Airtable Co-founder Howie Liu Says AI Will Be A ‘Massive Sweeping Force’ In Tech

Spencer Rascoff

Spencer Rascoff serves as executive chairman of dot.LA. He is an entrepreneur and company leader who co-founded Zillow, Hotwire, dot.LA, Pacaso and Supernova, and who served as Zillow's CEO for a decade. During Spencer's time as CEO, Zillow won dozens of "best places to work" awards as it grew to over 4,500 employees, $3 billion in revenue, and $10 billion in market capitalization. Prior to Zillow, Spencer co-founded and was VP Corporate Development of Hotwire, which was sold to Expedia for $685 million in 2003. Through his startup studio and venture capital firm, 75 & Sunny, Spencer is an active angel investor in over 100 companies and is incubating several more.

Airtable Co-founder Howie Liu Says AI Will Be A ‘Massive Sweeping Force’ In Tech
Howie Liu

On this episode of Office Hours, Airtable co-founder and CEO Howie Liu talks about the inspiration behind his company, and shares his thoughts on the impact artificial intelligence will have on the tech industry.



San Francisco-based Airtable is a connected app platform that allows anyone in an organization to build and customize apps using shared data. The no-code platform helps companies create flexible checklists, organize collections or ideas, and manage customers or contacts.

Liu was known for building apps throughout college, including a “maps apartment listing mashup.”

“I scraped Craigslist for listings and then put them on a map which Craigslist itself didn't even do at the time,” Liu said. “[It] has a Yelp style search and filter interface, which in hindsight, doesn't sound that covered, but at the time there wasn't a great deal of documentation around how to build that sort of a rich, single page app experience. So I was also learning how to reverse engineer these interfaces and build them myself from scratch.”

Looking back, he realized it wasn’t a viable business because he didn’t own the data and he didn’t have a relationship with the realtors who listed the content. So he scrapped the idea entirely.

Once Liu graduated from Duke University in 2009, he looked for work opportunities and decided to take an internship with technology company CrowdFlower.

“That was a really great learning experience and an initial foray into the Silicon Valley startup system,” he said. “So I teamed up with a friend from college with whom I decided to go and build an app called Etact and apply to Y Combinator and see if we could get into the program, launch a product.”

Long story short, Liu participated in Y Combinator’s 2010 winter cohort to grow his first startup Etact, a customer relationship management software platform.

While he understands that accelerator programs are not for everyone, Liu said “for me, it was entirely transformative.”

“I had done all my prototypes and explorations in college, but nothing that felt like a real startup,” he added. “Being able to go into the program, be part of a class of other founders who are also trying to figure it out…and also just normalizing the experience that otherwise could have felt very lonely and, and demoralizing plus the connections that we got through the programming — like demo day — actually turned out to be really valuable for us. I don't think we could have lined up nearly the number of high quality investors that we did for that company and raise a seed round without the catalyzing event.”

Shortly after the program, Etact was acquired by Salesforce. Little did he know that his experience working under the Silicon Valley giant would catapult him into building Airtable.

“They [Salesforce] focused on building a really flexible platform and every install of Salesforce,” he said. “Whether it's for CRM or for any other application, it’s just a customization of their underlying platform. That concept directly inspired Airtable because I wanted to go and do that, but on a much more disruptive level where you don't need an admin, you don't need a lot of time and money, or a ton of resources to go and build an app.”

To date, Airtable has grown to have over a thousand employees and raised nearly 1.4 billion in funding. Liu and his team are always looking for ways to innovate their products and with AI making a huge splash in the last few years, he thinks this may be the perfect time for the company to capitalize on this.

“I'm generally not the type of person who jumps on bandwagon or hype trends,” Liu said. “With AI, you can actually just see for yourself. Today, its capabilities are these large language models…So I think this is going to be this massive sweeping force that is going to create winners and losers in software.”

Liu said that he’s seeing plenty of innovation occur within other companies attempting to incorporate AI, but for him, it’s about something different.

