What happened to Jawed Karim He created YouTube's first video, but he sacrificed his notoriety to pursue his studies
It would be impossible to discuss YouTube's history without mentioning its first iconic video. In addition to marking the start of a platform that grew significantly in size, the video "Me at the zoo" also became a symbol of the Internet. The hero of the video is none other than Jawed Karim, one of the founders whose life was separate from YouTube, which was later acquired by Google.
Jawed Karim decided to return to school while the platform was making its users millionaires and celebrities. He gave up fame and even opposed the changes made by Google, criticizing them with hidden messages in a very creative way. Despite giving up the idea of staying on YouTube, his life still revolves around online services.
Jawed Karim is the not-so-anonymous co-founder of YouTube. Other names may have achieved greater fame, but we’ve all seen Karim at least once. The first video uploaded to the video platform bore the signature (and face) of the co-founder himself, a man who left YouTube for good some time later.
In 19 seconds, he showed the world how to share a video recorded with a digital camera. The video was recorded in 2005 at the San Diego Zoo (USA) to discuss an elephant's trunk. That same year, Google was considering acquiring the project with an offer no less than the $1.65 billion it paid in 2006. However, the spending is more justified than ever: YouTube is estimated to be worth around €300 billion.
YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim emigrated with his parents from Germany, a life change that had profound consequences for his career: As a computer engineer, he met his two co-founders in 1999, who were working at PayPal. Jawed Karim, Steve Chen, and Chad Hurley founded YouTube in Silicon Valley.
As he himself has said in some of the few interviews he has given, YouTube was an idea born when he saw that online video could be a good business. He also discusses the importance of the Flash format, which gave YouTube a huge boost.
Away from the media spotlight. A personal decision changed what could have been a future of fame: Karim went back to college, using his earnings to complete an incomplete degree in computer engineering. He now lives in Palo Alto and prefers to stay out of the spotlight.
Even after leaving YouTube, his life has continued to revolve around online services: In 2008, he invested in Airbnb, with the help of his own investment fund and several partners, and was one of the first to do so. It is now valued at more than $100 billion. He also owns a stake in Sequoia Capital and advises sites like Eventbrite and Melo, which was acquired by eBay.