become the world's largest video sharing platform.

Steve Chen holds a degree in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he met his future YouTube co-founder, Chad Hurley.

In 2006, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley sold YouTube to Google for $1.65 billion in stock, just a year and a half after launching the platform.

Outside of his work with YouTube, Steve Chen is also known for his philanthropic efforts, supporting various educational and charitable causes.

See the events in life of Steve Chen in Chronological Order

How To Cite

Article Title
- Steve Chen Biography
Author
- Editors, TheFamousPeople.com
Website
- TheFamousPeople.com
URL
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/steve-chen-5642.php

People Also Viewed

Jerry Yang Biography
Jerry Yang
(American)
 
Andrew McCollum Biography
Andrew McCollum
(American)
 
Max Beaumont Biography
Max Beaumont
(American)
 
Steve Wozniak Biography
Steve Wozniak
(American)
 
Max Polyakov Biography
Max Polyakov
(Ukrainian)
 
Brian Acton Biography
Brian Acton
(American)
 
Paul Allen Biography
Paul Allen
(American)