AirBnb
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  • Airbnb will officially become a publicly traded company on Thursday. 
  • In lieu of ringing the opening bell at the NASDAQ, Airbnb created an ad featuring some of its over 4 million hosts ringing the doorbells of their homes. 
  • The hosts hail from countries in every time zone worldwide, including in Bhutan, Samoa, Cape Verde, Brazil, Iceland, and Mexico.
  • Airbnb got its start when two of its three founders, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, rented air mattresses on the floor of their San Francisco apartment. 
  • The 12-year-old home-sharing startup, which will trade under the ticker “ABNB,” priced its shares at $68 each — its initial public offering will raise $3.5 billion, giving Airbnb a $47.3 billion initial valuation.
  • You can watch the full video of hosts ringing the opening bell below. 
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Read more: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky represents a ‘new breed of CEO.’ Here’s how he led the beloved company from near collapse to an expected $42 billion IPO.

Read the original article on Business Insider