Ever Watched YouTube’s First Video? It Was Uploaded Today 19 Years Ago

Nineteen years ago, a young man named Jawed Karim uploaded the first ever video on YouTube. Titled ‘Me at the zoo’, the 19 second clip features Karim standing in front of elephants at the San Diego Zoo. Interestingly, the video, which was shot by Karim’s friends, was taken just a few months before YouTube’s public launch in May 2005. Despite its low quality, the video went on to revolutionise the digital scene. In 2006, tech giant Google acquired the platform for a whopping $1.65 billion, while Karim, who went to study computer science at Stanford University, received 137,443 shares of Google stock, which is $64 million (Rs 533 Crore) at the time, as reported by the New York Times. Today, on April 23, marks the 19th anniversary of the video and so far, it has garnered over 317 million views.

In the video, Karim says, “Alright. So here we are, in front of the elephants. The cool thing about these guys is that they have really, really, really long, trunks and that’s cool.” While YouTuber’s nowadays end the video by asking viewers to “Like, Share and Subscribe,” the platform’s co-founder simply stated, “And that’s pretty much all there is to say.” Remembering the video, an X user sharing the clip, wrote, “On this day 19 years ago, the first-ever YouTube video was uploaded in 2005. It has garnered 317 million views since then.”

Other than Jawed Karim, another co-founder and CEO of YouTube, Chad Hurley, acquired 694,087 shares of Google stock, alongside an additional 41,232 shares in a trust, which was worth $345 million. Similarly, co-founder Steven Chen received 625,366 shares and an additional 68,721 shares in a trust, close to $326 million. Sequoia Capital XI, the investment fund that invested approximately $11.5 million, holds 941,027 shares, worth $442 million.

Before starting his entrepreneurial journey, Karim was employed at PayPal, where he crossed paths with Steve and Chad. The idea for the video platform came when Karim wasn’t able to find clips of the Super Bowl and Indian Ocean Earthquake. Initially, the trio had a vision to create a dating site, but they faced obstacles with the idea. Later, they understood the potential of a video streaming platform and started focusing on creating YouTube.

After YouTube was acquired by Google, Jawed Karim established Y Ventures, previously known as Youniversity Ventures. Through this organisation, Karim has made investments in popular companies such as Airbnb, Reddit and Eventbrite.