Airbnb. Meet AIbnb. Brian Chesky is quietly building a new AI lab on the side, according to Bloomberg. The lab will focus on user interaction and design. It’s in early funding stages and Chesky will stay on as Airbnb CEO without running the new venture day-to-day.
The move fits with the stance he’s held for years. Unlike rivals Expedia and Booking Holdings, Airbnb has never partnered with OpenAI. Chesky has argued that AI for travel needs a rich visual interface, not text-based chatbots. The conviction probably has something to do with his design school background. He’s already transforming Airbnb into what he calls an Amazon for travel, adding hotels, car rentals, and grocery delivery. AI now generates 60% of the company’s code.
The new lab is founder mode in its purest form, a term Paul Graham coined in 2024 after studying Chesky’s approach. If the tools you need don’t exist, build them.
Airbnb. Meet AIbnb. Brian Chesky is quietly building a new AI lab on the side, according to Bloomberg. The lab will focus on user interaction and design. It’s in early funding stages and Chesky will stay on as Airbnb CEO without running the new venture day-to-day.
The move fits with the stance he’s held for years. Unlike rivals Expedia and Booking Holdings, Airbnb has never partnered with OpenAI. Chesky has argued that AI for travel needs a rich visual interface, not text-based chatbots. The conviction probably has something to do with his design school background. He’s already transforming Airbnb into what he calls an Amazon for travel, adding hotels, car rentals, and grocery delivery. AI now generates 60% of the company’s code.
The new lab is founder mode in its purest form, a term Paul Graham coined in 2024 after studying Chesky’s approach. If the tools you need don’t exist, build them.
