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Steve Chen is a Taiwanese-American entrepreneur who co-founded YouTube in 2005 and served as its Chief Technology Officer. He sold the video-sharing platform to Google for $1.65 billion in 2006, making him one of the most successful tech founders of his generation. Today, he works on connecting Taiwan’s startup ecosystem with Silicon Valley.
Chen was born on August 25, 1978, in Taipei, Taiwan. His family moved to Arlington Heights, Illinois, when he was eight years old in 1986. The young immigrant adapted to American life while showing an early interest in technology.
He attended Thomas Middle School and spent his freshman year at John Hersey High School, both in Arlington Heights. For his final three years of high school, Chen enrolled at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora, a specialized school for gifted students in science and mathematics.
Chen went on to study computer science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 1999, he made a decision that would change his life—he left college before graduating to pursue opportunities in Silicon Valley during the dot-com boom.
Chen’s first major role was at PayPal, where he worked as one of the company’s early product engineers. This job proved crucial beyond just career experience. At PayPal, he met Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim, two colleagues who would later become his YouTube co-founders.
After PayPal, Chen briefly joined Facebook in 2005 as an early employee. However, he left after just a few months when the YouTube opportunity emerged. This short stint at Facebook placed him at two of the most influential tech companies of the 2000s before he turned 27.
In February 2005, Chen, Hurley, and Karim founded YouTube to make video sharing simple. The popular origin story suggests the idea came from difficulty sharing videos from a dinner party at Chen’s San Francisco apartment. While Chen later noted this story was “probably strengthened by marketing ideas,” the core problem was real—no easy platform existed for regular people to upload and share videos online.
As Chief Technology Officer, Chen handled the technical architecture that made YouTube work. He built the data centers and infrastructure needed to handle massive video uploads and streaming. The platform launched publicly in April 2005 with the tagline “Tune In, Hook Up.”
YouTube’s growth was explosive. By June 2006, just over a year after launch, Business 2.0 named Chen one of “The 50 people who matter now” in business. The site became a cultural phenomenon, changing how people consumed and created video content.
On October 9, 2006, less than two years after YouTube’s founding, Google acquired the company for $1.65 billion. Chen received 625,366 shares of Google stock plus an additional 68,721 shares in a trust as part of the deal.
The acquisition made Chen wealthy beyond most people’s imagination. By September 2021, his Google shares alone were valued at nearly $1.77 billion. This figure doesn’t include other investments or ventures he pursued after leaving YouTube.
Chen and Hurley continued working within Google’s structure after the acquisition, helping to integrate YouTube while maintaining its distinct identity and culture.
Chen didn’t stop working after selling YouTube. In 2011, he and Hurley co-founded AVOS Systems, a technology incubator. Their first major move was acquiring Delicious, the social bookmarking service, from Yahoo.
Through AVOS, Chen launched MixBit in 2013, a mobile video editing and sharing app. The app allowed users to create videos collaboratively and remix content from other users. Despite the strong pedigree behind it, MixBit failed to gain significant traction.
In 2014, Chen joined Google Ventures as an entrepreneur-in-residence, a role he held until 2018. This position lets him mentor early-stage startups and share his experience building successful consumer internet products.
Chen launched Nom.com in 2016 with Vijay Karunamurthy. The platform focused on live-streaming food content, tapping into the growing foodie culture online. Despite raising $4.7 million in funding, Nom.com shut down in 2017. The company’s social media went silent, and the service quietly disappeared.
Not every venture works out, even for founders with billion-dollar exits.
In August 2019, Chen and his family moved back to Taipei, Taiwan, his birthplace. This wasn’t a retirement move—Chen had plans to contribute to Taiwan’s developing tech ecosystem.
Chen married Park Ji-hyun, a Google Korea product marketing manager who changed her name to Jamie Chen, in 2009. They have two children, including a son born in July 2010. The family has been a major supporter of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, where Jamie serves as a trustee.
In Taiwan, Chen began working to bridge the gap between the island’s tech talent and Silicon Valley’s resources. In 2024, he launched plans for a startup incubator aimed at helping Taiwanese entrepreneurs access international markets and funding.
The incubator model trains three to five startup teams every eight weeks, focusing on companies that can grow beyond Taiwan’s 24 million population. Chen measures success by how many teams get accepted into Silicon Valley accelerators.
He’s been particularly active with Taiwan’s “Gold Card” program, which grants residency and work permits to foreign talent. Chen works to connect these expatriates with local engineers, creating partnerships that combine international experience with Taiwanese technical skill.
Taiwan’s startup ecosystem ranked 24th globally in 2023, behind Singapore, China, Japan, and South Korea. Chen believes the island has exceptional engineering talent but lacks the international connections and exposure needed to build globally competitive companies.
Estimates of Chen’s net worth in 2025 range from $500 million to over $2.4 billion, depending on how his various investments are valued. The wide range reflects the difficulty of tracking private investments and the fluctuation in public stock holdings.
Chen was inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois in 2018, receiving the Order of Lincoln, the state’s highest honor. He’s been recognized by GQ as one of their “Men of the Year” and by Fortune as one of the “Most Powerful People in Business.”
In 2024, Chen spoke at the Valencia Digital Summit and continues to make public appearances discussing technology, entrepreneurship, and the future of Taiwan’s startup scene.
Chen’s story offers several lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs. First, he didn’t finish college but prioritized real-world experience during a crucial moment in tech history. While not everyone should drop out, recognizing the right opportunity matters more than following a predetermined path.
Second, Chen’s network from PayPal directly led to YouTube’s creation. The relationships you build early in your career can become your most valuable asset.
Third, failure is part of the process. MixBit and Nom.com didn’t succeed despite Chen’s track record and resources. Even experienced founders with access to capital and connections launch products that fail. The key is learning and moving forward.
Finally, Chen’s return to Taiwan shows that success isn’t just about accumulating wealth. He’s using his experience and connections to lift others, particularly in his home country. Real impact comes from sharing knowledge and creating opportunities for the next generation.
YouTube changed how billions of people consume and create content. Steve Chen’s technical skills and entrepreneurial vision made that transformation possible. His current work in Taiwan aims to help create the next generation of global tech companies from an often-overlooked market.
