Apple Veteran Chief Designer Jony Ive To Now Design The 'Future Of Airbnb'

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said Wednesday that former Apple Inc AAPL Chief Design Officer Jony Ive will collaborate with the team at the vacation rental firm on its products and services.

What Happened: Ive and his company LoveFrom will work on a “multi-year relationship” with the vacation rental company and help it develop its design team, Chesky said in a statement about "designing the future of Airbnb."

The San Francisco-based company's CEO added that he and Ive shared "the same belief in the value and importance of creativity and design," and that he hoped “all of this speaks to the seriousness of our design-driven approach.”

Airbnb CDO Alex Schleifer is reportedly moving to a part-time role and the company is seeking a permanent replacement, according to Reuters. 

Why It Matters: Ive is credited with developing both new hardware and software at the Cupertino, California-based tech giant for two decades. 

The last major Apple product that the British-American designer worked on was the Apple Watch in 2015. Loup Ventures’ Gene Munster and Andrew Murphy said at the time that he deserves credit for implementing a “design-first culture” at Apple.

Airbnb filed confidentially for an initial public offering in August. The company could raise about $3 billion in the IPO that would give it a valuation close to $30 billion, according to a Reuters report earlier this month.

Photo by Michael Johnston via Wikimedia