Alexis Ohanian

Alexis Ohanian
Born	Alexis Kerry Ohanian 4/24/1983
Birthplace	New York City, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Entrepreneur, investor
Known for	Co-founding Reddit, founding Seven Seven Six
Education	University of Virginia (B.A.)
Spouse(s)	Serena Williams (m. 2017)
Children	2
Awards	TIME100 Impact honoree (2025)
Website	alexisohanian.com

Alexis Kerry Ohanian was born April 24, 1983. He's an American internet entrepreneur, investor, and advocate who's been front and center through some of the internet's most important moments. He's best known for co-founding Reddit, the social news platform that's grown into one of the world's most visited websites, valued at over $40 billion as of 2026.

Beyond Reddit, Ohanian's done plenty else worth noting. He co-founded Initialized Capital, an early-stage venture firm. He helped launch Hipmunk, a travel search site. He started Breadpig, a social enterprise that sold merchandise and gave profits to charity. More recently, he founded Seven Seven Six, a venture capital fund where he's invested heavily in tech startups and women's professional sports.

On the activism side, Ohanian's been vocal about net neutrality and internet freedom. The Daily Dot named him one of the top internet rights activists in 2012 for this work. He's married to former professional tennis player Serena Williams. They live in Florida with their two daughters.

Early Life

Alexis Kerry Ohanian came into the world on April 24, 1983, in New York City. He's of Armenian and German descent. His father's family immigrated from Armenia to the United States. Ohanian has talked openly about his Armenian heritage and how it's shaped the way he sees the world. He visited Yerevan, Armenia's capital, where he got a clearer sense of his family's background and the Armenian diaspora.

Growing up in the suburbs outside Baltimore, Maryland wasn't straightforward. Entrepreneurial instincts ran through him even then. But his childhood also held real hardship. His mother was diagnosed with brain cancer. That diagnosis hit the whole family hard and left a mark on how he'd approach life and work going forward. Still, he stayed interested in technology and the internet. Those interests would become the backbone of everything he'd build later.

One moment changed the trajectory entirely. Ohanian considered law school. He sat for the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) but walked out about twenty minutes in. He drove to a Waffle House restaurant, where he made a decision right there. He was "gonna invent a career" instead of following the traditional legal route. That choice steered him away from law and straight into tech entrepreneurship—the path that led to Reddit.

Education

He went to the University of Virginia (UVA) in Charlottesville, where he studied commerce and history. That's where he met Steve Huffman, who'd later become his co-founder on Reddit. They shared a dorm room and bonded over tech and startups. While they were at UVA, Ohanian and Huffman started dreaming up internet ventures, building the conceptual foundation for what would become one of the most influential websites in the world. Ohanian left UVA with a bachelor's degree in hand.

Career

Reddit

Right after graduating from UVA in 2005, Ohanian and Huffman applied to Y Combinator, which was running its first batch at the time. Their initial idea was "My Mobile Menu," a mobile food-ordering app. Paul Graham, Y Combinator's co-founder, didn't go for it. Instead, he pushed them toward a different concept. So Ohanian and Huffman built Reddit, a social news site where users could submit links and vote on what they found. The site launched in June 2005 and took off quickly.

In October 2006, Condé Nast Publications bought Reddit. Ohanian stayed involved after the acquisition, though he eventually stepped away. Over time, Reddit turned into one of the most visited websites around, drawing hundreds of millions of users into thousands of topic-specific communities called "subreddits."

Years later, Ohanian came back. He took on the role of executive chairman. Aaron Swartz was also part of Reddit's early story, bringing his company Infogami into Reddit's parent structure. Then in June 2020, nationwide protests erupted after George Floyd's death. Ohanian resigned from Reddit's board and pushed the company to replace him with a Black candidate. They did.

A 2026 Business Insider interview asked whether he missed his leadership days. He summed his answer in three words. By 2026, Reddit's valuation had hit over $40 billion.

Breadpig

In 2007, Ohanian started Breadpig, which he called an "uncorporation." The company made geeky stuff—books, posters, apparel—and gave the profits to charity. Creators got royalties while the rest of the money went to nonprofits. One project stood out. They published the first print collection of the webcomic xkcd, called xkcd: volume 0, with earnings going to charity.

Hipmunk

Ohanian helped get Hipmunk off the ground. This was a travel search website built to make finding flights and hotels easier. What made it different was the interface. Results appeared on a visual timeline organized by something they called "agony"—a score combining price, duration, number of stops, and other factors. Y Combinator backed it too.

Y Combinator

Ohanian worked as a partner at Y Combinator, the same accelerator that had originally funded Reddit. He mentored early-stage startups and helped founders work through the difficulties of building tech companies. Having been both a founder and an investor himself, he brought real-world insight to the entrepreneurs in the program.

