Airbnb’s Biggest IPO Winners

Sequoia Capital’s early bet on Airbnb will likely propel it to one of the greatest hauls in the history of venture capital, turning a $260 million investment made over the past 11 years into a stake that is now worth about $4.8 billion. But what hasn’t been previously reported is that the firm’s relationship with its portfolio company hit rough patches just as Airbnb was starting to make it big, denting what could have been an even bigger return.

Sequoia is by far the biggest outside shareholder in Airbnb, which is set to go public this week at a roughly $40 billion valuation. Other famed Silicon Valley investors also struck gold from their early involvement with the company, including Y Combinator, Greylock Partners and Andreessen Horowitz. A significant shareholder that hasn’t been previously disclosed is Emerson Collective, the part-philanthropic endeavor of Laurene Powell Jobs, an investor who was married to Steve Jobs. Below, we detail Airbnb’s major backers from the initial seed stage to VC investors in later rounds, along with their estimated returns.