Alex Chung

Alex Chung is a serial entrepreneur and technologist recognized as the co-founder and CEO of GIPHY, a leading GIF search engine and database. Chung co-founded GIPHY with Jace Cooke, developing the concept as they discussed the growing trend of visual communication. When Chung and Cooke launched GIPHY, the website operated solely as a search engine for GIFs. The platform rapidly gained widespread popularity, with Chung describing his initial goal as competing with Google for search—not by organizing the world's information, but by organizing the world's expression and culture. This vision positioned GIPHY as one of the largest search engines globally, shaping the landscape of digital media and visual communication.

Before GIPHY, Chung built a diverse career in technology and media. He was among the early architects of interactive television and began his career as a hardware engineer at Intel. His previous startups include Artspace, an ecommerce platform for contemporary art; The Fridge, a private social network acquired by Google; and General Displays, a GE venture focused on next-generation HDTVs. Chung also directed media technology for MTV, NBC, Comcast, and Charter, and managed future technologies for Paul Allen's research and development lab. He served as a Hacker in Residence at Betaworks prior to founding GIPHY. This combination of hardware engineering, media strategy, and entrepreneurial experience provided Chung with a broad foundation for building companies at the intersection of technology and culture.

Under Chung's leadership, GIPHY expanded into a major media platform with significant reach. The company achieved 100 million daily active users and delivered over 1 billion GIFs per day. At the time of his keynote at SXSW, GIPHY users viewed more than 8 million hours of content and 5 billion GIFs daily, attracting over 300 million unique visitors. Chung aimed to evolve GIPHY from a GIF search engine into a central tool for content creators—including movie studios, celebrities, and politicians—to communicate on social and mobile platforms. GIPHY was acquired by Facebook Inc. (now Meta Platforms) for a reported $400 million. Following regulatory developments in the United Kingdom, Shutterstock acquired GIPHY from Meta for $53 million.

Chung has been recognized for his contributions to technology and entrepreneurship. He was named to Business Insider's Top 25 Most Influential Technologists in New York, Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business, and Ad Age's 50 Most Creative People. Chung holds degrees in philosophy, electrical and computer engineering, and graphic design, an interdisciplinary background that shapes his approach to communication and creativity. He has spoken at major global conferences, including SXSW, Fast Company Innovation Festival, Web Summit Lisbon, RISE Hong Kong, Collision, and Slush Helsinki. At SXSW, Chung discussed the future of content, media consumption trends, and the cultural significance of the GIF format, establishing his voice in the evolution of digital communication.