Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is moving from AI advisor to AI builder, planning to launch his own artificial intelligence lab, according to a Bloomberg report confirmed by TechCrunch sources. The venture puts Chesky in direct competition with many of the Silicon Valley figures he has been counseling, including OpenAI's Sam Altman, whom he has known since 2006 through Y Combinator, which incubated Airbnb in its early days. Chesky's relationship with Altman has deepened significantly as OpenAI exploded into the mainstream. He reportedly became a regular sounding board for the OpenAI CEO on managing a hypergrowth technology company, was at one point considered for a seat on OpenAI's board, and played a key role in rallying Silicon Valley support and shaping public relations strategy during the dramatic five-day period in November 2023 when Altman's board fired him for what it described as a lack of candor. Despite this close advisory role, Chesky said last year that Airbnb had not yet committed to a large language model partnership, citing concerns that existing products weren't mature enough for the company's needs. Airbnb has, however, adopted AI coding tools internally. The focus of the new lab remains undefined, though Bloomberg's reporting suggests it may center on user interaction and design—areas Chesky has prioritized throughout his tenure at Airbnb. The approach draws comparisons to Hark, the AI lab founded by Brett Adcock late last year, which is also pursuing novel AI interfaces alongside hardware products. The new lab will not be a full-time project for Chesky; sources indicate he plans to stay on as Airbnb's CEO and will hire outside leadership to run the operation, leaving him free to focus on short-term rentals while his future lab takes shape. Airbnb and Chesky declined to comment on the plans.