Bending Spoons is acquiring the no-code platform Airtable for $1.3 billion. This is the first acquisition since the Italian tech company went public on the Nasdaq last month. The transaction is subject to approval and is expected to close by the end of this year.
Airtable is an American platform that combines spreadsheet and database functionality. Users can build applications and workflows with it without needing any programming knowledge. Airtable was founded in 2013.
The deal values the company at $1.285 billion. It is Bending Spoons’ first acquisition since its Nasdaq IPO, which took place on July 1. The stock closed at $36.22 on Monday, well above its initial public offering price of $29.
Acquisition spree continues
Bending Spoons has made a name for itself by acquiring and restructuring digital companies, an approach typically associated with private equity firms. The best-known example of this this year was AOL, the veteran American internet company.
The company has also previously acquired, among others, the note-taking app Evernote and the Dutch company WeTransfer. Shortly after the acquisition of the latter, approximately 75 percent of the staff faced the threat of losing their jobs. Eventbrite was also acquired for approximately $500 million. In addition, the company previously announced the acquisition of the video platform Vimeo for approximately $1.38 billion.
Threat to no-code
Both no-code and low-code platforms need to reinvent themselves. While “vibe coding” may no longer be such a trendy term, the fact remains that AI-generated code is often not even reviewed or understood by non-technical users who build their own software using LLMs. This stands in stark contrast to low-code and no-code, disciplines that, before the rise of GenAI, were considered the most accessible entry points into building custom applications.
Airtable is one of many companies that have shifted their rhetoric. Where people once spoke of “no-code” or “low-code,” terms like “agentic engineering” or simply “AI-powered workflows” are now enough to breathe new life into a familiar discipline with the help of LLMs. Still, alternatives like Lovable or the direct use of Claude Code or Codex are accessible enough to qualify as direct competition.