From Burning Ideas to Global Icons: Tech Innovation with YouTube Co-Founder Steve Chen

How does a single spark scale into a platform used by billions? Join HKUST for a compelling fireside chat with Steve Chen, co-founder of YouTube, as he bridges the gap between raw tech infrastructure and global human impact. Drawing from his legendary Silicon Valley experience, Steve will share how early engineering choices and a culture of bold risk-taking transformed a simple video project into a global phenomenon. Discover how YouTube fundamentally redefined how the world shares knowledge, builds communities, and communicates. This session is designed for campus thinkers and innovators ready to look past traditional boundaries, trust the ideas burning inside them, and learn what it truly takes to build the future of global media.

About Steve Chen

Steve Chen is the co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer of YouTube, one of the world's most influential digital platforms that transformed how people create, share, and consume video content. Born in Taiwan and raised in the United States, he studied computer science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign before joining PayPal, where he met his future co-founders Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim.

In 2005, the trio launched YouTube, which rapidly became a global phenomenon and redefined online media. Just one year later, YouTube was acquired by Google in a landmark US$1.65 billion deal. Following his time at Google, Steve continued to support innovation through startup investments and entrepreneurial ventures in Silicon Valley and Asia.

Today, Steve is dedicated to fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators across Asia, drawing on his unique experience of building one of the most transformative technology companies of the internet era. His new project, Silicon Corridor, seeks to connect US companies with the massive ecosystem of chip and memory manufacturers in Asia.

Rundown:

• 5:30-6:00pm: Registration

• 6:00-6:30pm: Fire-side Chat with Steve CHEN 

  Moderated by Prof Tim CHENG, Vice President for Research and Development

• 6:30-7:00pm: Q&A session

Register now: https://ust.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eldFQmDQjUcLHca