Confirming earlier reports that Airbnb was raising a round, the Wall Street Journal now says that famed startup investor Peter Thiel, Facebook's first backer, is negotiating an investment in the online-lodging marketplace.
If the deal goes through, Thiel would reportedly invest $150 million at a price that values the company at $2.5 billion.
Early Airbnb backer Paul Graham had previously hinted that Airbnb's value had increased dramatically, and TechCrunch later reported that Airbnb was raising fresh financing.
Airbnb's most recent round, in 2011, valued the company at $1.3 billion.
The Journal wasn't clear on whether Thiel was making the investment personally or through Founders Fund, the venture-capital firm he runs.
Another possibility: Mithril Capital, the fund he recently raised for making later-stage investments in growing companies.
Airbnb has been aggressively expanding overseas, and could use the funds to accelerate that push, or to cash out early investors and employees.
A spokesperson for Airbnb did not immediately return a request for comment on the report. We'll update if we hear back.
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