| Airbnb, Inc. ( AIR-bee-ehn-bee and stylized as airbnb) is an American company that operates an online marketplace for lodging, primarily homestays for vacation rentals, and tourism activities. Based in San Francisco, California, the platform is accessible via website and mobile app.
After moving to San Francisco in October 2007, roommates and former schoolmates Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia came up with the idea of putting an air mattress in their living room and turning it into a bed and breakfast. In February 2008, Nathan Blecharczyk, Chesky's former roommate, joined as the Chief Technology Officer and the third co-founder of the new venture, which they named AirBed & Breakfast.
In January 2009, the company received $20,000 in venture funding from Y Combinator. With the website already built, they used the Y Combinator investment to fly to New York to meet users and promote the site.[citation needed] They returned to San Francisco with a profitable business model to present to West Coast investors. By March 2009, the site had 10,000 users and 2,500 listings.
In April 2009, the company received $600,000 in seed money from Sequoia Capital, with Youniversity Ventures partners Jawed Karim, Keith Rabois, and Kevin Hartz participating.
In July 2011, it raised $112 million in financing led by Andreessen Horowitz. Other early investors included Digital Sky Technologies, General Catalyst Partners, and A Grade Investments partners Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary.
In November 2012, Airbnb opened an office in Sydney, its 11th office location, and announced plans to launch the service in Thailand and Indonesia. In December 2012, Airbnb announced its strategy to move more aggressively into the Asian market with the launch of an office in Singapore.
In July 2014, Airbnb revealed design revisions to the site and mobile app and introduced a new logo. The logo, called the, Bélo, is intended to serve as a symbol of "belonging", and consists of four elements: a head which represents people, a location icon that represents place, a heart to symbolize love, and a letter "A" to stand for the company's name.
In January 2017, Airbnb led a $13 million investment in restaurant reservation-booking app, Resy, along with serial entrepreneurs Gary Vaynerchuk, Ben Leventhal and Mike Montero. In April 2020, due in part to the decline in business from the pandemic, Airbnb raised $1 billion in equity from private equity firms Silver Lake and Sixth Street Partners at an $18 billion valuation and $1 billion in debt at interest rates of 9%-11.5%.
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