Youku was founded on June 21, 2006 and officially launched on December 21. It is a leading online video platform in China. Youku is currently one of the core businesses of Alibaba Group's digital media and entertainment division, and is also a part of Alibaba Group's "Double H" (Health and Happiness) strategy. Youku now supports four major terminals: PC, TV, mobile, and in car, with multiple content formats including copyright, co production, self production, user generated content (UGC), professionally generated content (PGC), and live streaming.

In March 2024, Youku and Tomato Novel announced a partnership to deeply explore "super IPs" and jointly promote the landing of high-quality content in film and animation. On April 22nd, Youku announced that the suspense theater had been upgraded to a white night theater. On May 27th, Youku launched the "Silver Hair Theater" for the elderly population. On July 22nd, Youku launched the "Human Treasure Cool" theater.