Airtable operates as an AI-integrated database management ecosystem. The protocol resembles an Excel spreadsheet at first glance. However, it’s far more, enabling users to organize items across industries in a concise manner. Today, Airtable is one of the largest and most recognized names in the market. Its client list spans some of the most reputable names in tech, entertainment, health, and more.
Airtable’s unique blend of features, security, and clientele has helped it secure a spot as an investment with significant upside potential. However, the company is privately owned, meaning that the only way to gain access to shares is via pre-IPO channels. Here’s how you can navigate the pre-IPO environment to secure access to Airtable shares.
What is Airtable?
Airtable entered the market in 2012 as a way for enterprise-level clientele to better manage their data. The company’s founders, Howie Liu, Andrew Ofstad, and Emmett Nicholas, noted that corporations lost millions yearly simply because they couldn’t organize all the data they had efficiently, leading to missed sales, lost opportunities, and more. They decided that a spreadsheet-database hybrid could provide access to advanced storage and sorting capabilities while still being human-readable and accessible to larger networks when needed.
Airtable took the hybrid spreadsheet-database concept and expanded it into a valuable tool that empowers businesses to better organize data, create complex workflows, and build custom apps. For example, HyperDB is an app-building software that provides direct access to massive datasets, streamlining the entire process. This feature complements the Portals option, which allows users to seamlessly connect their databases to third parties to improve collaboration efforts.
Source – Airtable
Recently, the company integrated support for advanced AI models via the Airtable AI option. This feature combines the benefits of a digital analyst, web researcher, and professional app developer into one easy-to-use interface. It enables clients or their customers to search through massive databases for precise information such as exact delivery dates, order status, customer activity, and insight into campaigns.
Airtable’s approach hasn’t gone unnoticed. Since its launch, the firm has secured strategic partnerships and high-level deals across several industries. Its client list now includes Netflix, TESLA, Walt Disney, and many more. Businesses understand that Airtable has helped their colleagues and competitors save millions, improve customer relations, and enhance business systems. Many analysts now believe that the company could see billions in valuation growth as it continues to develop more advanced AI options.
Historical Funding Rounds
Summary of Airtable Funding:
Total Funding: Airtable secured $135B across 7 funding rounds
Largest Round: Airtable’s largest funding round secured $735M on December 13, 2021.
Investors: A total of 46 institutional investors and 12 Angel investors back Airtable
Latest Round: The latest funding round raised $735M and was a Series F round held on December 13, 2021.
Funding Rounds Breakdown:
- 1 Seed
- 2 Early-Stage
- 4 Late-Stage
Key Investors:
Airtable secured support from a variety of institutional and angel investors, including Freestyle, Caffeinated Capital, DCVC, BoxGroup, Tuesday Capital, Ashton Kutcher, Michael Birch, Shan Mehta, Amitt Mahajan, Eric Wu, Aaron Harris, Othman Laraki, Villi Iltchev, CRV, Founder Collective, MSD Capital, Coatue, Thrive Capital, Benchmark, Iconiq Capital, Silver Lake, J P Morgan, XN Capital, and more.
Why Invest in Airtable?
Several reasons could motivate an investor to seek out Airtable stocks. For one, there continues to be demand for data management systems. Organizing the sheer amount of information that large firms like Netflix or Disney must have available when needed is a vital task that can determine the difference between a satisfied or aggravated customer. Notably, Airtable was the first company to democratize access to complex data management systems. Today, Airtable offers a variety of features designed to enable new users to maximize their efforts.
Ease of Collaboration
Airtable was built from the ground up with a focus on incubating collaborative efforts between companies and teams. The protocol offers a variety of flexible options that make it easy for conglomerates to provide access to select information when needed, without risking data breaches or unauthorized views. Keenly, the system can be set up to integrate multiple databases from across different organizations efficiently and with minimal effort and costs.
Embed AI
The introduction of embedded AI into database management systems is a game-changer. The Airtable database AI allows users to enter simple text prompts to initiate complex tasks like sorting, searching, and finding related records. For business management and planning, this option opens the door for more effective processes. It’s even helpful to personal users trying to cut down on their retrieval times.
In the future, the AI system will improve further. Users will be able to ask the system to complete multiple application tasks with simple text prompts. To accomplish this task, Airtable will enable users to integrate its AI systems into other protocols. Think of an Amazon Alexa but for business tasks like sending emails, tracking logistics, and managing employees.
Top Tier Clientele Use Airtable
Airtable has a long list of high-level clientele that spans the commercial, educational, scientific, and governmental sectors. The company has strategic agreements in place with Netflix, JetBlue, Shopify, Expedia, Stanford University, Riot Games, Thales, WeWork, and many more. These clients have helped to shape Airtable’s features and provide the company with direct access to some of the brightest minds in business.
Funding and Investor data sourced from Tracxn
1. Pre-IPO Secondary Marketplace
Secondary markets are purpose-built exchanges that connect pre-IPO shareholders with potential investors. These marketplaces can offer these assets because they work closely with employees, early-stage investors, and venture capitalists, who are crucial to the company’s pre-IPO growth.
