Early Life and Education
Steve Huffman was born in 1983 or 1984 in Lansing, Michigan. He grew up in Warrenton, Virginia, and began programming at the age of 8. Huffman graduated from Wakefield School in The Plains, Virginia, in 2001. He then studied computer science at the University of Virginia (UVA), earning his degree in 2005.
Rise to Success
During his senior year at UVA, Huffman, along with his roommate Alexis Ohanian, attended a lecture by Paul Graham, which inspired them to apply to Y Combinator. They founded Reddit in June 2005, with Y Combinator providing funding. The site quickly gained traction. Huffman and Ohanian sold Reddit to Condé Nast in 2006 for a reported $10-20 million. Huffman left his role as acting CEO in 2009. He later co-founded Hipmunk in 2010. In 2015, he returned to Reddit as CEO. Reddit went public in 2024, and Huffman became a billionaire a year later due to his stock compensation.
Key Business Strategies
As CEO, Huffman has led Reddit through significant changes, including a major website redesign and the development of mobile apps. He has focused on improving the platform's infrastructure and content guidelines. A key strategy has been adapting to the rise of AI, with plans for personalized user experiences and AI-generated summaries. In 2025, Reddit reported strong ad sales.
Philanthropy
Specific philanthropy amounts are not readily available in the provided search results.
