Airbnb to Buy Background-check Startup Trooly to Root Out Scams

Airbnb Inc. is purchasing background-check startup Trooly Inc. in an effort to protect its guests and hosts from bad actors.

Los Altos, California-based Trooly has been helping Airbnb authenticate user identities since 2015. By analyzing data from public records, social media and other sources, Trooly's technology could help Airbnb track various customer violations, such as side deals between guests and hosts.

Since starting in 2008, Airbnb has struggled to control fraudulent listings from people posing as property owners.

Airbnb is purchasing Trooly's intellectual property and engineering team, according to people familiar with the situation. The home-rental site is expected to close the deal on Monday when Trooly will shut down operations as an independent company, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

The acquisition comes at a time of expansion for Airbnb. The privately held company, valued at about $31 billion, has more than 3 million home and apartment-rental listings and is expanding into new product categories including travel “experiences."