Airbnb
NASDAQ: ABNBYC W09YC Top CompanySan Francisco, US · Founded 2008 · Delaware corporation · 6132 employees · Public · 69 known investors
Airbnb is an online marketplace that enables people to book and list accommodations for short-term rentals, experiences, and services around the world.
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (W09)
Airbnb was founded in 2008 by Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk, Joe Gebbia, and Joe G..
Board
Investors · 69
.png)
Also in the syndicate · 5
Reported raises · per SEC filings
Form D private placements$3.4B disclosed across 6 of 12 rounds · 2009–2020
▶$25.9MraisedAug 2019 · 25 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Angela AhrendtsDirector
- Ann MatherDirector
- Brian CheskyExecutive Officer, Director
- Nathan BlecharczykExecutive Officer, Director
- Joe GebbiaExecutive Officer, Director
- Alfred LinDirector
- Dave StephensonExecutive Officer
- Ari BaloghExecutive Officer
- Greg GreeleyExecutive Officer
- Kenneth ChenaultDirector
- Jeff JordanDirector
- Belinda JohnsonExecutive Officer
- Offering amount
- $82M
- Amount sold
- $25.9M
- First sale
- Aug 2019
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$201.6MraisedApr 2019 · 128 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Belinda JohnsonExecutive Officer
- Alfred LinDirector
- Jeff JordanDirector
- Kenneth ChenaultDirector
- Brian CheskyExecutive Officer, Director
- Nathan BlecharczykExecutive Officer, Director
- Joe GebbiaExecutive Officer, Director
- Ann MatherDirector
- Dave StephensonExecutive Officer
- Ari BaloghExecutive Officer
- Greg GreeleyExecutive Officer
- Offering amount
- $205M
- Amount sold
- $201.6M
- First sale
- Apr 2019
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$1BraisedMar 2017 · 40 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Nathan BlecharczykExecutive Officer, Director
- Alfred LinDirector
- Belinda JohnsonExecutive Officer
- Joe GebbiaExecutive Officer, Director
- Laurence TosiExecutive Officer
- Jeff JordanDirector
- Brian CheskyExecutive Officer, Director
- Offering amount
- $1B
- Amount sold
- $1B
- First sale
- Jul 2016
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
▶$1.5BraisedDec 2015 · 115 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(c)
- Nathan BlecharczykExecutive Officer, Director
- Alfred LinDirector
- Belinda JohnsonExecutive Officer
- Laurence TosiExecutive Officer
- Joe GebbiaExecutive Officer, Director
- Jeff JordanDirector
- Offering amount
- $1.5B
- Amount sold
- $1.5B
- First sale
- Jul 2015
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06c
▶$475MraisedAug 2014 · 97 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(c)
- Alfred LinDirector
- Nathan BlecharczykExecutive Officer, Director
- Varsha RaoExecutive Officer
- Jeff JordanDirector
- Joe GebbiaExecutive Officer, Director
- Belinda JohnsonExecutive Officer
- Brian CheskyExecutive Officer, Director
- Andrew SwainExecutive Officer
- Offering amount
- $475M
- Amount sold
- $475M
- First sale
- Apr 2014
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06c
▶$200MraisedFeb 2014 · 22 investors · Other TechnologyRule 506(b)
- Brian CheskyExecutive Officer, Director
- Jeff JordanDirector
- Joe GebbiaExecutive Officer, Director
- Alfred LinDirector
- Nathan BlecharczykExecutive Officer, Director
- Andrew SwainExecutive Officer
- Belinda JohnsonExecutive Officer
- Offering amount
- $200M
- Amount sold
- $200M
- First sale
- Dec 2012
- Incorporated
- Corporation, Delaware
- Federal exemptions
- 06b
Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.
