Airbnb Holds First Close On $850M Round by PitchBook
Airbnb has secured $555 million of a planned $850 million financing, according to an SEC filing. Rumors of the round—said to value the short-term rental marketplace at $30 billion—first popped up in early August, but this is the first news of a close. The Wall Street Journal reports that Google Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures led the round.
The company is also reported to be working on, or have closed, a secondary transaction for providing liquidity to early shareholders, a group of investors most likely comprising employees. The WSJ reports $200 million of employee stock has already been sold as part of the latest round.
Airbnb has now secured more than $3 billion in funding since its 2008 founding, and that’s not even including a $1 billion debt round raised just three months ago. With even more money in the bank, it seems Airbnb is in no rush to IPO anytime soon.
