Airbnb, a global online travel and hospitality platform, has named Ahmad Al-Dahle as its new chief technology officer as the company deepens its focus on using AI to enhance real-world human connection.
In a statement released Wednesday, Airbnb said Al-Dahle joins the company from Meta, where he led generative AI initiatives and oversaw development of the Llama family of open-source models. During his tenure, which began in 2020, he also directed teams responsible for integrating AI-powered features across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Al-Dahle brings decades of experience in technology development. Earlier in his career, he worked at Apple on the iPhone two years before its public debut and played a key role in building its display and multi-touch technologies. He later contributed to Apple’s core technology platform group, helping deliver features for products including the first Apple Watch, and led its autonomous systems team, where he spearheaded development of the core AI technologies behind the company’s self-driving car project.