An American-Armenian internet entrepreneur and investor, Alexis Ohanian.
Along with Steve Huffman and Aaron Swartz, he is most known for co-founding Reddit and serving as its executive chairman.
He launched the social venture Breadpig, participated in the development of the travel search engine Hipmunk, and co-founded the early-stage startup investment firm Initialized Capital.
He also has a partnership with Y Combinator.
Alexis Ohanian, tennis player Serena Williams, their daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian, and they all currently reside in Florida.
Early Life & Education
Chris and Anke Ohanian welcomed Alexis Kerry into the world on April 24, 1983 in Brooklyn, New York.
Ohanian was born in Germany, although his paternal grandparents had immigrated to America during the Armenian Genocide.
At Howard High School in Ellicott City, Maryland, where he received his diploma in 2001, he delivered the commencement address.
He studied history and business at the University of Virginia, where he earned his degree in 2005.
On the first day of his freshman year at UVA, he made friends with Steve Huffman because they both loved video games.
At college, Serena Willaim’s husband Ohanian started concentrating on business and technology. He earned his degree from the University of Virginia in 2005 and is a member of the Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity.
He double-majored in history and business.
Professional Career – Alexis Co-Founded Reddit In 2015
He was a Pizza Hut waiter during his time in college, but he was also thinking about going into law.
When he went to Cambridge with his friend Steve Huffman to hear Paul Graham’s “How to Launch a Business” talk, his initial aspirations to become a lawyer were altered.
After graduating from college, He launched a number of tech companies. Also, he and his friend Steve Huffman pitched the MyMobileMenu concept to the Y Combinator.
In 2005, he co-founded Reddit, a news website where users may publish and rate news articles.
In the middle of 2005, Reddit was one of the first startup groups to get accepted into Y Combinator.
Conde Nast, though, bought it for between $10 and $20 million after a year.
Alexis worked closely with Reddit as one of the board’s directors. He and Huffman began working full-time at Reddit in July 2015 to develop the concept.
In order to focus on investments, Ohanian then took a hiatus from Reddit in February 2018.
On June 5, 2020, in response to George Floyd’s passing, he submitted his resignation from the Reddit board and asked to be replaced by an African-American applicant.
He is a political activist as well as a writer and technologist, focusing primarily on web-related topics.
He earned the moniker “Mayor of the Technology” after clashing with US senators over legislation that would have severely punished infringement of technology copyright.
Awards & Achievements
In 2011 and 2012, Ohanian was recognised as a key figure in the technology industry and was listed among the Forbes “30 Under 30” list.
Ohanian and Erik Martin were honoured as “champions of invention” in Wired’s 20th Anniversary edition from 2013.
Ohanian included on Crain’s 2015 list of the “40 Under 40” in business.
Ohanian was among Fast Company’s 2016 list of the “Most Creative People in Business.”
On May 21, 2020, Ohanian delivered the commencement address for the 2020 class of The Johns Hopkins University.
Serena Willaims and Alexis Ohanian: How Did They Meet?
In October 2015, Serena Williams, a tennis prodigy, was apparently dating Alexis. They were both visitors at the Rome Cavalieri hotel.
Ohanian was in town for the Festival of Media Global conference, while Serena Williams’ husband was there for the Italian Open.
The Michigan native joined Ohanian for brunch that particular day, and she later extended an offer to watch her compete in the Italian Open.
After Williams invited Ohanian to meet her in Paris for the French Open, they went on their first date.
Towards the end of 2016, Ohanian proposed to the couple at the Rome hotel where they first met.
Serena and Alexis got engaged in December 2016. They had been having a covert relationship for 15 months after meeting in Rome.
Through their social media accounts, the couple announced their engagement. She was also about eight weeks pregnant at the time.
The diamond-encrusted ring that Serena was proudly showing off in the engagement photos.
On November 16, 2017, Alexis and Serena were married. At a star-studded ceremony in New Orleans, the pair said their vows.
The Contemporary Arts Center was chosen by Serena and Alexis because of its amazing architecture and rich history, a source reportedly told the Daily Mail.
Preston has been given the responsibility of adorning the hall with pricey crystals and flowers. In November 2017, they got married in New Orleans.
Their Couple Give Birth To A Child
Before they could exchange vows, the birth of the couple’s first child marked another important turning point in their relationship.
In April 2017, the athlete accidentally revealed her pregnancy on Snapchat. Five months later, she gave birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.
Her partner was by her side the entire time even though she had a challenging delivery.
On September 13, the tennis player revealed that she and her partner Alexis Ohanian had given birth to a girl they named Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.
Net Worth
As of 2022, the co-founder of Reddit is thought to have an approximate net worth of $80 million. He is a well-known figure in the global technology business community.
A large chunk of his income comes from Reddit, a company he co-founded with Steve Huffman and Aaron Swartz.
He has also supported other IT companies in addition to this. During Uber’s early years, he was one of the company’s original investors.
Within a few years, he received a large return on his $1,000,000 investment in Uber. He has also made other investments that have been extremely successful.
Final Verdict
American technology entrepreneur, investor, and activist Alexis Ohanian. He is most known for being a co-founder of the popular social news website Reddit.
He is commonly referred to as the “startup guy” and is happily married to Serena Williams. The couple had a daughter together, and they currently make their home in Florida.