Startup Factories: Airbnb
Meet the 180+ startups founded by former Airbnb operators
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About Airbnb
Airbnb is the largest online marketplace for finding short term rentals.
What do we know so far about the former operators turned founders?
The former operators have collectively raised over $11 billion.
There are currently more than 140 startups that have raised at least $500K.
Over 40 founders are in stealth mode as of 2024.
Among the top 20 companies by total funding, 35% are building marketplaces for PropTech.
The typical former operator-turned-founder previously held roles as a Software Engineer.
Most founders are building their startups in the U.S.
A few notes before we explore the characteristics of former Airbnb operators who became founders.
Throughout this edition, we have used Harmonic as our startup data provider.
Only startups that have raised at least $500K are included in our insights.
When were the startups founded?
Since its launch, over 140 former Airbnb employees have founded startups, most within the past seven years.
Roles held at Airbnb
From the 140+ founder profiles we analyzed, the typical founder had a background in Software Engineering before launching their venture. Other common previous roles included Operations—encompassing marketing, growth, and daily management—followed by Product and Data Science.
Where are the startups headquartered?
From the 140+ startups we analyzed, 80% are HQ’d in the U.S.
Latest fundraising activity
The featured startups show strong potential. Among those that have raised at least $500K to be included in this edition, many are advancing beyond the Pre-Seed stage to Seed and Series A, with some gradually reaching Series B, Series C, and even a few exits.
Average funding rounds
Former operators at Airbnb have collectively raised over $11 billion dollars. Based on their latest funding rounds, the average fundraising size is as follows:
Pre-Seed: $670K.
Seed: $6.4M.
Series A: $24.4M.
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Universities attended by founders
Stanford University was the most attended university by former Airbnb operators, followed by UC Berkeley, Harvard, MIT, and Carnegie Mellon University.
The most active investors
Of the 140+ startups which have raised at least $500K USD, almost 20% of them have raised funding from Y Combinator. A16Z comes in second as the most active investor, followed by AirAngels—the angel syndicate made up of former Operators at Airbnb.
Categories the startups are building in
Among the top 20 companies we identified based on capital raised, 35% are building business models similar to Airbnb—PropTech marketplaces. Following PropTech, founders are also building across a range of sectors, including FinTech, Software, Consumer, Commerce, Sustainability, EdTech, Cybersecurity, Crypto, and other categories.
Former Airbnb operators have raised over $11 billion dollars to date…
Meet the 140+ startups who are building the latest and most disruptive technologies.
Meet the 40+ stealth startups
In addition to the 140 startups that have raised at least $500K, explore over 40 founders who began building in stealth mode in 2024—some of whom could be the next unicorns.
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