Airbnb has disclosed that it has entered into investment and technology licensing agreements with a low-profile AI startup that is personally funded by founder and CEO Brian Chesky. The company, provisionally registered as Kaboodle Labs, is one in which Chesky holds a controlling interest. Airbnb CTO Ahmad Al-Dahle holds equity in the startup and serves as an advisor. Both individuals have committed that their involvement will not affect their primary responsibilities at Airbnb. Kaboodle Labs has acquired certain intellectual property from Airbnb for $7.1 million in cash and continues to be funded personally by Chesky. Given the capital-intensive nature of the AI business, external financing may be brought in at a later stage. Airbnb has long partnered with OpenAI while also advancing applications of small open-source AI models fine-tuned on platform data to control costs and improve efficiency.