Steve Chen

Steve Chen is an internet entrepreneur and is best known as the co-founder and former chief technology officer of YouTube. He was instrumental in building YouTube – a site which has had a profound impact on the way we communicate, learn and connect. He played a key role in launching the company and turning it into the world’s premier entertainment destination. With his success, Steve has also become a role model for the next generation of Asian American philanthropists. He has led the way for young entrepreneurs who believe in investing in the community. In 2013, he made a $1 million gift to his alma mater, the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. His gift went towards the creation of the “Innovation Hub,” a facility to support student entrepreneurship. Steve is also a strong supporter of organizations in the Bay Area, including the Asian Art Museum and UCSF. Steve Chen co-founded YouTube in 2005 after he and Chad Hurley resolved to provide a more simple way to share videos online. Steve has been instrumental in building YouTube into a viral video phenomenon and helped lead YouTube through the Google acquisition for $1.65 billion less than a year after launching the site. As the company's key technologist, Steve is credited with developing the company’s massive data centers and helping build YouTube into a premier entertainment destination and one of the most popular Web sites on the Internet today. He oversees all areas of both engineering and product development, including managing site operations, and developing features and services that are compelling and easy to use for everyone. Before YouTube, Steve was one of the first product engineers at PayPal. He led development efforts and served as an engineering manager on a variety of critical projects. Steve studied computer science at the University of Illinois.