Reddit was founded on June 23, 2005, by University of Virginia roommates Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian in Medford, Massachusetts. A $100,000 seed investment from Y Combinator helped launch the platform, and later that year it merged with Aaron Swartz’s Infogami who also rewrote much of Reddit’s code using Python to enhance performance.

By late 2005, Reddit introduced commenting and launched communities like r/science under its growing product features. In October 2006, Condé Nast Publications acquired Reddit for an estimated $10–20 million, prompting the team’s move to San Francisco.

Between 2008–2009, Reddit became open-source, introduced user-created subreddits, and launched AMA ("Ask Me Anything") formats sparking participation from public figures worldwide. The platform also transitioned to Amazon Web Services and rolled out revenue models like Reddit Gold and sponsored content.

As of early 2025, Reddit ranks as the 9th most visited global website, publicly trades under ticker RDDT, and remains community-moderated powered by its iconic mascot, Snoo, who originated from Alexis’s class doodle in 2005.