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According to Equidate, Airbnb raised $850 million last month. The value of the real estate sharing service has risen from $3.25 million in April 2009 to $29.7 billion as it closed its Series F round.

Equidate shows Airbnb raised $1.6 billion in its Series E round last year, when the value of the company was $25.8 billion. Airbnb can claim to be one of the huge unicorns, one that has not taken a “down round,” which would cut its valuation. Investors clearly think its model will make it one of America’s most valuable private companies.

Airbnb has begun to brand out, in one case to a business that it can barely explain with any clarity. Management describes its new Samara project as follows:

We’re already at work asking a lot of questions and exploring a wide range of concepts, all connected by the possibility of serving the future of our community. How might community change what it means to be displaced in the world, and could technology play a role in that? How can travelers interact with shrinking communities? What makes a home truly smart, and how does that affect those who interact with it? While we’re interested in designing services, we don’t want to lose sight of what really drives us, and we definitely don’t want to stop asking questions. I’m super excited for what comes next.

Design what?

No matter what outsiders think about the future of Airbnb and whatever businesses it may enter, it has found homes and apartments for “100 million guests.” Many consumers and business travelers have decided it is the next generation of hotel. And the hotel business is one of the larger ones in the United States. It is worth noting, however, that the hotel business also is one of the most competitive in the country.