What is the exact date YouTube was founded?

YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005.

The company was created by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, who had worked together at PayPal. Hurley brought design experience, while Chen and Karim had studied computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The February founding date is often confused with April 23, 2005, when YouTube launched its public beta and its first video, “Me at the zoo,” was uploaded. Those were important launch milestones, but they occurred after the company had been founded and the YouTube domain had been registered.

YouTube’s early concept reportedly involved online dating videos, influenced by sites such as Hot or Not. The idea shifted toward general video sharing after the founders found it difficult to locate online clips of major events. Google acquired YouTube in November 2006 for $1.65 billion, helping turn the young startup into a global video platform.