YouTube marks 20 years since Google acquisition

Two decades after Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in October 2006, the platform has evolved from a struggling startup into the world's largest audiovisual infrastructure. At the time of the acquisition, YouTube was only twenty months old, facing significant financial losses due to bandwidth costs and lacking a clear revenue model.

In 2006, the company operated with just 65 employees out of a modest headquarters in San Mateo, California, located above a pizzeria and a Japanese restaurant. Despite its small physical presence, the platform was already processing an average of 100 million videos daily. The acquisition occurred amidst significant legal uncertainty regarding copyright issues and potential judicial shutdowns similar to those faced by earlier internet pioneers.