Valuation · disclosed
Disclosed eventsSource: SEC prospectus filings, and round valuations the company or its investors disclosed — follow each entry's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Airbnb began in October 2007 when roommates Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, unable to afford San Francisco rent, put air mattresses in their apartment's living room and hosted attendees of a design conference, coining the idea of 'AirBed & Breakfast.' Nathan Blecharczyk, a Harvard-trained software engineer, joined as technical co-founder in early 2008 and the trio built AirBedandBreakfast.com, launching publicly around the August 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, funding the struggling startup by selling novelty election-themed cereal boxes for roughly $30,000. After early struggles, the founders were accepted into Y Combinator's winter 2009 class, receiving a $20,000 investment, before closing a $600,000 seed round led by Sequoia Capital in April 2009. The company rebranded to Airbnb and scaled rapidly through the 2010s, raising successive large venture rounds from investors including Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, DST Global, General Catalyst, TPG, General Atlantic, Hillhouse Capital, Tiger Global, and TCV, reaching a peak private valuation of roughly $31 billion in 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic devastated travel demand in 2020, forcing Airbnb to lay off about 25% of its workforce and raise emergency financing from Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners at a reduced ~$18 billion valuation. Despite this, a rapid recovery fueled a strong rebound, and Airbnb went public on the Nasdaq on December 10, 2020 (ticker ABNB), pricing its IPO at $68/share (a ~$47 billion fully diluted valuation) and more than doubling on its first day of trading. Since the IPO, Airbnb has been consistently profitable, generating billions in free cash flow, and has pursued platform diversification — including permanently banning parties (2022), launching a co-host network (2024), and in 2025 relaunching Experiences and introducing Airbnb Services and Airbnb Hotels as part of CEO Brian Chesky's strategy to make Airbnb an 'everything app' for travel and daily life. As of mid-2026 Airbnb has a market capitalization of roughly $108 billion, around 8,200 employees, and continues to be led by co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky.
Business model
Two-sided online marketplace (platform/aggregator) connecting hosts with guests; Airbnb does not own the underlying inventory.
Commission/service fees charged to guests and hosts on each completed booking of a home, hotel room, Experience, or Service, plus ancillary fees.
▸Full profile — go-to-market, ownership
Go-to-market
Individual leisure and business travelers worldwide, plus a growing base of hosts (individuals, professional property managers, and co-hosts).
Ownership
public
Compiled by commissioned research from 4 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Images
Founder mafia
The Airbnb mafia →65 people who came through Airbnb went on to found or lead other companies.
+ 53 more
Competitors · 6
by search overlap
Companies competing with Airbnb for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.
Acquisitions · 1
Early investors' stakes continue via these dealsChangeTip built a payment application designed to work inside social networks. Users could send small sums of money to one another directly through social platforms, with the service handling the underlying payment processing.
Timeline · 5
launches, deals, and filingsAirbnb hires former Meta Generative AI/Llama leader Ahmad Al-Dahle as CTO.
Airbnb's 2025 Summer Release introduces a redesigned app and new 'Services' and relaunches Experiences.
Airbnb prices IPO at $68/share (~$47.3B valuation), raises $3.5B, and shares more than double on first day of trading.
Accepted into YC's winter 2009 batch, receiving $20,000 in seed funding; company rebrands to Airbnb.
Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia put air mattresses in their SF apartment to host conference attendees, coining 'AirBed & Breakfast.'
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structureIn the news
/Airbnb%20Inc%20porch%20with%20sunset%20by-%20Dreamer%20Company%20via%20iStock.jpg)
Earnings Preview: What To Expect From Airbnb’s Reportbarchart.com · Jul 2026
Airbnb’s 9 million listings could unlock crypto host financing while the homes stay off its balance sheetcryptoslate.com · Jul 2026▸Research sources · 4
primary sources listed
- Airbnb Governance / Board of DirectorsAirbnb Investor Relations · official company page
4 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Airbnb do?
- Belong Anywhere
- Who founded Airbnb?
- Airbnb was founded by Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk, Joe Gebbia, Joe G. in 2008.
- Who are Airbnb's investors?
- Airbnb's investors include 137 Ventures, A.Capital Ventures, A*, Aglae Ventures, Allied Venture Partners, Amakor, Amity Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and 56 more.
- How much funding has Airbnb raised?
- Airbnb has disclosed $3.4B raised across 6 of its 12 known rounds.
- Is Airbnb publicly traded?
- Yes — Airbnb trades on NASDAQ under the ticker ABNB.
- Where is Airbnb headquartered?
- Airbnb is headquartered in San Francisco, US.