Airtable Acquired for $1.8B: VC Return Mechanics Under Scrutiny
arian_ghashghai · x · 2026-08-04
Bending Spoons acquires Airtable for $1.825 billion. The author questions how VCs justified this at an $11 billion valuation in the last round, arguing it's difficult to envision the cloud spreadsheet becoming a $100 billion company.
The author speculates that large funds backed the deal primarily to recoup capital via liquidation preferences within 5 years, satisfying institutional LPs. Meanwhile, moving significant capital into a brand-name deal allows GPs to collect hefty management fees on subsequent funds.
Related event: Bending Spoons acquires Airtable for about $1.285 billion(4 posts)→
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