Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky announced on Wednesday the appointment of Ahmad Al-Dahle, the former head of generative artificial intelligence at Meta Platforms, as its new technology chief. "His ability to merge grand vision with deep technical expertise, his strong emphasis on design, and his belief that engineering should be a true strategic partner in all our work," Chesky wrote in a blog post. Al-Dahle previously led Meta's earlier generative AI unit and was later appointed co-head of AI products when the social media company reorganized the division after its Llama 4 model failed to impress developers. Meta subsequently hired Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang in a $14.3 billion deal to bolster its AI strategy. Ari Balogh, Airbnb's former technology chief, stepped down in December after serving at the company for over seven years. He had joined the company from Google in 2018. Airbnb is currently undergoing a significant transformation, attempting to move beyond its reputation as a short-term rental platform.