Biography
Alexis Ohanian, who used the username 'kn0thing', co-founded Reddit in 2005 with Steve Huffman shortly after the pair were accepted into Y Combinator's inaugural batch. Born in 1983 in Brooklyn and raised in Maryland, Ohanian met Huffman at the University of Virginia. He is credited with creating Reddit's alien mascot, 'Snoo,' and has designed mascots for several of his later ventures. After Condé Nast acquired Reddit in 2006, Ohanian pursued other projects, including the travel startup Hipmunk and the publishing company Breadpig, and later became a partner at the venture firm Initialized Capital.
Ohanian returned to Reddit's leadership in July 2015, joining as executive chairman alongside Huffman after the resignation of interim CEO Ellen Pao. He stepped back from day-to-day involvement in 2018 while remaining on the board of directors. During this period he was also a prominent public figure for his marriage to tennis champion Serena Williams and his advocacy on issues including paid family leave.
Ohanian's defining public moment connected to Reddit came on June 5, 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the resulting protests. He announced his resignation from Reddit's board and publicly urged the company to fill his seat with a Black candidate, also pledging future Reddit-related gains toward fighting racial injustice. Days later, Reddit named Michael Seibel, an African-American entrepreneur and Y Combinator executive, to the board. Ohanian later reflected that he had expected other executives to follow his example but that few did.
Following his board departure, Ohanian left Initialized Capital to found Seven Seven Six (776), a venture capital firm he launched in 2020 that has grown to manage roughly $1 billion across early-stage funds. In subsequent years he became an active investor in women's sports, backing the National Women's Soccer League club Angel City FC and other ventures. He retained a significant financial interest as a Reddit co-founder through the company's 2024 public listing.