Reddit CEO Says Platform Has the Human Data AI Needs

Reddit, the largest online community platform in the US, paired strong first-quarter results with a sharpened pitch as a company that provides the human data needed for artificial intelligence, CNBC reported on April 30.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Steve Huffman told CNBC's "Mad Money" that Reddit "provides the fuel for AI." AI cannot exist without real human intelligence, he said. The vast trove of communication data accumulated on Reddit's community platform is essential for AI, he added.

Huffman called Reddit one of the most undervalued companies in the AI boom and said it would ultimately be a real winner. He also said the company delivers products and services people want without the heavy capital spending required to build massive data centers.

Reddit also reported strong first-quarter earnings. Revenue for January through March rose 69% from a year earlier to $660 million, while net income increased tenfold to $240 million. Earnings per share climbed to $1.01 from 13 cents. Daily active users rose 17% to 126.8 million.

Reddit shares closed up 12.49% at $165.62 in after-hours trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Reddit has been expanding AI-related features through partnerships with Google and OpenAI since 2024. In February 2024, it signed a $60 million deal with Google to let the company train its AI models on Reddit content. In May 2024, it signed a content data-sharing agreement with OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT.

The company is also expanding AI-based automatic translation. Reddit introduced AI-powered translation in 2024 for four languages — Spanish, French, German and Portuguese. Last year, it expanded translation coverage to 35 countries.

Lee Mi-a, Hankyung.com reporter, mia@hankyung.com