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On October 9 2006, YouTube was bought by Google in a deal worth $1.65 billion in stock. YouTube was founded in 2005 and the first-ever video was uploaded in April 2005 by co-founder Jawed Karim. The video streaming giant wasn’t the same back then, as its co-founders wanted to build it into a video site for dating. Basically, an online platform where people could post videos to describe their ideal partners. Thankfully, Google bought the company for a measly sum and made a global behemoth for video content.

YouTube started its journey as a video where Jawed Karim, co-founder of YouTube was standing in front of two elephants at the San Diego Zoo in California talking about their long trunks for 19 seconds. Yes, it was a short video and in 2023, YouTube is focusing on Shorts!

WATCH VIDEO: Google Bought YouTube Today 17 Years Back: Watch First Video

The first-ever YouTube video was uploaded on April 23, 2005 and more than a year later on October 9, 2006, YouTube was acquired by Google to establish itself as a major tech force in the industry. YouTube is now the go-to platform for video creators who have earned billions from the platform, with notable creators with millions of subscribers who stay glued to their screens to watch their favourite artists.

This is what Chad Hurley, CEO and Co-Founder of YouTube told when Google acquired Youtube, “Our community has played a vital role in changing the way that people consume media, creating a new clip culture. By joining forces with Google, we can benefit from its global reach and technology leadership to deliver a more comprehensive entertainment experience for our users and to create new opportunities for our partners. I’m confident that with this partnership we’ll have the flexibility and resources needed to pursue our goal of building the next-generation platform for serving media worldwide.”