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Airbnb ‘raising money that would value it at S$27b’

NEW YORK — Airbnb is raising money from investors in a financing round that would value the room-sharing service at US$20 billion (S$27 billion) or more, people with knowledge of the deal said.

Founded in 2008, Airbnb publishes listings that let users rent out a couch, bedroom or house.

Founded in 2008, Airbnb publishes listings that let users rent out a couch, bedroom or house.

NEW YORK — Airbnb is raising money from investors in a financing round that would value the room-sharing service at US$20 billion (S$27 billion) or more, people with knowledge of the deal said.

Airbnb may bring in about US$1 billion in the funding, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

The closely-held company, backed by venture-capital firms including Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners and Founders Fund, was given a value of US$10 billion last year in a round led by TPG Capital Management. Airbnb had raised more than US$700 million before the latest financing.

At US$20 billion, San Francisco-based Airbnb would join the ranks of the most highly-valued private United States technology companies, including Uber Technologies, Space Exploration Technologies, Snapchat, Dropbox and Palantir Technologies. It also would be worth almost seven times more than HomeAway, a publicly-traded vacation-rental site.

A slew of technology start-ups have recently raised billion-dollar rounds of financing at increasing valuations as corporate investors, hedge funds and mutual funds seek stakes in fast-growing firms before they go public.

The abundance of capital is helping startups such as Uber, which recently raised about US$4 billion in equity and debt at a valuation of US$40 billion, to boost their cash to expand operations and staff. Snapchat and Pinterest are in talks to raise financing at valuations of US$19 billion and US$11 billion, respectively.

Founded in 2008, Airbnb publishes listings that let users rent out a couch, bedroom or house. The company, which makes money by charging a fee for each transaction, has listings in more than 34,000 cities, its website showed. The company continues to face regulatory scrutiny of its business in cities including New York, where Airbnb has about 25,000 active hosts. BLOOMBERG

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