Airtable
Airtable is a cloud database platform that enables teams to build custom business applications without code.
Profile
A no-code database and application platform where teams build custom business apps using data relationships, automations, and AI without writing code.
Airtable is a cloud database platform that enables teams to build custom business applications without code. Founded in 2013 by Howie Liu, Andrew Ofstad, and Emmett Nicholas, Airtable went from a spreadsheet-replacement tool to an enterprise platform serving over 500,000 organizations, including 80% of the Fortune 100. The company's Series F in December 2021 raised $735 million at an $11 billion valuation from investors including Salesforce Ventures, Silver Lake, and Michael Dell's MSD Capital.
The financial trajectory has shifted: Airtable hit $478 million in annual recurring revenue in 2024, growing 27% year-over-year while achieving cash flow positivity in late 2024. However, secondary market valuations have contracted to roughly $4 billion as of Q1 2025, reflecting broader SaaS market repricing. Airtable faced a significant workforce restructuring in September 2023, cutting about 237 employees (27% of staff) to refocus on enterprise.
In late 2025, CEO Howie Liu undertook a major organizational pivot for artificial intelligence, splitting the company into "fast-thinking" and "slow-thinking" teams to balance rapid AI product iteration with long-term infrastructure investment. The strategic inflection arrived in October 2025 with two announcements: the acquisition of DeepSky, an AI research startup that had raised $40 million, and the hiring of David Azose, former lead of ChatGPT's business products at OpenAI, as CTO. On January 27, 2026, Airtable launched Superagent at superagent.com—its first standalone product in 13 years.
Superagent deploys multiple specialized AI agents in parallel to tackle complex business research queries, pulling from premium data sources like FactSet, Crunchbase, and SEC filings. The company's 170% net dollar retention among enterprise customers outpaces competitors Asana (130%) and Monday.com (120%).
Who buys this
- Enterprise product, marketing, and operations teams building custom workflows on HyperDB infrastructure (100+ million records)
- Financial services and investment teams automating research, portfolio management, and compliance tracking
- Creative and media companies coordinating content production, asset management, and cross-team collaboration
- Mid-to-large companies replacing 15+ point tools with a single workspace for HR, sales, and finance operations
Publicly disclosed clients
- Netflix
- OpenAI
- Amazon
- Walmart
- The New York Times
- BlackRock
Strengths and what to watch
Strengths
- High retention among Fortune 100 (80% adoption) and enterprise net dollar retention of 170%, exceeding Monday.com (120%) and Asana (130%)
- Multi-agent AI research product (Superagent) positioned at the intersection of database automation and autonomous intelligence, differentiating from task-centric competitors
- Cash flow positive at scale ($478M ARR, 27% growth) with ~$700M capital remaining, enabling strategic pivots without funding pressure
Watch for
- Valuation reset from $11.7B (2021) to ~$4B (2025) and delayed IPO: CFO signaled 2025 IPO possibility in November 2024, but no S-1 filing as of May 2026
- Salesforce integration risk: Salesforce Ventures backed Airtable's Series F; potential acquisition or platform dependency could reshape product roadmap
- Employee sentiment concerning work-life balance in sales roles (45% Account Executive recommendation rate vs. 91% for engineers) and diversity concerns post-reorg
Recent moves
Key Information
- Industry
- Data Analyst Platforms
- Founded
- 2013
- Headquarters
- United States
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Airtable and what can you build with it?
Airtable is a cloud database platform that lets teams build custom business applications without writing code. It combines data relationships, automations, and AI to help organizations replace spreadsheets and point tools. Used by Netflix, Google, and 80% of Fortune 100 companies.
What is Airtable Superagent and how does it work?
Superagent is Airtable's first new standalone product, launched January 2026. It deploys multiple specialized AI agents in parallel to handle complex business research queries, pulling from premium data sources like FactSet, Crunchbase, and SEC filings. Subscriptions range from $20 to $200 monthly.
How does Airtable's retention compare to competitors like Asana and Monday.com?
Airtable's enterprise net dollar retention is 170%, significantly outpacing Asana (130%) and Monday.com (120%). The company achieved $478 million in annual recurring revenue in 2024, growing 27% year-over-year while reaching cash flow positivity in late 2024.
What is Airtable's current valuation and IPO status?
Airtable's valuation reset from $11.7 billion in 2021 to approximately $4 billion as of Q1 2025, reflecting broader SaaS market repricing. Despite CFO signals of a possible 2025 IPO, no S-1 filing occurred as of May 2026, keeping IPO timing uncertain.
What industries does Airtable serve best?
Airtable serves enterprise product, marketing, and operations teams with HyperDB infrastructure for 100+ million records. It also supports financial services automating research and portfolio management, creative companies coordinating content and assets, and mid-to-large businesses consolidating 15+ point tools into one workspace.
