In the latest funding round for the popular do-it-yourself property rental market, Airbnb has reportedly been valued at US$10bn as it closes a US$500m funding round – a valuation that would make unicorns'(companies valued at more than US$1bn) eyes water.
Airbnb, which has offices in Dublin, is the latest in a number of born-on-the-internet companies to be valued at US$10bn.
According to reports in The Wall Street Journal and New York Times, private equity firm TPG is leading a round of between US$400m and US$500m.
Airbnb is one of 30 companies that now have a valuation in the region of US$10bn.
To give a sense of perspective, Chinese mobile maker Xiaomi and cloud storage player Dropbox are valued at US$10bn, software and services player Palantir is valued at US$9bn, rocket player SpaceX is valued at US$4.8bn, music player Spotify is valued at US$4bn, Pinterest is valued at US$3.8bn, and Uber is valued at US$3.8bn.
Airbnb, which Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharcyk founded in 2008, allows people to rent out apartments and homes online. More than 600,000 properties are listed on the site at the moment.
The company was valued at US$2.5bn in 2012 and has so far raised up to US$300m.
