Alexis Ohanian is one of the most talked-about investors in the world. The founder of Reddit and the husband of sports superstar Serena Williams, Ohanian has made a name for himself by building a portfolio that extends across women’s sport and the tech economy.
Surprisingly, for a person of his celebrity, he’s always on the circuit, appearing at various conferences and regularly responding to people on social media.
Ohanian’s presence online is notorious; he even dropped hints on X, liking posts about Chelsea just before he purchased a 10% stake in the club for £20 million in May 2025.
Within minutes of taking the stage at Stamford Bridge for Leaders Week London, Ohanian exclaims “London is blue.” Chelsea beat Arsenal 1-0 in the first big title-race clash of the WSL season a couple of weeks ago, and Ohanian is clearly chuffed about it.
It’s one of three “London is blue” barbs that Ohanian drops in his 30-minute conversation at the conference. Trying to grab the millionaire for some time afterwards is like queuing for an autograph at a convention. Everyone is desperate to grab even just a minute of his time to pitch a business idea.
Finally, amid the scrum, Chelsea’s celebrity shareholder shares some reflections on his first 18 months at the club.
“I mean, the trophy case helped a lot”, Ohanian jokes when sharing what attracted him to invest in Chelsea. “The brand being centered in London, those are all things that are incredibly alluring.
“I envisioned a women’s football fan in America to have their NWSL club, hopefully Angel City, but then also have a WSL club and have it be Chelsea and have it be the brand, have it be in the heart of London. Those are all great storylines.”
Ohanian has been a very present investor, attending the Women’s FA Cup final at Wembley in May and some WSL fixtures at Stamford Bridge.
Having been one of the co-founders of Angel City, Ohanian oversaw the sale of a controlling stake in the club to Willow Bay and former Disney chief executive Bob Iger for $250 million two years ago. Ohanian remains a minority shareholder and still sits on the club’s board. He’s now hoping he can extend his success to a different women’s football project.
Since January 2025, Chelsea have signed two of the US’s brightest talents in Alyssa Thompson and Naomi Girma, firmly placing them in the minds of American fans.
English football is more divided, and Ohanian relishes the allegiances and rivalries that he gets to experience every time he visits London.
“The feedback that I get, not just from Chelsea supporters, but even from Arsenal fans when [in London], I love the fact that this is such a passionate sports city that folks will go out of their way to say something whether for or against.
“There isn’t that kind of energy with Knicks and Mets fans in New York, they don’t have that kind of heat, but that’s where fandom comes from.”
Since launching in 2022, Angel City has become a leader in the women’s sport and entertainment space, delivering impressive commercial revenues and big crowds.
What does Ohanian think the WSL can learn from Angel City’s success?
“Our first season, we went into a 22,000-capacity arena, and we sold out probably half the matches, averaged probably 21,000. Before then, I think the biggest crowds the NWSL had were in Portland.
“The difference, though, is it’s a careful balance between what the WSL gives us in terms of timing, where we’re able to play and when we’re able to play. I think what’s been so heartening is more and more teams in the WSL are realising they have to prioritise where their women’s teams are playing, and we’ve already started.
“The club’s done some clever stuff like bottomless brunches. There’s been a lot of good fan activation so far to keep growing and start resetting folks to think through their schedule around when the team is playing at the Bridge now. Obviously we’ve got a fan base that some of whom are now traveling to get to the Bridge, but I think we’ll continue to see those numbers grow.”
The Cutback revealed in March that Chelsea would be moving to Stamford Bridge permanently from the 2026-27 season, and so far across their three WSL home games they’ve pulled in an average crowd of 10,700. By contrast, Champions League games have been a struggle, with just 846 attending the home league phase tie against Austria Wien last month.
Ohanian is known for his broad range of tech investments, and it’s that craving for innovation that drives much of his thinking at Chelsea.
“The gift of English football is that it’s so iconic. The challenge is that it has been built and anchored really around the men’s game. The Lionesses started to change the perception in a big way in the culture. I think the more we see teams investing in their women’s side, the more it’ll start to change the motion around it.
“I think people expected women’s sports fans to be the same people as men’s sports fans, and they’re just not. It is a totally different audience. The overlap we had with the MLS team that we [Angel City] shared the stadium with was insignificant. It was 5%, 10% – just a totally different fan base – and so that’s the opportunity for any women’s club to be now rethinking from first principles. Not just saying, ‘Hey, existing fans of the men’s team, come watch these women play’, which is great, but also, who are the new fans that are now ready to be engaged? And I don’t give all my secrets because I’m excited to see us keep growing up. But the team’s doing a good job.”