Jawed Karim
Co-founder of YouTube and first uploader of its inaugural video.
via Wikipedia: Jawed Karim · see source
Jawed Karim (born October 28, 1979) is a German and American software engineer and internet entrepreneur with Bangladeshi heritage. He co-founded YouTube and holds the distinction of being the first person to ever upload a video to the platform. That video, titled "Me at the zoo," was posted on April 23, 2005, and by September 2026 had accumulated over 415 million views. Before YouTube, Karim worked at PayPal, where he met his future co-founders Steve Chen and Chad Hurley. While there, he built several key parts of the system, including a real-time anti-fraud tool.
Karim was born in Merseburg, East Germany. His father, Naimul Karim, is a Bangladeshi researcher at 3M, and his mother, Christine, is a German biochemistry scientist at the University of Minnesota. He is the older of two boys. In the early 1980s, his family crossed the inner German border due to racism they experienced, settling in Neuss, West Germany. Facing racism there too, they moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1992. He graduated from Saint Paul Central High School in 1997 and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He left before finishing to become an early employee at PayPal, but later completed his bachelor’s degree in computer science. He also earned a master’s in computer science from Stanford University. Besides his native German, he speaks English and Bengali.
During college, Karim interned at Silicon Graphics, Inc., working on 3D voxel data management for large volume rendering datasets, including data from the Visible Human Project. At PayPal in 2002, he met Hurley and Chen. In 2005, the three founded YouTube. Karim created the site’s first account, "jawed," on April 23, 2005 (PDT), and uploaded "Me at the zoo" that same day. After co-founding the company and helping develop its concept and website, he enrolled as a graduate student at Stanford while acting as an informal adviser. When YouTube launched in February 2005, he agreed not to be an employee, focusing on his studies instead, which resulted in a much smaller ownership stake than Hurley and Chen. Because of his limited role, he remained largely unknown as the third founder until Google acquired YouTube in 2006. Despite his smaller share, the purchase netted him 137,443 shares of Google stock, worth about $64 million at the time. In October 2006, he gave a lecture on YouTube’s history at the University of Illinois’s annual ACM Conference, titled "YouTube From Concept to Hyper growth." He returned in May 2008 as the school’s 136th and youngest commencement speaker.
In March 2008, Karim launched a venture fund called Youniversity Ventures (now YVentures) with partners Keith Rabois and Kevin Hartz. He was an early investor in Airbnb, participating in its initial seed round in April 2009. YVentures has also invested in Palantir, Reddit, and Eventbrite.
Karim occasionally updates the description of "Me at the zoo" to criticize YouTube’s decisions. On November 6, 2013, YouTube required comments to be made via a Google+ account, sparking widespread backlash and an online petition with over 240,000 signatures. In response, Karim wrote on his account, "why the fuck do i need a Google+ account to comment on a video?" and changed the video’s description to "I can't comment here anymore, since i don't want a Google+ account." Under community pressure, Google apologized for forcing real names, a key reason for the unpopular integration, and later dropped the Google+ requirement across all products, starting with YouTube. In October 2018, Google announced it would shut down Google+ permanently, citing low adoption and a vulnerability that exposed 500,000 users’ data; the service closed for personal accounts on April 2, 2019. In November 2021, Karim updated the description to read, "When every YouTuber agrees that removing dislikes is a stupid idea, it probably is. Try again, YouTube🤦♂️," followed days later by a more detailed condemnation. In February 2025, he updated it again to warn about the dangers of microplastics to the brain.
