As Reddit celebrates two decades of cultural influence, co-founder Alexis Ohanian is making moves to reboot another web-era relic, with AI at the center.
On June 23, 2005, Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian launched Reddit with an empty front page and fake users to get things started.
The duo was later joined by a third co-founder, Aaron Swartz, who played a key role in shaping Reddit into what’s now known as the “front page of the internet.” Communities have turned it into a cultural powerhouse — from viral AMAs to r/Place’s chaotic, pixel-generated masterpieces. Today, Reddit’s legacy is its unabashed authenticity and its ability to foster connections in a digital age that seems to evolve daily.
To mark the anniversary, Boardroom took a trip down memory lane to detail how Reddit became a $26 billion publicly traded social media platform.
While Reddit celebrates its past, one of its founders is betting big on the internet’s future … again.
Alexis Ohanian’s Next Big Thing
Ohanian is going back to his internet roots. He teamed up with former rival Kevin Rose to buy back and revive Digg, Reddit’s early competitor in the 2000s, before fading into the background. Ohanian and Rose want to give Digg a second life in an effort to “bring humanity back to social media.” With AI now capable of handling spam, moderation, and the general internet chaos that bog down platforms, the new Digg will be built as a mobile-first, AI-enhanced space that prioritizes community, transparency, and user control.
“AI should handle the grunt work in the background while humans focus on what they do best: building real connections,” Ohanian said in a press release. “No one dreams of spending their day hunting down spam or playing content police. They want to create, connect, and build thriving communities. I’m all in on this chapter.”
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This new chapter of Digg is backed by True Ventures, where Rose is a partner, and Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six, with Justin Mezzell tapped as CEO. And they’re not just winging it; Rose and Ohanian are actively collaborating with community managers from forums and fan spaces to shape tools and features that actually serve real online communities.
If Reddit was Ohanian’s early startup success story, Digg might just be his full-circle comeback — only this time, he’s got AI and experience on his side.
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