Pornhub is widely reported to be run by Aylo, a Montreal company formerly called MindGeek. In March 2023 the Canadian investment firm Ethical Capital Partners was reported to have acquired it, and the Aylo name followed in August 2023. Earlier owners included Manwin. The company has also reached settlements with regulators, including a US agreement in 2025.
The short answer
Pornhub is a brand, and brands have owners. The company behind it is widely reported to be Aylo, headquartered in Montreal. Until August 2023 it was called MindGeek. Since March 2023 it has been reported to be owned by Ethical Capital Partners, a Canadian private investment firm.
That one-paragraph answer hides a long chain of name and ownership changes, which is why searches for "who owns Pornhub" turn up conflicting old articles. This guide walks through the chain in order.
From Interhub to Manwin
Pornhub launched in 2007 and was reportedly created by web developer Matt Keezer inside a company called Interhub. In 2010 the business was reported to be bought by Manwin, run by Fabian Thylmann, which also acquired other free video sites and built a network around them.
Around 2013 Thylmann was reported to have sold his stake to two managers, Feras Antoon and David Tassillo, and the group became known as MindGeek. For almost a decade MindGeek was the name that appeared in headlines, court filings and parliamentary hearings.
The years of scrutiny
In December 2020 a widely read newspaper column criticised the company's content controls. Card networks pulled back, uploads were limited to verified users, and millions of unverified videos disappeared from public view. In February 2021 executives were questioned by Canada's House of Commons ethics committee.
In June 2022 Antoon and Tassillo were reported to have stepped down after further criticism. These events set the stage for a change of ownership, and they explain why the new owners spoke so much about compliance.
The 2023 sale and the Aylo name
In March 2023 Ethical Capital Partners announced it had acquired the business. Coverage at the time described it as a Canadian firm raising money deal by deal and owning the whole company, with plans to recruit new leadership and to look at selling the group's content-matching technology as software.
In August 2023 the company announced the new name Aylo and described it as a fresh start. Pornhub kept its brand name, and the group continued to run its other sites and services.
A quick ownership table
| Period | Name | Reported owner |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Interhub | Founding company |
| 2010–2013 | Manwin | Reported to be led by Fabian Thylmann |
| 2013–2023 | MindGeek | Reported to be led by two managers |
| 2023 onward | Aylo | Ethical Capital Partners, as reported |
Names and structures can be more complicated than a table shows, and parts of the group may be held through other companies, so treat this as a simplified map.
Regulators and settlements
Ownership matters because the owner answers to regulators. In September 2025 Aylo reached a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission and the state of Utah. Major outlets reported a payment of five million US dollars, plus a requirement to verify consent and identity, block illegal material and accept independent audits for a decade.
Aylo said it agreed voluntarily and that the terms did not add substantive requirements beyond measures already in place or in progress. The authorities alleged earlier failures. Both sides' wording is part of the record, so read the original notices if the detail matters to you.
Why the story keeps changing
Ownership stories on this topic age quickly for three reasons. First, the group has had several names, so older articles use MindGeek, Manwin or even the original Interhub label. Second, press descriptions of the 2023 deal were written within weeks of the announcement, before leadership changes and before later regulatory steps. Third, the company runs many sites and services, so a headline about one of them is not always about Pornhub.
A good habit is to note the date of every source and to prefer notices from courts and regulators over commentary. If an article does not mention Aylo at all, it probably predates August 2023, and its description of the owners should be treated as history, not as the present position.
It is also worth separating the brand from the company. Pornhub is a name that visitors see. Aylo is the business that employs staff, signs contracts with payment firms and answers to regulators. Most legal and policy news is about the second, even when headlines use the first.
If you are writing about the company, quote the full name used at the time, for example MindGeek in 2021 and Aylo in 2025, and add a short note explaining that they refer to the same business. That avoids confusion for readers and keeps your own work accurate.
Key takeaways
- Pornhub is widely reported to be operated by Aylo, a Montreal-based company.
- Aylo was called MindGeek until August 2023.
- Ethical Capital Partners was reported to have acquired the company in March 2023.
- A September 2025 settlement with US regulators included payments and independent audits.
- Always date-check ownership articles, because the story has changed several times.
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