Serena Williams found lasting love with husband Alexis Ohanian. “Having someone as special as Serena as a partner is a consistent reminder of self-improvement,” he gushed to E! News in 2023. “I knew I have found someone I was going to spend the rest of my life with because she was someone who I knew I would never outgrow.” In Touch takes a deep dive into what Alexis does for a living, how he met Serena and what their family life is like.
Who Is Alexis Ohanian?
Alexis is a tech entrepreneur who was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was raised in the suburbs of Columbia, Maryland, and gradated from the University of Virginia in 2005 with degrees in commerce and history.
While attending Howard High School, Alexis took the school’s only computer science class but was discouraged from pursuing a computer science degree after he got to college.
“I felt like the kid who’s actually pretty good at their high school sport and is like captain of their team. And then they get to college and realize they’re not even going to make it on the bench,” Alexis recalled during a Facebook Live Q&A in 2018. “I wish I had the confidence and the conviction to actually stick with it and keep with it.”
“I’m thrilled I got the history major, but I think if I had done the computer science major instead of the business major it would have actually helped me a lot more, career-wise,” he added.
What Does Alexis Ohanian Do for a Living?
As of 2025, Alexis is working at Seven Seven Six, a venture capital firm he founded in 2020 to help tech founders grow their businesses.
Alexis also has a family foundation with Serena called 776.org “to combat inequity worldwide through entrepreneurship,” according to his bio on the company’s website. Additionally, he is a climate action philanthropist and funds projects through his 776 Foundation Fellowship Program.
In his LinkedIn profile, Alexis proudly states, “I’m a Business Dad,” in his “about” description.
Alexis Ohanian Cofounded Reddit and Regrets Selling It
Shortly after graduating from college, Alexis and his University of Virginia roommate, Steve Huffman, founded the social media platform Reddit in 2005. The duo sold the company a year later in 2006 for $10 million to Conde Nast, which Alexis later regretted.
“Halloween is always a surreal holiday for me, because on Halloween 2006, we sold Reddit to Conde Nast. The deal was months in the making and I wish I’d had more advisors around the table giving me more perspective on the sale,” he wrote in a November 1, 2020, tweet.
“I thought I was getting away with something because for 16 [months] worth of work, I was getting more money than my parents had made their entire working lives,” he continued. The sale occurred when Alexis’ mother, Anke, was battling cancer. She died in 2008.
“She was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer just a couple months into founding the company, so the idea of rewarding her life-long unflagging confidence in me with a $10 [million] exit was tremendously appealing,” Alexis explained about selling Reddit, which was valued at $6.4 billion as of 2024.
“I wish I’d had an investor tell me there were other options (like raising a Series A!) and there would be a path to much greater things given how fast the audience was growing at a time when our engineers had basically stopped working on the product,” he added.
Alexis returned to Reddit as an executive chair and board member in 2014, a position he held until June 2020.
Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams Met in the Sweetest Way
Serena was in Rome, Italy, preparing for the Italian Open, while Alexis was in town for a tech conference in May 2015. They were staying at the same hotel, and he sat extremely close to the tennis legend at breakfast by the pool one morning. Feeling bad that he was sitting by himself, Serena asked him to join her table.
“This big guy comes and he just plops down at the table next to us, and I’m like, ‘Huh! All these tables and he’s sitting here?’” Serena told Vanity Fair in June 2017. She invited him to come watch her play in the French Open later that month, and Alexis flew to Paris, taking her up on the offer.
“Even if she blows me off and we don’t hang out, I’m still going to have an amazing time in Paris and I’ll have an even better story for all my childhood friends,” Alexis recalled to the outlet.
In December 2016, Alexis brought Serena back to the Cavalieri Hotel in Rome where they first met. He proposed at the same table where the two shared their very first conversation.
Alexis and Serena married in November 2017 in an elaborate wedding at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Alexis Ohanian and Serena Williams Share 2 Daughters
Serena found out she was pregnant in January 2017, two days before she was scheduled to start playing in the Australian Open. She went on to win the grand slam tournament and revealed her pregnancy in April 2017.
“My dearest baby, you gave me the strength I didn’t know I had. You taught me the true meaning of serenity and peace. I can’t wait to meet you,” she wrote at the time in an Instagram post.
The couple welcomed their first child, daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian, on September 1, 2017.
Serena revealed her second pregnancy by arriving at the 2023 Met Gala with a noticeable baby bump.
“Was so excited when Anna Wintour invited the 3 of us to the Met Gala,” she captioned several Instagram snapshots from the event.
Alexis and Serena welcomed daughter Adira River Ohanian on August 22, 2023.
