Fandom was founded in 2006 by Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, and Angela Beesley Starling, a British web entrepreneur. Initially launched as Wikicities, it was created as a platform leveraging Wikipedia’s technology to allow fans to deeply explore the lore and worlds of their favorite TV shows, movies, and games beyond what traditional encyclopedias offer. The original intention was to provide a rich community space where fans could contribute and engage with content about fictional characters and universes as if they were real.

Over time, the platform was renamed Wikia in 2006, reflecting its broader scope beyond geographical cities, before rebranding as Fandom. The site quickly gained recognition for hosting extensive fan communities, including one of its earliest and most notable wikis, Wookieepedia, dedicated to Star Wars. This particular wiki grew to have over 50,000 articles by 2007 and became an authoritative source even used by the Star Wars creative team themselves.

Fandom today is a vast repository of fan-generated content covering an extensive range of fictional universes and pop culture topics. It distinguishes itself from Wikipedia by focusing on entertainment, offering informal, rich, and diverse content supported by community contributions and various multimedia elements such as maps and videos. The platform has integrated various formerly independent fan wikis, further consolidating its position as the go-to site for fan communities worldwide.

The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and continues to operate as a for-profit entity. Its mission centers on empowering fans to dive deeply into the narratives they love and to foster passionate communities around these interests. Despite its growth and evolution, Fandom maintains its core ethos of being a comprehensive fan destination, driven by the users’ enthusiasm and knowledge.

Fandom has received venture capital funding in its early years from investors like Bessemer Venture Partners, First Round Capital, and Amazon.com. These investments facilitated its expansion and helped establish it as a leading digital space for fandom culture globally. Though the company has undergone rebranding and corporate changes, its commitment to serving fan communities remains central to its business model and online presence.