Airbnb confirms $1.5 billion fund raising round

Airbnb, the US home-sharing startup, has confirmed closing of $1.5 billion fund-raising round. The latest closure of fundraising puts the unicorn startup at staggering valuation.

Strengthened with fresh capital infusion, AirBnb is planning to expand its global presence. Airbnb forecasts $900 million revenues for 2015.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in June reported the fundraising by Airbnb. In the latest filing to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Airbnb informed the regulator about its fundraising. AirBnb has expansion plans for spreading its footprint globally.

According to a report published by Tech Portal, AirBnb's valuation now stands at $25 billion. Though confirmed financial details are not available, it's believed to be 13 investors led by General Atlantic, Hillhouse Capital and Tiger Global.

The three of the investors believed to have contributed one-third of the fundraising.

Airbnb recorded $2.2 billion in bookings during the third quarter and $340 million revenues. Guest bookings were 23.8 million nights during the third quarter as against the 11.3 million nights in the corresponding quarter.

Airbnb forecasts $900 million revenues for 2015 as against the previous prediction of $825 million during the fundraising in July. 

Fortune reported that Airbnb raised $100 million giving a $25.5 billion valuation. Airbnb closed two rounds of fundraising with a gap of few months. Earlier, it raised $1.5 billion on the same $25.5 billion valuation.

Recently, it made a presentation to its shareholders including data about bookings, revenues, and financial forecasts.

Airbnb fundraising came at a time when Silicon Valley-based companies were commanding higher valuations in public and private markets in the US and China. That time, market analysts feared that the valuations of technology companies were overheating.

Airbnb is planning to explore Asian market in home sharing segment, as reported by ft.com, Analysts compare Airbnb's fundraising with $1.5billion raised by Facebook a year before its initial public offering (IPO) in 2012.

Airbnb is playing a vital role in globalizing the investor base of the online accommodation-sharing group. 

Airbnb is popular among Chinese traveling groups. A majority of Chinese groups on foreign trips use Airbnb services. The surge in air travel is boosting Airbnb business volume. Several Chinese students prefer to study in the US and they're using home sharing services offered by Airbnb.

The new round came during the political tussle the company faced in its hometown San Francisco. Airbnb defeated a ballot measure avoiding stricter limits on its services. Airbnb spent over $8 million fighting the measure.

Bringing an amicable solution, Airbnb organized local community-based political involvement to ensure regulations don't hamper the operations.