Deal analysis · estimated
Airtable × Bending Spoons: who got the money home
On August 4, 2026, Bending Spoons agreed to acquire Airtable at an enterprise value of $1.285bn— which, per the acquirer's own press release, implies an equity value of roughly $2.25bnonce Airtable's unspent cash is counted. That second number is what shareholders actually split, and splitting it is where it gets interesting: Airtable raised $1.35bn, and most of it sat senior to the common stock.
The round history
From public reporting; * marks post-money values we estimated where none was disclosed.
| Round | Year | Raised | Post-money | FD % at exit | Led by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seed | 2015 | $3m | $12m* | 9.9% | Freestyle, Caffeinated |
| Series A | 2015 | $7.6m | $38m* | 9.9% | CRV |
| Series B | 2018 | $52m | $152m* | 25.8% | CRV, Caffeinated |
| Series C | 2018 | $100m | $1.1bn | 7.5% | Thrive, Benchmark, Coatue |
| Series D | 2020 | $185m | $2.585bn | 6.4% | Thrive |
| Series E | 2021 | $270m | $5.77bn | 4.4% | Greenoaks |
| Series F | 2021 | $735m | $11.7bn* | 6.3% | XN |
The waterfall at ~$2.25bn
With standard 1x non-participating preferences, every investor class faces the same choice at exit: take your money back, or convert and share what's left. At this price, everyone from the Series C on does better taking the pref — that's $1.29bn off the top. The remaining ~$960m belongs to common holders and the converting early rounds.
| Class | Invested | Outcome | Est. payout | Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series F | $735m | took the 1x pref | $735m | ~1x (par) |
| Series E | $270m | took the 1x pref | $270m | ~1x (par) |
| Series D | $185m | took the 1x pref | $185m | ~1x (par) |
| Series C | $100m | took the 1x pref | $100m | ~1x (par) |
| Series B | $52m | converted | ~$328m | ~6.3x |
| Series A | $7.6m | converted | ~$126m | ~17x |
| Seed | $3m | converted | ~$126m | ~42x |
- • An assumed 12% employee pool takes home ~$150m.
- • The late-stage leads likely took ~par: the preference worked exactly as designed — but a 1x return is not the scenario anyone underwrote at an $11.7bn post-money.
- • The early money still won: seed investors ~42x, Series A ~17x, Series B ~6.3x on our estimates.
The founders
Assuming the three founders still held ~15% at exit, their combined take is roughly $190m (renormalized over converting holders — models that skip the renormalization land nearer $145m).
The investors
Estimated per-firm outcomes, assuming each firm's dollars follow its rounds' class returns. Follow a firm for its full portfolio and track record.
| Investor | In the deal | Best est. return |
|---|---|---|
| Freestyle Capital | co-led Seed; A, B | ~42x on the seed |
| Caffeinated Capital | co-led Seed and B; A, C, D, F | ~42x on the seed |
| CRV | led A and B; C, D | ~17x on the A |
| DCVC | A | ~17x |
| CrunchFund | A | ~17x |
| Founder Collective | A | ~17x |
| Slow Ventures | B | ~6.3x |
| Thrive Capital | co-led C, led D; F | ~1x (par) |
| Benchmark | co-led C; D, F | ~1x (par) |
| Coatue | co-led C; D, F | ~1x (par) |
| D1 Capital Partners | D, F | ~1x (par) |
| Greenoaks | led E; F | ~1x (par) |
| XN | led F | ~1x (par) |
| ICONIQ Growth | F | ~1x (par) |
| Salesforce Ventures | F | ~1x (par) |
| Silver Lake | F | ~1x (par) |
| Franklin Templeton | F | ~1x (par) |
| T. Rowe Price | F | ~1x (par) |
The part almost everyone missed
Thirteen days before the announcement, a brand-new entity called Formagrid Holdings LLC (Formagrid is Airtable's legal name) filed two SEC Form Ds — from Airtable's own headquarters at 1 Front Street, San Francisco, with Airtable's CFO listed, and the "business combination transaction" box ticked. The deal was visible in public filings nearly two weeks early. That's exactly what our deal radar watches for, every hour. For the opposite outcome — an exit where no preference bites and every class converts — see the DroneDeploy × Procore waterfall.
Assumptions & caveats
This is a directional estimate built only on publicly reported round data. It assumes vanilla terms — 1x non-participating preferences, later rounds senior, no structure, no secondaries — and stated ownership assumptions for founders and employees. Actual terms are private and could change this picture materially. Better data or disagree with the model? Tell us and we'll update the analysis: corrections@fundraisingfox.com.