- born
- October 28, 1979
- nationality
- German and American
- known_for
- Co-founding YouTube, uploading the first YouTube video 'Me at the zoo'
Verified Timeline
Quick Facts
- Birth Date
- October 28, 1979
- Birth Place
- Merseburg, Bezirk Halle, East Germany / (now Merseburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany)
- Known For
- Co-founding YouTube · uploading the first video on YouTube ("Me at the zoo")
- Education
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (BS) / Stanford University (MS)
- Occupation
- Software engineer
- Youtube Handle
- jawed
- Youtube Handle2
- jawedNOW
- Youtube Years Active
- 2005–2007 / 2010 (videos) / 2018–2019 (Jungle soundscape and Jawed's live stream)
- Youtube Genre
- Educational
- Youtube Subscribers
- 6.48 million / 90 thousand (jawedNOW)
- Youtube Views
- 411 million / None (jawedNOW)
- Stats Update
- August 31, 2026
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Jawed Karim was born on October 28, 1979, in Merseburg, East Germany, to a Bangladeshi father and a German mother. His family crossed the inner German border in the early 1980s due to experiencing racism, growing up in Neuss, West Germany. Facing racism there as well, they moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1992. He graduated from Saint Paul Central High School in 1997 and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, leaving campus prior to graduating to become an early employee at PayPal. He continued his coursework, earning his bachelor's degree in computer science, and subsequently earned a master's degree in computer science from Stanford University. In addition to his native language German, he speaks English and Bengali. At PayPal in 2002, Karim met Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. Three years later, in 2005, they founded the video-sharing website YouTube. Karim created the first account on YouTube, "jawed", on April 23, 2005 PDT (April 24, 2005 UTC), and uploaded the website's first video, "Me at the zoo", the same day. After co-founding the company, Karim enrolled as a graduate student in computer science at Stanford University while acting as an adviser to YouTube. He agreed not to be an employee and simply be an informal adviser, focusing on his studies, and as a result took a much lower share in the company compared to Hurley and Chen. Despite his smaller role, when Google acquired YouTube in 2006, he received 137,443 shares of stock, worth about $64 million based on Google's closing stock price at the time. In March 2008, Karim launched a venture fund called Youniversity Ventures (now known as YVentures) with partners Keith Rabois and Kevin Hartz. He is one of Airbnb's first investors, investing in the company's initial seed round in April 2009. YVentures has also invested in Palantir, Reddit and Eventbrite. Occasionally, Karim has updated the video description of "Me at the zoo" to criticize decisions made by YouTube. In response to Google requiring YouTube members to use Google+ for its comment system, Karim wrote on his YouTube account, "why the fuck do i need a Google+ account to comment on a video?", and updated the video description to "I can't comment here anymore, since i don't want a Google+ account". In November 2021, he updated the description to include "When every YouTuber agrees that removing dislikes is a stupid idea, it probably is. Try again, YouTube🤦♂️." A few days later, he updated it again to a more detailed condemnation. In February 2025, he updated the description to refer to the danger of microplastics to the brain.
Reader's Guide
Jawed Karim's significance lies in his role as a co-founder of YouTube, a platform that fundamentally transformed how video content is created, shared, and consumed globally. As the first person to upload a video to the site, he established the very first piece of user-generated content on what would become a dominant force in media. His technical contributions at PayPal, particularly the real-time anti-fraud system, also highlight his engineering impact. Karim's legacy is further marked by his occasional public criticisms of YouTube's policy changes, such as the Google+ comment integration and the removal of dislikes, using the description of his original video to voice dissent. His early investment in Airbnb and other startups through YVentures underscores his continued influence in the tech investment landscape. Despite his smaller role in YouTube's daily operations, his foundational contribution and subsequent commentary keep him a notable figure in internet history.
Did You Know?
- Jawed Karim uploaded the first YouTube video, 'Me at the zoo', on April 23, 2005, and it has been viewed over 409 million times as of August 2026.
- He designed many of PayPal's core components, including its real-time anti-fraud system.
- Karim took a much lower share in YouTube compared to co-founders Hurley and Chen because he focused on his studies and acted only as an informal adviser.
- He was one of Airbnb's first investors, investing in its initial seed round in April 2009.
- Karim updated the description of 'Me at the zoo' in November 2021 to criticize YouTube's decision to remove dislikes, writing: 'When every YouTuber agrees that removing dislikes is a stupid idea, it probably is. Try again, YouTube🤦♂️.'
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Jawed Karim?
Jawed Karim is a German-American software engineer of Bangladeshi descent, best recognized as a co-founder of YouTube. He is also the individual who posted the platform's very first video, making him a foundational figure in the site's history.
What is Jawed Karim most famous for?
He co-founded YouTube together with Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, and he uploaded the site's inaugural clip, 'Me at the zoo,' on April 23, 2005. That single video has racked up more than 409 million views as of August 2026.
What did Jawed Karim do before YouTube?
He spent time at PayPal, where he helped design several core systems, including the company's real-time anti-fraud tool. It was during his tenure there that he crossed paths with his future YouTube partners, Chen and Hurley.
Why is Jawed Karim important in internet history?
By uploading YouTube's first-ever video, he effectively kicked off the platform that would grow into one of the most-visited websites on the planet. His role as both co-founder and first uploader cements him as a key origin point for modern video-sharing culture.
What are Jawed Karim's nationality and background?
Born on October 28, 1979, he holds dual German and American citizenship. He is of Bangladeshi descent and has built his career as a software engineer and internet entrepreneur.
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