Reddit CEO delivers bold warning to Google and OpenAI

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman had a message for the AI giants connected the company's first-quarter 2026 net call. And it wasn't subtle.

"There is nary artificial quality without existent intelligence. And that comes from Reddit," Huffman said.

That azygous enactment landed similar a warning shot, aimed squarely astatine Google and OpenAI, 2 of Reddit's (RDDT) astir important licensing partners.

And fixed what the level reported for the quarter, Huffman had each crushed to accidental it with confidence.

Reddit's Q1 numbers were solid

Valued astatine amarket headdress of $32 billion, Reddit banal went nationalist successful March 2024 astatine $34 per share, CNBC noted. Today, the social media banal trades astir $166.

In Q1 of 2206, it reported:

• Revenue of $663 million, up 69% twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth and supra statement estimates of $611 million, arsenic indicated by CNBC.

• Net income of $204 cardinal oregon $1.01 per share, beating estimates by $0.43 per share, CNBC reported.

• In the year-ago period, RDDT reportedadjusted net of $0.13 per share.

• It besides marked Reddit's seventh consecutive 4th of gross maturation supra 60%.

• The institution posted a 91.5% gross margin and a 40% adjusted net earlier interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) margin, some uncommon metrics for a institution increasing this fast.

• Free currency travel borderline roseate to 47%, portion it allocated conscionable $1 cardinal towards superior expenditures, showcasing its asset-light concern model.

Reddit besides raised its guidance. For the 2nd 4th of 2026, the institution is projecting gross of $715 cardinal to $725 million, up of the $712 cardinal analysts had penciled in.

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Adjusted EBITDA is expected to onshore between $285 cardinal and $295 million, besides supra estimates.

RDDT banal roseate 8% successful the past week and 43% successful the past 12 months.

Why Google and OpenAI should wage attention

Reddit's fiscal spot is simply a communicative astir information and who controls it.

Huffman made it wide connected the telephone that Reddit's 20-plus years of quality conversations, totaling much than 25 cardinal posts and comments, are a cardinal portion of the infrastructure for the AI era.

"Reddit's conversations are similar lipid for the modern internet," Huffman said — a foundational assets that AI models beryllium connected to learn, reason, and make responses.

Reddit presently has licensing deals with some Google and OpenAI.

One expert connected the telephone noted that those deals look to beryllium worthy between $50 cardinal and $60 cardinal annually and questioned whether that's astir enough, fixed Reddit's increasing value to AI development.

Huffman mostly agreed with the premise. When asked astir the upcoming 2027 renewals for those partnerships, helium stopped abbreviated of naming figures.