Initialized Capital

He co-founded Initialized Capital, an early-stage venture firm focused on seed and early investments in tech startups. The firm built a solid portfolio, and Ohanian's experience as a founder informed how they picked companies. CB Insights recognized them for their strong track record.

Seven Seven Six

Ohanian went on to start Seven Seven Six (776), a venture capital fund named after the year of the first Olympic Games in 776 BC. Through this fund, he's invested across a range of tech startups but made his mark particularly with women's professional sports. He's put money into women's sports teams and leagues, betting on what he sees as a significant and undervalued opportunity.

In Time magazine's December 2025 TIME100 Impact Awards feature, Ohanian explained his thinking. Investing in women's sports had become one of his most successful moves, and he laid out why he thinks the industry is ready to explode.

Advocacy and Public Speaking

Ohanian's been outspoken about internet freedom and net neutrality for years. He fought against SOPA and PIPA in 2012 and kept pushing for net neutrality after that. In 2015, he helped drive a final push for net neutrality before a crucial FCC vote. He even crowdfunded a billboard near the FCC's office to raise attention.

He's spoken at major venues like TED. His talks cover entrepreneurship, the open internet, and tech's future. He's shared startup advice through Inc. magazine's "Office Hours" column, where he answered questions from aspiring entrepreneurs.

Without Their Permission

In 2013, Ohanian published Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed. The book was about how the internet democratizes entrepreneurship and innovation, drawing on his experiences with Reddit and other ventures. He toured the country supporting the release, hitting up colleges and startup communities.

Other Media Projects

Ohanian got involved with various media ventures beyond his core work. He was part of NYRD Radio. He also worked with Kickstarter and musicians to explore different models for music production and distribution. Fast Company covered the effort. Additionally, he organized a crowdfunding campaign to bring Black Girls Code to Brooklyn, New York, backing the nonprofit's push to introduce young women of color to technology and computer science.

Personal Life

Ohanian and professional tennis player Serena Williams started dating in 2015. They met in Rome at the Roma Cavalieri hotel, where they both happened to be staying. They got engaged in December 2016, and Williams announced it on Reddit. Their first daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., was born on September 1, 2017. They married on November 16, 2017, in New Orleans, Louisiana. A second daughter, Adira River Ohanian, came later.

The family lives in Florida. Ohanian's been public about supporting his wife and defending her against online attacks. In 2026, he responded to critics accusing Williams of skin bleaching, pushing back hard on those claims. He's also spoken up on social issues, reacting to a racist attack on footballer Vini Jr. and an emotional statement from broadcaster Kate Scott about the incident.

His Armenian roots matter to him. He's kept his connection to his heritage, visiting Armenia and engaging with the Armenian-American community.

Recognition

Ohanian's work has earned him recognition across multiple fronts. In 2012, The Daily Dot recognized him as one of the top internet rights activists for fighting SOPA and PIPA while championing net neutrality and an open internet.

Crain's New York Business put him on its "40 Under 40" list in 2015, noting his accomplishments as an entrepreneur and investor in New York.

BusinessWeek featured him in September 2007, highlighting young entrepreneurs making waves in tech.

In December 2025, Time magazine honored him as a TIME100 Impact honoree. The recognition pointed to his work investing in women's professional sports through Seven Seven Six. Time noted that his investments in the space had become some of his biggest wins.

Legacy

Ohanian's worked across multiple phases of the internet economy. From the web 2.0 days to today's venture capital and sports investment world, he's left his mark. Reddit, which he co-founded in 2005, became one of the world's most influential online communities. It's where people aggregate news, have discussions, and form communities. By 2026, it was worth over $40 billion, proof of the platform's impact on how information moves around online.

Breadpig showed early on that Ohanian wanted to blend business with social good. That model became bigger in the tech space later on. His work at Y Combinator and Initialized Capital made him a mentor and investor for a whole generation of startup founders. His reach extended well beyond his own companies.

His net neutrality advocacy put him in the middle of major policy fights that reshaped how the internet gets regulated in the United States. Crowdfunding campaigns, public comments, direct contact with regulators. All of it contributed to the broader push that led to the FCC's 2015 net neutrality rules.

More recently, his Seven Seven Six focus on women's professional sports has highlighted what he calls an undervalued market. His investments and public commentary have boosted visibility and funding for women's sports leagues and athletes. The TIME100 Impact feature covered this shift.

That Waffle House story gets told a lot now. Walking out of the LSAT to start building instead of studying law. It's become shorthand in Silicon Valley for the weird, unexpected paths that lead to success. Not everyone's journey looks the same.