Bending Spoons Buys Airtable for $2.25bn Post-IPO

Italian software company Bending Spoons has agreed to acquire US workflow software firm Airtable, marking the Milan-based company's first acquisition since its Nasdaq debut last month. The deal was announced on a Tuesday in early August 2026 and is expected to close by the end of the year.

The Deal

Sources differ on the exact structure of the transaction. One source (Sifted) puts the acquisition price at $2.25 billion, while another (TechCrunch) reports Bending Spoons is paying $1.28 billion in cash, with the $2.25 billion figure representing Airtable's valuation once its net cash balance is factored in. The report does not fully reconcile how these two figures relate.

The acquisition comes just weeks after Bending Spoons went public on the Nasdaq in July at an $18 billion valuation — making Airtable its first deal as a listed company.

Who's Involved

Bending Spoons employs roughly 700 people, about 80% of whom work in engineering, research, product design, and operations. CEO Luca Ferrari described the company's strategy as building a "legendary institution" through buying, rebuilding, and integrating software businesses. Ferrari also noted that, unlike private equity firms, Bending Spoons has "never sold" a business it has acquired.

Sources also differ slightly on Bending Spoons' acquisition history: Sifted lists Evernote, Meetup, WeTransfer, Brightcove, Vimeo, Eventbrite, and AOL as prior acquisitions, while TechCrunch lists only Evernote, WeTransfer, Eventbrite, and Vimeo.

Airtable's Position

Founded in 2013, Airtable has raised more than $1.4 billion in funding and reached a peak valuation of $11 billion in 2021. Since then, its valuation has cooled considerably — trading at $4 billion on secondary markets earlier this year before this acquisition values the company at roughly $2.25 billion.

Despite the valuation decline, Airtable's business metrics remain strong: the company reports approximately $480 million in annual recurring revenue as of June 2026, growing more than 20% year-over-year. It serves over 500,000 organizations, including 80% of the Fortune 100. In January, Airtable introduced a new product line called Superagent.

Why Founders Should Care

This deal offers several signals worth watching for early-stage founders, though the implications are probabilistic rather than certain:

Valuation compression may persist. Airtable's drop from an $11 billion peak to a roughly $2.25 billion deal likely reflects continued pressure on later-stage SaaS valuations. Founders benchmarking their own companies against 2021-era comparables should probably discount those figures.
Public acquirers may move fast. Bending Spoons striking its first acquisition within weeks of its IPO suggests newly public companies could pursue rapid M&A strategies. Founders eyeing strategic exits might want to monitor how quickly recently listed acquirers deploy capital.
Deal terms need scrutiny. The conflicting price figures — $1.28 billion in cash versus a $2.25 billion valuation including net cash — highlight how acquisition headlines can obscure actual terms. Founders evaluating similar offers should look carefully at how cash consideration is distinguished from total enterprise valuation.
Integration philosophy may matter for sellers. Ferrari's framing of Bending Spoons as a firm that buys, rebuilds, and integrates — rather than flips — businesses could suggest founders selling to strategic acquirers of this type might expect longer-term operational involvement. This is not guaranteed, however, and the report offers no specifics on what will happen to Airtable's leadership, employees, or product roadmap post-close.

What's Still Unclear

Several details remain unaddressed in current reporting: how the $1.28 billion cash figure and $2.25 billion valuation fully reconcile, what happens to Airtable's leadership and staff, whether regulatory or antitrust review will be required, how existing Airtable shareholders will be treated, and how the Superagent product line fits into Bending Spoons' broader portfolio strategy.

For now, the acquisition stands as an early test of how Bending Spoons — now a public company — will execute its stated strategy of buying and rebuilding established software businesses, and whether that approach draws increased investor scrutiny as its first post-IPO move.