“Blocks introduces workflows that were not previously possible - not only on the Airtable platform, but on any platform before,” Liu said. He compared them to iOS apps - simple operations that business owners can drop into a system to glean valuable insights. The unique thing about blocks is that they afford developers a lot of freedom over the user experience, Liu said. Others, like the recently introduced block for Adobe XD, are third-party. A number of them are first-party, like the cloud vision block (which uses computer vision to detect objects in pictures automatically), 3D model explorer, color palette picker, countdown timer, CSV and XML importer, and mapping and geocoding blocks. Workflow automation services Zapier and IFTTT act as the connective glue, allowing, for example, a Slack message, SMS, or email to trigger an Airtable database entry.īlocks are a collection of roughly 30-40 “mini-apps” that extend Airtable’s functionality, Liu explained. In 2015, after raising $3 million and $7.6 million in back-to-back funding rounds, Airtable launched its API, which laid the groundwork for its blocks development framework.Ī veritable who’s who of services and apps - over 1,000 in all - work with Airtable, including Asana, Basecamp, Dropbox, Box, Eventbrite, Evernote, Facebook, Github, Gmail, Instagram, LinkedIn, Mailchimp, Meetup, Pocket, Slack, Stripe, SoundCloud, Trello, Tumblr, Twilio, Twitter, WordPress, YouTube, and Zendesk. To make onboarding even easier, Airtable comes with a selection of templates grouped into themes (like Event Planning, Real Estate, and Everyday Life), categories (Groups, Clubs, and Hobbies Book Catalog), and use cases. But perhaps the best thing about Airtable is its wealth of integrations. Moreover, its graph engine links records between tables intelligently, creating relationships that can be modified as needed. Values update instantly, and built-in sharing tools enable collaborators to work alongside one another in calendar, gallery, and kanban views.Īirtable supports virtually any type of embed, including file attachments, long text notes, checkboxes, barcodes, and algorithms. So how’d a no-code database startup attract tens of millions of dollars in funding from Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher, billionaire hedge fund manager Philippe Laffont, Stripe cofounder Patrick Collison, and former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo? With a simple but powerful idea: combining elements of spreadsheets and databases into a robust platform for MacOS, Windows 10, iOS, Android, and the web that doesn’t require knowledge of SQL, Python, or PHP.Īirtable’s interface leans heavily on drag-and-drop and one-click gestures - it’s how users add fields and columns in a sheet, and increment or decrement rows. “It’s been a massive undertaking - spelling out UX guidelines, building administrative and granular permissions features, introducing visibility into records … It’s the opposite of an overnight success.” Humble beginnings “ enables you to run code as an app developer,” he said. In the future, Airtable intends to allow any developer to build, distribute, and even sell applications within the platform. For the better part of “years,” engineers among the company’s 70-strong workforce have focused the bulk of their efforts on its software development kit (SDK), which Liu said sets the stage for an open ecosystem model. Specifically, the newly raised capital will go toward its internationalization and enterprise efforts. It comes on the heels of a $52 million round in March, bringing Airtable’s total haul and valuation to $170 million and $1.1 billion, respectively. Seven years later, they’re meaningfully closer to achieving that goal.Īirtable today announced a mammoth $100 million series C funding round led by Thrive Capital, Benchmark, and Coatue Management, with participation from strategic angels Delphine Arnault, Emily Weiss, Alexa von Tobel, Sarah Smith, and Dan Rose, in addition to existing investors CRV and Caffeinated Capital. “Organize everything.” That’s the aspirational motto Airtable, a San Francisco startup cofounded by Stack Overflow developer Emmett Nicholas, former Google Maps manager Andrew Ofstad, and serial entrepreneur Howie Liu adopted before revealing their first product to the world in 2015: an Excel-like extensible spreadsheet creator with a no-code, easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface. Interested in learning what's next for the gaming industry? Join gaming executives to discuss emerging parts of the industry this October at GamesBeat Summit Next.
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