Investing in pre-IPO shares of Airtable could offer strong returns if the company’s valuation increases following its IPO. It’s common for company valuations to increase following an IPO. As such, it makes sense to add pre-IPO shares to your portfolio before the firm announces plans to go public.
Secondary marketplaces have many requirements. Here are some concerns you should be made aware of:
Eligibility: This approach requires you to be an accredited investor, meaning you will have to show at least $1M in liquid assets to qualify for access.
2. Private Equity Firms
Private equity firms gain access to pre-IPO shares during investment rounds. They then offer these shares to high-net-worth accredited investors with a commission. Notably, private equity firms are known to have extra stipulations, including blocking the sale of shares for years in some cases.
3. Employee Equity Sales
Many consider employee equity sales as the best way to acquire pre-IPO shares in Airtable. This method of acquiring pre-IPO shares requires you to connect with former employees. It’s common for companies to issue shares as part of an incentive package. Notably, this profit-sharing method has become more popular, leading to more pre-IPO share opportunities for investors.
Private Transactions: There are a lot of hoops you will need to jump through to complete a private pre-IPO transaction, including creating specific legal agreements, conducting valuations, and setting in place any limitations on the transfer of the asset.
Brokerage: Brokers will take a lot of the confusion out of the pre-IPO process. These professionals can guide you through each step, ensuring full compliance and avoiding common errors untrained professionals make.
There are several risks that you should consider before jumping into the pre-IPO shares investment arena. Here are the top concerns:
Liquidity Risk
If you are looking for an asset that you can sell right away, pre-IPO shares are not the best option.
These investments can include sales and transfer clauses that prevent the transfer of the asset until certain criteria, such as the IPO’s completion, are met. It’s even common for pre-IPO shares to require you to wait years before gaining the ability to sell your assets.
Finding a Broker
If you meet the requirements and are comfortable with the risks, several platforms offer access to pre-IPO opportunities:
Forge Global: One of the largest private stock marketplaces, offering shares in late-stage startups like SpaceX, Stripe, and Databricks. Minimums typically start around $100,000.
EquityZen: A popular platform allowing accredited investors to buy into private companies with minimums as low as $5,000. Past offerings include companies like Discord and UiPath.
Rainmaker Securities: A full-service broker that helps source and negotiate private share sales, including opportunities in companies like OpenAI, Stripe, and Palantir.
Hiive: A newer platform with live bid/ask pricing for hundreds of private companies. Transparent and low-fee, with minimums starting around $25,000.
MicroVentures: Offers pooled access to late-stage companies through special purpose vehicles (SPVs), including past investments in SpaceX and Instacart.
EquityBee: Allows investors to fund employee stock option exercises at startups, often at discounted valuations, with minimums around $10,000.
Augment: A digital-first marketplace showing real-time pricing for pre-IPO shares, targeting tech-savvy investors and offering lower transaction fees.
StartEngine Private: Launched in late 2023, this platform offers accredited investors access to Regulation D offerings in later-stage, venture-backed companies. In its first nine months, it generated $16.5 million in revenue, with average investments around $32,000
Important: Always perform thorough due diligence and consult a financial advisor before investing in private company shares.
Valuation of Airtable and Future IPO
Airtable remains a leading workflow and database management option. The company recently secured a $11.7B valuation in April 2025. It earned this valuation through a combination of solid business management, providing unique features, and ensuring security for its many clients. Additionally, its AI options have opened the door for more efficient data management and App creation, furthering demand for the company’s products.
There have been no official Airtable IPO plans announced. However, many analysts see the company as perfectly positioned to host an IPO in the coming months. It has strong institutional investor support and a growing demand from the private sector seeking access to its shares. If the company were to announce an IPO date, it would be met with support from across the market and could become one of the largest database-centric IPOs ever.
An Airtable IPO could secure billions in funding as the company already services industry leaders. Those who purchase Airtable Pre-IPO shares would open the door for future returns if the company can successfully achieve its goal to democratize advanced data management systems and empower users to build AI-powered apps that produce results.
Airtable Conclusion
In an era where data is more valuable than gold, it’s easy to see why so many investors see Airtable as a smart move. The company has revolutionized the data management sector and continues to work to make accessing company data and creating helpful apps as easy as entering a text prompt. All of these factors add to Airtable shares’ long-term potential. However, there are still risks to consider.
You should consult an investment specialist to ensure that you remain within your risk appetite when investing in Pre-IPO shares. Pre-IPO shares have certain restrictions, and there’s no guarantee that they will increase in value before or after an IPO. As such, you need to conduct in-depth research prior to making any investments. For those who complete these tasks and find Airtable is a good fit, there’s a lot of future upside potential.
Learn about Other Pre-IPO Opportunities Now
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Pre-IPO shares are typically available only to accredited investors and carry significant risk. Always perform thorough due diligence and consult a financial advisor or legal expert before making investment decisions.