Airbnb raising $850 million, valued at $30B
SAN FRANCISCO - Home sharing giant Airbnb is adding $850 million to its coffers, according to reports of a filing with the State of Delaware.
The capital raise would value the company at $30 billion, second only to ride-sharing powerhouse Uber, which is worth $68 billion. So far, Airbnb has raised $3.2 billion, funds that are being used to both expand the company's global reach as well as broaden the variety of its services.
Airbnb's last raise was a year ago, when the private company took in $1.6 billion at a value of $25 billion. The news was reported by a variety of media outlets, citing details provided by private stock market company Equidate.
An Airbnb spokesman reached Saturday declined to comment. Airbnb is incorporated in the Delaware.
The popular and controversial home sharing site, which along with Uber has come to define the sharing economy's success, is looking for ways to innovate much the way Uber has started a division focused on self-driving car technology.
Airbnb's Samara is in-house think-tank whose most recent project is Cedar House, a model home currently on display in Japan that doubles as a community center and dormitory, suggesting that a future Airbnb could leverage its brand to get into the hotel business. Another Airbnb innovation is called Experience, a platform that aims to provide guests with tourism options.
But roadblocks for the company, whose founders started out renting air mattresses in their San Francisco apartment, include ongoing battles with a range of city officials and charges of discrimination by some Airbnb hosts.
Last month, a bill passed the New York State senate that now heads to the governor's desk which, if signed, would prohibit online advertising of short-term rentals. Airbnb is suing San Francisco city officials over new rules that require the website to only post housing listings from renters registered with the city.
At a company event in June, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky told assembled staffers and media that the company was going to work on a site redesign with an aim to eliminating the possibility for abuse.
The move came after the tech company banned a North Carolina host who had declined an African-American guest lodging in a series of racist online comments. Two startups vowed to provide African-Americans their own version of Airbnb, called Noirbnb.
Follow Paste BN tech reporter Marco della Cava on Twitter: @marcodellacava