Last November, Airbnb swooped in to acquire GamePlanner.AI, a mysterious startup founded by none other than Siri’s co-founder, Adam Cheyer. The deal reportedly went down for a cool $200 million, signaling Airbnb’s serious commitment to AI innovation. While the initial plans for GamePlanner were shrouded in secrecy, Airbnb’s CEO Brian Chesky recently spilled the beans on the company’s grand scheme.
Chesky envisions Airbnb’s foray into the AI realm as a game-changer at the “application layer.” Airbnb plans to cozy up to established players like OpenAI, Meta, and Google for its AI needs. The GamePlanner acquisition fits snugly into this strategy, poised to revamp Airbnb’s user interface and elevate the AI user experience beyond the confines of outdated web interfaces to reshape the hospitality landscape.