# History of YouTube development and acquisition > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/history-of-youtube-development-and-acquisition > Updated: 2026-08-24T18:57:43.000Z. Sources: 4. Developments: 2. YouTube was established in 2005 by former PayPal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim. The platform was designed to simplify video distribution by allowing users to upload, stream, and share content directly through a web browser, removing previous technical barriers. Following the upload of the first video, ‘Me at the zoo,’ by Jawed Karim, the platform experienced rapid growth. This led to Google acquiring YouTube in 2006, an acquisition that provided the infrastructure and advertising ecosystem required to scale the service globally and manage increasing bandwidth and storage costs. ## Claims - YouTube was founded by three former PayPal employees: Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim. (corroborated by 3 sources) - YouTube launched publicly in 2005. (corroborated by 3 sources) - The first video uploaded to the platform was titled ‘Me at the zoo’ and featured Jawed Karim. (corroborated by 3 sources) - Google acquired YouTube in 2006. (corroborated by 3 sources) ## Timeline ### 2026-08-24: YouTube history: From founding to Google acquisition Founded in 2005 by former PayPal employees, YouTube revolutionized video sharing before being acquired by Google in 2006. 4 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/youtube-history-from-founding-to-google-acquisition ### 2026-08-05: YouTube founded by former PayPal staff transforms online video sharing YouTube launched in 2005 by former PayPal staff Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, introduced easy video sharing, and was bought by Google in 2006, sparking a creator‑driven media boom. 3 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/youtube-founded-by-former-paypal-staff-transforms-online-video-sharing-1 --- Cite as: History of YouTube development and acquisition. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/history-of-youtube-development-and-acquisition