Airbnb’s CEO Is Pivoting to ‘Founder Mode’

WSJ Tech News Briefing

The Wall Street Journal

News, Tech News

4.6 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 14 May 2025

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Airbnb has come a long way since it launched in 2008. Now, founder and chief executive Brian Chesky is tapping into a new ethos to shuttle the company into its next phase. WSJ’s Ben Cohen has that exclusive conversation. Plus, WSJ Africa correspondent Caroline Kimeu joins us with another exclusive on how Netflix and Meta are among the list of companies that could lose carbon credits after a court intervened in a dispute between conservationists and herders in Kenya. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, TNB listeners, before we get started, heads up. We're going to be asking you a question at the top of each show for the next few weeks.
0:07.3	Our goal here at Tech News Briefing is to keep you updated with the latest headlines and trends on all things Tech.
0:13.6	Now we want to know more about you, what you like about the show, and what more you'd like to hear from us.
0:19.6	So our question this week is what kind of stories
0:22.6	about tech do you want to hear more of? Business decision making, boardroom drama, how about
0:28.7	peeking inside tech leaders' lives or tech policy? If you're listening on Spotify, you can look for
0:34.5	our poll under the episode description, or you can send an email to
0:38.3	TNB at WSJ.com. Now on to the show. Welcome to Tech News Briefing. It's Wednesday, May 14th.
0:48.9	I'm Victoria Craig for The Wall Street Journal. A pair of WSJ exclusive stories for you today. First, Airbnb revolutionized
0:57.0	travel, now its founder and CEO, is widening the scope for the company's next chapter.
1:02.5	A reporter has details from that interview. Then, big tech companies saw carbon credits as a way to
1:08.5	offset the environmental impact of power hungry streaming and AI
1:12.7	data services. But a court ruling in Kenya threatens to tarnish those green credentials.
1:20.5	But first, do you remember the first time you stayed at an Airbnb? I do. It was a rented
1:26.7	room in a big house somewhere in Connecticut.
1:29.7	The room where my now husband and I slept with our dog was definitely haunted, and the woman
1:34.8	who owned the house and slept in the next room over asked my tech-savvy partner to help fix her
1:40.2	TV. It was an interesting experience, but it didn't deter us from exploring Airbnb again.
1:48.1	Well, the platform has come a long way in the nearly two decades since it shook up the travel
1:52.2	industry. But its founder and chief executive, Brian Chesky, is thinking about the company's
1:57.0	next iteration. The Wall Street Journal's Ben Cohen sat down with Chesky at his home in
2:02.0	San Francisco and wrote about the conversation for WSJ Magazine. Ben, you can already book not just
	...

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