Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky plans to launch an artificial intelligence lab, according to Bloomberg, signaling a broader AI strategy after previously saying the company had held off on partnering with a large language model (LLM) provider because the technology was not yet mature enough.
Chesky is planning for his venture to develop AI models and is considering a focus on user interaction and design, according to reports that cite people familiar with the matter. The lab is still in the early stages of fundraising, and Chesky will continue to serve as Airbnb’s CEO rather than lead the new venture as the chief.
According to TechCrunch, Chesky has long been connected to the AI industry, having met OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in 2006 through Y Combinator — which incubated Airbnb — and stayed in touch. When OpenAI took off, he began meeting regularly with Altman to offer advice about managing a hypergrowth tech company.
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Chesky was also reportedly considered as a potential OpenAI board member, and he had helped broker Altman’s return to power after he was removed by the company’s board.
Chesky, who co-founded Airbnb nearly 20 years ago, has often said AI applications for travel and e-commerce require a rich user interface, rather than the kind of text-based chatbots popularized by OpenAI and Anthropic.
While competitors like Expedia Group Inc. and Booking Holdings Inc., have partnered with companies like OpenAI to create a plug-in within ChatGPT, Airbnb said the AI company’s tools aren’t robust enough.
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According to Fortune, Chesky is in the midst of transforming Airbnb into a “do-it-all” travel app, including new add-on services that he hopes could eventually bring in $1 billion or more in revenue a year. Chesky said in an interview last year that Airbnb employees have embraced AI coding tools to help accelerate the expansion, with new business pilots spun up in weeks rather than years.
Airbnb recently reported first-quarter revenue of $2.27 billion, up 6% from a year earlier and slightly ahead of analyst expectations of $2.26 billion. The company also forecast its revenue for the second quarter as between $2.99 billion and $3.05 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $3.04 billion, while projecting year-over-year growth in Nights and Experiences booked to remain moderate relative to the first quarter.