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Reddit is breaking records — AI might be the reason why
In the second quarter of 2025, the social network Reddit showed not just growth — it set a real record for the pace of development. The company reported an increase in revenue by 78%, to almost USD 500 million. Of this, the lion's share — USD 460 million — came from advertising, which is 84% more than a year earlier.
The indicator of daily active users in the United States was no less impressive, according to WSJ. They became 50.3 million, although analysts expected this number to decrease.
"We knew that people's time was currency. And now we see it increasing in value," Reddit CEO Steve Huffman noted.
The company's success was instantly reflected in the stock market: Reddit shares rose by 24% in just a few days.
AI is fueled by Reddit content
Not only advertising revenue, but also a new direction — data licensing — is attracting the most attention. Companies developing AI, including OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity, are actively using Reddit content to train their models.
Although this segment currently brings in only 7% of total revenue, its potential is estimated to be very high. According to Profound and Ahrefs, Reddit is the No. 1 source for answers generated by modern AI models. For example, 5.5% of Google AI Overviews results contain links from Reddit, more often than from any other resource.
"AI won't be able to replicate the authenticity of the human experience for a long time. That's why our community has become so valuable," Huffman explained.
The human factor becomes key for language models
Reddit has become a place where users discuss real-world issues, share insights, and share emotions. This is what makes the platform so attractive to AI developers who want to train models on real, unfiltered experiences.
Hundreds of thousands of thematic subreddits cover everything from investing to personal tragedies. For algorithms, it's the living fabric of human thought.
"Our users not only create content, but also shape knowledge. It is hard to overestimate," Huffman believes.
Why Reddit has become vital for AI
Reddit has managed to occupy a unique niche — between an information platform and a living social environment. Its content is as close as possible to real human communication, and therefore, the most relevant for training language models.
While other social networks limit access to their data or are filled with advertising messages, Reddit maintains openness and depth of dialogues.
Against this background, it is not surprising that Google, OpenAI, and others are willing to pay for access to such sources. This opens up an additional source of income for the company, which may eventually surpass even advertising.
How Reddit regained trust after the collapse
The company's true resilience wasn't just evident during its growth. Just six months ago, the situation was completely different: the number of users in the United States had decreased, and the share price had more than halved. It was due to changes in Google's algorithms and the launch of AI answers, which diverted traffic from Reddit.
But the company didn't give up. It adapted its strategy, focused on content quality, improved its data management, and signed new licensing agreements with leading AI companies.
The result was a return to market trust, audience growth, and new sources of revenue.
"We went through dark times because we knew that our future was not in advertising, but in people," Huffman summarized.
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