In a bold move that signals a major strategic shift, no-code platform Airtable has announced the launch of Superagent, its first standalone product in 13 years. The move comes as the company navigates a significant valuation correction, but founder and CEO Howie Liu is betting that this pivot into the competitive AI agent space could define the company’s future.
Despite its paper valuation falling from a 2021 peak of $11.7 billion to around $4 billion on secondary markets, Airtable remains financially robust with over $700 million in the bank. Rather than playing defense, Liu is launching Superagent as an ambitious play to lead the next wave of AI-native software, suggesting it could eventually eclipse Airtable’s core business.
Orchestrating An AI Team Not Just Prompting
Superagent is built on the concept of “multi-agent coordination.” Unlike typical AI assistants that process tasks sequentially, Superagent acts as an orchestrator, deploying a team of specialized AI agents that work in parallel to tackle complex queries. As Liu explains, “You’re not prompting an AI. You’re orchestrating a team.”
For example, a user asking Superagent to research the expansion of an athleisure brand into Europe would trigger a multi-pronged response. A coordinating agent first develops a research plan, then deploys specialist agents to investigate financials, competitive landscapes, and market trends simultaneously. The final output is not a simple text summary but a rich, interactive deliverable with data visualizations, filterable maps, and dynamic timelines.
Liu distinguishes Superagent from what he calls “LLM powered workflows,” which he argues are merely
predetermined steps with AI calls mixed in. He positions Superagent alongside advanced platforms like Anthropic’s Claude as a true autonomous agent architecture capable of course-correction and deep synthesis.
A Bet on a New Architecture
Airtable’s push into AI is a calculated transformation. The company recently hired David Azose, former engineering lead for ChatGPT’s business products at OpenAI, as its new CTO. This was followed by the acquisition of DeepSky, an AI agent startup, whose founding team will now helm the semi-independent Superagent division.
The platform is designed to pull from premium data sources like FactSet, Crunchbase, SEC filings, and earnings transcripts to provide high-quality, structured analysis. Initial pricing is expected to follow a tiered model, starting around $20 per month for entry-level users and scaling up for power users, positioning it competitively in the rapidly growing AI product market.
What This Means for MENA Startups
For the MENA tech ecosystem, Airtable’s launch of Superagent highlights a critical global trend: established software-as-a-service (SaaS) players are aggressively building AI-native products to stay relevant. This presents both opportunities and strategic considerations for regional founders and investors.
MENA startups can leverage powerful new tools like Superagent for sophisticated market intelligence, whether for analyzing regional expansion opportunities, conducting due diligence on competitors, or preparing for investor pitches. The ability to generate high-quality, data-rich reports on demand can significantly level the playing field for smaller teams competing with larger incumbents.
Furthermore, the rise of multi-agent systems validates this emerging software category. This could inspire a new wave of MENA-based AI startups to build specialized agents tailored to local market needs, such as navigating complex regional regulations, analyzing Arabic-language market data, or optimizing supply chains specific to the Gulf. The competition in the AI tool space is intensifying, providing regional businesses with more powerful and accessible options than ever before.
About Airtable
Airtable is a cloud-based, no-code platform that blends the features of a spreadsheet with the complexity of a database, allowing users to build custom applications and workflows without programming knowledge. Founded in 2012, the company serves over 500,000 organizations, including 80% of the Fortune 100, by enabling them to create tailored software solutions for their specific operational needs.
Source: TechCrunch
