Despite $US150 million loss Airbnb stays in investors’ good books – StartupSmart

 

Airbnb has closed a $US100 million funding round on the back of strong growth around the world.

 

As the Wall Street Journal reports, the round maintains the same $US25.5 billion valuation that was placed on the startup with a huge $US1.5 billion round earlier this year.

 

It’s in stark contrast to many other unicorns that are seeing their valuations slashed by private investors.

 

Airbnb posted revenue of $US340 million for the third quarter, with bookings made through the platform worth $US2.2 billion.

 

This means the startup has mostly been taking the full 15% cut of the transactions.

 

The figures are nearly double those from last year, with the total nights booked on the platform rising to 23.8 million this year.

 

An investor presentation seen by the Wall Street Journal makes no mention of its bottom line though, with the startup expected to post a loss of $US150 million.

 

Airbnb is one of many giant startups that are yet to become profitable, with recently leaked documents suggesting fellow unicorn Uber is losing $US20 million a year while Snapchat reportedly lost $US128 million in the first 11 months of 2014.

 

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