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‘SaaSpocalypse’ debate deepens as software stocks swing

Software stocks swung wildly after a week of mixed earnings and a low-priced acquisition, intensifying debate over whether AI-driven coding agents are eroding SaaS value. Italian buyout firm Bending Spoons agreed to acquire Airtable for under $1.3 billion — a fraction of its 2021 peak valuation — while earnings-related sell-offs hit HubSpot, Datadog and Figma. Conversely, Atlassian and Twilio rallied strongly after quarterly reports, and Cloudflare rose. Analysts and industry leaders offered differing views on how AI models and coding agents will affect renewals, product economics and investor sentiment across enterprise software.

Bending Spoons to buy Airtable for $1.28B

Bending Spoons agreed to acquire Airtable for an enterprise value of $1.285 billion, marking the buyer’s first major deal since going public. Airtable reported roughly $480 million in ARR with over 20% year‑over‑year growth, implying an EV/ARR near 2.7×. An SEC filing shows Airtable spun out its AI agent platform (Hyperagent) before the sale, so the transaction covers the database, customers, workflows and recurring revenue but excludes the agent business. The company’s cash position is reported differently: filings show about $965 million in cash on the balance sheet, while Bending Spoons disclosed roughly $2.25 billion in net cash and cash equivalents, yielding an implied equity value materially above the EV. The purchase price is a steep discount to Airtable’s pandemic‑era peak valuation above $11 billion (about $11.7B).

Bending Spoons Buys Legacy Internet Brands; Analysts Bullish

Bending Spoons, a Milan-based tech conglomerate that acquires mature internet brands and uses artificial intelligence to cut costs, has drawn upbeat analyst coverage after its July 2026 IPO. Analysts cited in the article forecast upside ranging from 17% (Bernstein) to 32% (Wells Fargo and Mizuho), with Goldman Sachs — which led the IPO — seeing 26% upside. Bending Spoons owns properties including AOL, Eventbrite and Vimeo and follows a three-step roll-up model: buy established customer bases, reduce overhead via AI-driven efficiencies, and redeploy gains into further deals. Some analysts warn the model could face headwinds if potential acquisition targets optimize themselves with AI before being sold, narrowing improvement opportunities for the buyer.