In a statement Airbnb Inc stated it was hiring former Apple designer Jony Ive and his firm to design new Airbnb products and services, under a multi-year contract agreement,
Incidentally, Ive was a close creative collaborator with Apple Inc’s co-founder Steve Jobs and has spent nearly three decades in Cupertino leading the design of the candy-colored iMacs that enabled Apple to re-emerge from its near death in the 1990s; he was also part of the design team of the iPhone.
He left Apple in 2019.
Airbnb also announced that Chief Design Officer Alex Schleifer would be moving to a part-time role and that the company would be looking for a permanent replacement, said a source source close to Airbnb.
Airbnb’s deal with Ive and his firm, LoveFrom, comes at a time when it is trying to raise nearly $3 billion through its initial public offering.
The company’s IPO is expected to be one of the largest and most anticipated U.S. stock market listings this year, which so far has been a blockbuster for IPOs.