What did Airtable do to strengthen its AI capabilities in 2025?
Airtable reorganized into 'fast-thinking' and 'slow-thinking' teams to balance rapid AI iteration with infrastructure investment. In October 2025, it acquired DeepSky, an AI research startup, and hired David Azose, former ChatGPT business products lead at OpenAI, as CTO, signaling deep commitment to artificial intelligence.
How Airtable compares
Direct head-to-head against 3 competitors. Picked by 7wData.
Airtable
- Positioning
- A no-code database and application platform where teams build custom business apps using data relationships, automations, and AI without writing code.
- Customer segments
- Enterprise product, marketing, and operations teams building custom workflows on HyperDB infrastructure (100+ million records)
- Strengths
- High retention among Fortune 100 (80% adoption) and enterprise net dollar retention of 170%, exceeding Monday.com (120%) and Asana (130%)
- Watch for
- Valuation reset from $11.7B (2021) to ~$4B (2025) and delayed IPO: CFO signaled 2025 IPO possibility in November 2024, but no S-1 filing as of May 2026
- Recent moves
- Airtable launches Superagent, a multi-agent AI research platform
Monday.com
- Positioning
- AI Work OS unifying project management, CRM, service, and dev workflows in one platform, targeting enterprise upmarket via platformization.
- Customer segments
- Mid-market to enterprise ops and RevOps teams. Buyers are VP-level: COOs, VPs of Sales, IT ops leads scaling cross-functional workflows.
- Strengths
- Multi-product platform lock-in: CRM hit $100M ARR in three years, enabling upsell across sales, service, and projects in one license.
- Watch for
- Pricing credibility: February 2026 revenue target rescission (dropped $1.8B goal) triggered a 21% stock drop and an active securities fraud lawsuit.
- Recent moves
- Acquired OneAI for voice agent capabilities (Q1 2026), expanding AI Work Platform with human-AI orchestration and revised seats-plus-credits pricing.
Notion
- Positioning
- All-in-one AI workspace combining docs, wikis, databases, and project management under a PLG-then-enterprise motion.
- Customer segments
- SMB teams and knowledge workers via freemium. Enterprise buyers (Fortune 500) via SAML SSO, audit logs, and bundled AI tiers.
- Strengths
- Freemium PLG flywheel with community-built templates driving viral adoption before any sales touch.
- Watch for
- Database performance degrades past 5,000 records (8-second load times reported), making it unfit for data-heavy operational use cases.
- Recent moves
- January 2026: completed $270M private tender at $11B valuation, signaling pre-IPO positioning.
Smartsheet
- Positioning
- Enterprise work execution platform repositioning from project management to portfolio-wide intelligent work management with AI automation.
- Customer segments
- Enterprise PMO leaders and operations managers at Fortune 500 firms. Present in 85% of Fortune 500. Buyer is typically VP of Operations or IT.
- Strengths
- Deep Fortune 500 penetration with 123,000 customers across 85% of Fortune 500, built on workflow automation now at 40% task coverage.
- Watch for
- 2024-2025 pricing overhaul eliminated free collaborators, forcing all users onto paid seats. Teams with occasional contributors report significantly higher costs.
- Recent moves
- January 2025: Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners completed $8.4 billion private equity acquisition, taking Smartsheet off NYSE.
Sources
- www.airtable.com — Current product positioning, customer base of 500,000+ organizations, Fortune 100 adoption, enterprise features and compliance
- techcrunch.com — Superagent launch date (Jan 27 2026), valuation reset from $11.7B to $4B, Superagent pricing ($20-$200/month), capital remaining (~$700M)
- blog.airtable.com — Series F funding details: $735M raised December 2021 at $11B valuation, investor names (Salesforce Ventures, Silver Lake, Michael Dell)
- www.airtable.com — DeepSky acquisition (October 2025), David Azose hiring as CTO, DeepSky founding team names (Chris Chang, Forrest Moret, Mark Huang), 12 DeepSky employees joining
- sacra.com — 2024 ARR of $478M with 27% YoY growth, cash flow positivity achieved late 2024, enterprise 100% YoY revenue growth, 170% NDR
- www.lennysnewsletter.com — Howie Liu's organizational restructuring into fast-thinking and slow-thinking teams, IC CEO approach, emphasis on AI experimentation
- www.glassdoor.com — Employee satisfaction: 76% overall recommend, 91% engineers recommend, 45% account executives recommend, compensation rated 4.4/5, culture/values 3.9/5
- sqmagazine.co.uk — Workforce restructuring: 27% cut in September 2023 (~237 employees), current headcount ~700-800, recent hiring after restructuring