Airtable vs Notion: Founders, CEOs and History
Airtable was founded in 2012 by Howie Liu, Andrew Ofstad, Emmett Nicholas. Notion was founded in 2013 by Ivan Zhao, Simon Last and is led by Ivan Zhao.
Company facts
Founders
Airtable
Howie Liu
Howie Liu co-founded Airtable in 2012 and served as CEO through its sale to Bending Spoons in 2026. The September 2026 closing announcement described him as an Airtable co-founder, not as its continuing CEO.
Andrew Ofstad
Andrew Ofstad co-founded Airtable and worked on its product. He is not listed as Airtable's current CEO.
Emmett Nicholas
Emmett Nicholas co-founded Airtable in 2012. Public sources reviewed for this profile do not identify him as Airtable's current CEO.
Notion
Ivan Zhao
Ivan Zhao is co-founder and CEO of Notion Labs. Inspired by computing pioneers such as Douglas Engelbart and Alan Kay, he started Notion in 2013 to let people without programming skills build their own tools.
Simon Last
Simon Last is Notion's co-founder and has been central to the product's engineering since the beginning, including the 2015 Kyoto rebuild that produced the block-based architecture Notion still uses.
CEOs and their tenures
Airtable
- Howie Liu2012–2026
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Co-founded Airtable, led its venture-funded growth, and served as CEO before Bending Spoons acquired the company.
Source
Notion
- Ivan Zhao2013–present
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Led the 2015 Kyoto rebuild, the 2018 Notion 2.0 breakout, the 2021 Series C at $10 billion, and the 2025-2026 shift to AI agents.
Source - Akshay Kothari2018–present
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
Joined as co-founder and COO and built Notion's international expansion and go-to-market operations.
Source
Timeline: Airtable and Notion side by side
2012Airtable
Company founded
Howie Liu, Andrew Ofstad, and Emmett Nicholas started Airtable.
2013Notion
Notion Labs Founded in San Francisco
Ivan Zhao and Simon Last founded Notion in San Francisco, inspired by computing pioneer Douglas Engelbart.
2015Airtable
Airtable product launched
Airtable launched its collaborative database product publicly.
2015Notion
Near-Collapse & The Kyoto Rebuild Sprint
Facing imminent bankruptcy, Ivan Zhao and Simon Last moved to Kyoto, Japan, rebuilding Notion from scratch.
2016Notion
Launch of Notion 1.0 Block-Based Canvas
Released Notion 1.0 publicly, introducing the modular block-based document and wiki interface to wide acclaim.
2018Airtable
Series C establishes unicorn valuation
Airtable raised $100 million at a reported $1.1 billion valuation.
2018Notion
Launch of Notion 2.0 with Relational Databases
Unveiled Notion 2.0, introducing multi-view databases (Kanban, calendar, table), igniting rapid viral growth.
2019Notion
Achieved Operating Profitability on $10M Seed Capital
Reached operational profitability with under 20 employees and $10M in total funding, a rarity in SaaS.
2020Notion
$50M Investment Led by Index Ventures at $2.0B Valuation
Raised $50 million led by Index Ventures, achieving unicorn status as global remote work adoption surged.
2021Airtable
Series E funding
Airtable raised $270 million at a $5.77 billion post-money valuation.
2021Airtable
Bayes acquisition
Airtable acquired the Bayes team and assets for data visualization and reporting work.
2021Airtable
Interface Designer launch
Airtable introduced Interface Designer for building interactive front ends on Airtable workflows.
2021Airtable
Series F funding
Airtable raised $735 million, bringing total investment to $1.36 billion at an $11 billion pre-money valuation.
2021Notion
$275M Series C at $10.0B Valuation Led by Coatue and Sequoia
Raised $275 million led by Coatue and Sequoia at a $10 billion valuation; also acquired Automate.io.
2022Airtable
Enterprise refocus and workforce reduction
Airtable shifted resources toward large enterprise customers and reduced its team by 254 employees.
2022Notion
Acquisition of Cron & International Expansion to Japan
Acquired calendar app Cron and opened an official Tokyo office to serve its devoted Japanese community.
2023Airtable
Second workforce reduction
Airtable reduced its team by 237 employees while continuing its enterprise focus.
2023Notion
Public Launch of Notion AI Q&A Across All Workspaces
Debuted Notion AI Q&A, allowing users to query enterprise knowledge bases using conversational AI.
2024Airtable
Cobuilder launch
Airtable launched Cobuilder, which generates customizable no-code applications from natural-language descriptions.
2024Airtable
Dopt acquisition
Airtable acquired AI-powered onboarding platform Dopt and moved its team into Airtable's AI organization.
2025Airtable
DeepSky acquisition and CTO appointment
Airtable acquired AI research product DeepSky and appointed former OpenAI leader David Azose as chief technology officer.
2026Airtable
Bending Spoons acquisition announced
Bending Spoons agreed to acquire Airtable for $1.285 billion in enterprise value and disclosed approximately $480 million in ARR as of June 2026.
2026Airtable
Bending Spoons acquisition completed
Bending Spoons acquired 100% of Airtable's outstanding shares on September 4, 2026.
2026Notion
Surpasses $500M Annualized Revenue and Launches AI Agents
Notion told CNBC in September 2025 that annualized revenue had passed $500 million as it launched Notion AI agents.
Acquisitions
Airtable
- DeepSky2025Undisclosed
- Dopt2024Undisclosed
- Bayes team and assets2021Undisclosed
Questions about Airtable vs Notion
Who is the CEO of Airtable and Notion Labs, Inc.?
Notion Labs, Inc. is currently led by Ivan Zhao. The current CEO or equivalent executive for Airtable was not available in our dataset.
When was Airtable founded vs Notion Labs, Inc.?
Airtable was founded in 2012 — 1 year before Notion Labs, Inc., which was founded in 2013. Airtable's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Notion Labs, Inc..
How many employees does Airtable have compared to Notion Labs, Inc.?
Airtable employs approximately 700 people, while Notion Labs, Inc. employs approximately 1,000. Notion Labs, Inc. has the larger workforce at 1,000 employees, compared to Airtable's 700. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Airtable and Notion Labs, Inc. headquartered?
Both Airtable and Notion Labs, Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Airtable and Notion Labs, Inc.?
Airtable was founded by Howie Liu, Andrew Ofstad, Emmett Nicholas. Notion Labs, Inc. was founded by Ivan Zhao, Simon Last.
Which company has a longer operating history — Airtable or Notion Labs, Inc.?
Airtable has been operating for approximately 14 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Notion Labs, Inc. has been in operation for around 13 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Airtable vs Notion overview