Bending Spoons SpA has agreed to acquire Airtable. Bloomberg Technology reports an equity value of $2.25 billion. TechCrunch reports a purchase price of $1.28 billion. Both figures sit well below the more than $11 billion valuation Airtable reached in 2021 and the roughly $4 billion level at which its shares traded on secondary markets earlier this year.
The reported terms
The two outlets describe the same transaction but differ on price. Bloomberg states the equity value explicitly at $2.25 billion and frames the deal as a sharp decline from the 2021 peak. TechCrunch places the price at $1.28 billion while citing the identical 2021 high and the $4 billion secondary-market figure. Neither account supplies additional deal terms such as earn-outs, employee retention packages, or closing timelines. The transaction remains subject to standard closing conditions, though no further details appear in the reporting.
The gap between the two published prices is material. One figure implies a valuation roughly 80 percent below the 2021 peak; the other implies an even steeper reduction. Secondary-market trading had already marked the company down to $4 billion, yet the acquisition price lands lower still. The reports do not reconcile the difference or indicate whether it stems from different deal structures, inclusion or exclusion of certain liabilities, or simple variance in sourcing.
Airtable’s valuation path
Airtable built its platform as a flexible spreadsheet and database tool aimed at teams that need structured data without traditional engineering overhead. Its 2021 valuation above $11 billion reflected rapid growth assumptions common across software companies at the time. By early 2026, secondary-market activity had already adjusted expectations downward to around $4 billion. The acquisition now converts that private-market signal into a concrete exit price.
Bending Spoons, an Italian developer of consumer and productivity applications, gains an established product with a large user base. The company has not previously operated a platform of Airtable’s scale or category, so integration and product decisions will fall to new ownership. No statements from either company elaborate on planned changes to features, pricing, or support.
Why it matters
The acquisition locks in a valuation that is a small fraction of Airtable’s former high-water mark. Employees holding equity or options now face a realized outcome far below earlier paper values. Customers gain no immediate clarity on whether product investment will continue at prior levels or shift under the new owner’s priorities. Bending Spoons obtains a mature revenue-generating asset at a compressed price, yet the purchase also carries the risk that earlier growth forecasts proved unrealistic.
Private-market valuations can contract quickly when capital becomes more expensive and exit paths narrow. Airtable’s trajectory—from over $11 billion to a reported acquisition range of $1.28–2.25 billion—illustrates that adjustment in a single transaction. The unresolved difference between the two reported prices leaves open the question of which number best reflects the actual economics. Until more terms surface, the market is left with two data points that both confirm a substantial reset rather than a return to prior highs.
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