Airbnb

Airbnb operates a global online marketplace connecting hosts offering stays, experiences and services with guests seeking authentic travel and community connections. Founded in 2007 in San Francisco, where two hosts welcomed three guests, the company now lists more than 9 million active properties across 220+ countries and regions, spanning over 150,000 cities and towns. More than 5 million hosts have earned over $300 billion in total, including a typical US host earnings figure of $15,000 in 2024, and the platform has recorded over 2 billion all-time guest arrivals.

The engineering work spans several domains: the marketplace platform itself, digital payments, trust and safety technology, anti-discrimination technology and sustainability initiatives. Beyond stays, the company runs Experiences and Online Experiences, products that connect guests with local communities, and it has partnered with organisations such as the International Olympic Committee. Airbnb remits taxes in excess of $17 billion globally.

Its social-impact programmes are substantial in their own right. Airbnb.org, a nonprofit, has provided free emergency housing to more than 250,000 people in times of crisis. Project Lighthouse is an anti-discrimination programme aimed at reducing discrimination on the platform. The company describes its mission in terms of belonging anywhere and authentic community connection, with economic empowerment for everyday people as a central measure of its effect.