In what year was Reddit founded?

Reddit was founded in 2005.

University of Virginia roommates Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian developed the idea after attending a lecture by entrepreneur Paul Graham during spring break. Reddit launched in June 2005 as a simple link-sharing site backed by Y Combinator, the startup accelerator Graham co-founded.

The name is a play on “read it,” as in “I read it on Reddit.” Aaron Swartz joined the project later in 2005 and helped rewrite its early software; he is often described as a co-founder as well. Reddit initially focused heavily on technology and programming links before expanding into thousands of user-created communities.

A common mix-up is confusing Reddit’s founding year with its sale to Condé Nast, which occurred in 2006. The site’s early growth happened before that acquisition, making 2005 the canonical founding year.