# Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky Says AI Makes Starting Companies Easier

By Sonny Jang

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/people/28268
Published: 2026-10-08T15:49:11.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-08T15:49:11.000Z
Section: People

> Chesky said he sometimes wishes he were 26 again, citing the greater power of today’s artificial-intelligence tools and the smaller teams now able to build businesses.

Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said artificial intelligence has lowered the staffing and resource requirements for new businesses, allowing very small teams to pursue ambitious products and companies.

Chesky said he sometimes wishes he were 26 again, citing the greater power of today’s artificial-intelligence tools compared with those available when he started Airbnb. He made the comments in a podcast published Oct. 1.

“Part of me wishes I can be 26,” Chesky said. “Because actually, as amazing as Airbnb is, if I was 26, I could probably do something just as cool.”

Chesky said a company can now be launched by one, two or three people. He described that possibility as something that had been “inconceivable before.”

“The tools now are so much more powerful,” Chesky said.

The comments reflect Chesky’s view that AI is changing the economics of starting a business. Smaller founding teams can use the technology to handle work that once required larger staffs and more extensive resources, he said.

Chesky co-founded Airbnb with Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk. Chesky and Gebbia hosted the company’s first guests in 2007.

He also pointed to potential applications in education, health and entertainment. Among the possibilities, Chesky mentioned what he called an “AI Disney,” referring to the potential for AI-driven companies and products in entertainment.

Chesky expects many more large AI companies to emerge, along with tens of millions of smaller businesses. Those figures are his projections rather than measured market totals.

He said building a company is easier now than it was 20 years ago and encouraged people who feel intimidated by AI to begin experimenting with the technology.