Bending Spoons agrees to buy Airtable for $1.285 billion
By Steven Van ·
The Evernote and WeTransfer owner's first deal since its July IPO leaves pricing, product and team unchanged until the sale closes later in 2026.
Bending Spoons, the Milan-based software group that listed on Nasdaq just five weeks ago, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Airtable in an all-cash deal valuing the no-code database company at a $1.285 billion enterprise value, roughly $2.25 billion in equity value once Airtable's net cash is counted. It is the first acquisition since Bending Spoons' July 1, 2026 Nasdaq debut, and it puts one of the most widely used tools in creator and startup operations under the same roof as Evernote, WeTransfer, Vimeo, Meetup, Eventbrite, and AOL. If Airtable runs your content calendar, sponsorship tracker, or client CRM, this deal is worth understanding.
The terms: $1.285 billion enterprise value, all cash, closing later in 2026
According to the official announcement, Airtable brings real scale to the table: approximately $480 million in annual recurring revenue as of June 2026, growing more than 20% year over year, with over 500,000 organizations on the platform, including 80% of the Fortune 100. Bending Spoons itself reported 500 million monthly active users and 9 million paying customers across its portfolio as of March 2026.
Both companies will continue to operate independently until the transaction closes, which is expected later in 2026, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Nothing changes for Airtable users today: same product, same pricing, same team.
From an $11 billion peak to a $2.25 billion exit
The headline number tells a familiar story about the 2021 funding boom. Airtable, founded in 2013, raised more than $1.4 billion from investors and reached an $11 billion valuation at its peak. Earlier this year, its shares were reportedly trading on secondary markets at around a $4 billion valuation. The $2.25 billion equity value in this deal is a steep discount to both figures, even though the underlying business is large and still growing at a healthy clip.
That gap is exactly what Bending Spoons hunts for. The company's stated strategy is to acquire proven digital businesses, run deep operational transformations, and reinvest the proceeds into more acquisitions. It went public in July at a valuation reported around $18 billion on the strength of that playbook.
The Bending Spoons playbook, and what it has meant for past acquisitions
Bending Spoons is best known to creators as the owner of Evernote, WeTransfer, Vimeo, Meetup, and Eventbrite, plus AOL, which it picked up in January 2026. Coverage of the company, including TechCrunch's report on this deal, notes a consistent pattern after acquisitions: significant staff reductions, streamlined product lines, and revised pricing, with continued investment in the core product. Evernote, for example, saw heavy layoffs after its 2023 acquisition, followed by a long run of feature updates and higher subscription prices.
Both CEOs are framing this one as a long-term bet rather than a quick restructuring. Bending Spoons CEO Luca Ferrari called Airtable "a pioneering brand reshaping how teams organize data and manage critical workflows" and said the company is committed to investing in Airtable for the long run, with plans to "expand what can be done across the full spectrum of work." Airtable co-founder and CEO Howie Liu said the partnership gives Airtable the resources and long-term commitment it needs to build the AI-native platform of the future.
What Airtable users should watch between now and the close
Airtable has spent the past two years repositioning itself from a flexible spreadsheet-database hybrid into an AI-native app platform, with AI agents, automations, and interfaces layered on top of shared data. Bending Spoons says AI is central to both what it builds and how it operates, so the strategic fit is plausible. Still, a few practical points for anyone running their business on Airtable:
- No immediate action needed. The companies operate independently until closing, and bases, automations, and API integrations keep working as before.
- Watch pricing after the close. Bending Spoons has raised prices at several acquired products. If you are on a legacy or discounted plan, note your renewal date.
- Export hygiene is cheap insurance. Ownership changes are a good prompt to snapshot critical bases as CSVs, regardless of who the buyer is.
- Expect a faster AI roadmap. Both sides are signaling continued investment in Airtable's agent and app-building features, which is where the product has been heading anyway.
For creators and small teams, the most likely near-term outcome is continuity, followed by a leaner, more AI-focused Airtable once the deal closes. The track record says to keep an eye on pricing and product consolidation. The public statements say the buyer wants Airtable to be a flagship, not a fixer-upper. Later in 2026, we find out which reading is right.
Sources: Bending Spoons announcement, TechCrunch, Fortune