“In our case, it's actually thinking about how to weave AI into the go-to-market plan,” Liu said. “The really important thing is how we're going to engage with customers and frame the value of our product because we actually can deliver a lot of value through AI on our platform…Rather than us just trying to add another tackle on AI. So I think it's more foundational, and we're trying to be very clear and opinionated about our approach to AI.”dot.LA Reporter Decerry Donato contributed to this post.

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Big Wins: Dodgers Take the Title ⚾, ChatGPT Levels Up🚀

🔦 Spotlight

Happy Friday, LA! It’s been a week of big wins, on and off the field. 🎉

⚾️ First up, let’s talk Dodgers. With a thrilling 7-6 comeback victory over the Yankees in Game 5, the Dodgers clinched their eighth World Series title, their first since 2020. The city is buzzing, and fans are ready to celebrate! A parade kicks off this morning at 11 a.m., starting at City Hall and winding down to Flower Street, with a ticketed celebration at Dodger Stadium for those wanting to keep the festivities going.

Image Source: Dodgers

💻 Meanwhile, in the tech, OpenAI just rolled out a game-changing update for ChatGPT. Plus and Enterprise users can now access real-time internet search, powered by Microsoft Bing, bringing ChatGPT's responses fully up-to-date. This means users can now ask about the latest news, hotspots, or recent LA startup announcements, and ChatGPT will pull in fresh, relevant answers directly from the web. Previously limited to information up to 2021, ChatGPT’s new browsing capabilities make it a valuable digital assistant for anyone needing real-time insights in fast-paced industries like tech and entertainment.

Image Source: ChatGPT

🔍 The real-time search feature also includes “Browse with Bing,” allowing ChatGPT to source information from multiple sites for detailed answers to complex questions. Whether you’re exploring the latest venture capital trends in LA or curious about the best local spots, ChatGPT’s new browsing power helps you stay ahead with the latest info. This leap forward in AI functionality makes ChatGPT even more versatile and powerful for everyone, from business owners to everyday users.

From the Dodgers’ World Series win to OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT update, there’s a lot to celebrate in LA this week. Here’s to champions, innovation, and a city that’s always pushing boundaries. 🌆✨


🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Final Boss Sour, a Los Angeles-based gaming-themed snack company specializing in healthier sour snacks, has raised a $3M Seed funding round led by Science Inc. to expand its product offerings and operational capabilities. - learn more
LA Venture Funds
  • Smash Capital led a $50M Series B round for Read AI, a productivity-focused AI company, bringing its total funding to $81M. The company offers a platform that enhances meeting efficiency through features like note-taking, summarization, and transcription. Additionally, Read AI introduced "Read AI for Gmail," a free Chrome extension that integrates information from various applications, reducing the need to switch between apps. The funds will be used to increase the company's headcount in engineering, data science, and business teams. - learn more
  • Distributed Global participated in a $25M funding round for Nillion, a company that provides decentralized privacy solutions designed to secure sensitive data using advanced technologies like secure multi-party computation. - learn more
  • Act One Ventures participated in a $5M Seed funding round for Latii, a construction materials supply chain startup, to enhance its platform that connects contractors with suppliers, aiming to streamline procurement processes and reduce costs in the construction industry. - learn more
  • SmartGateVC participated in a pre-seed funding round for Ritual Dental, a company revolutionizing dental care by integrating advanced technology and microbiome science to provide personalized, preventive treatments. - learn more

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      Billion-Dollar Milestones and Snapchat’s New Features

      🔦 Spotlight

      Happy Friday Los Angeles!

      This week’s spotlight showcases LA’s thriving tech scene, featuring Snapchat’s latest feature updates and two local startups Liquid Death and Altruist, making TechCrunch’s Unicorn List for 2024.

      Image Source: Snap

      Snapchat’s recent fall updates bring fresh features, including a new iPhone camera shortcut for instant snaps, Halloween-inspired AI-powered Lenses, and Bitmoji costumes inspired by Mean Girls and Yellowstone. Bitmoji stickers now reflect trending Gen-Z expressions like “slay” and heart symbols for added flair in chats. Plus, the “Footsteps” feature on Snap Map allows users to track their past adventures privately, adding a nostalgic touch.

      Image Source: Liquid Death

      ICYMI, two LA startups joined the Unicorn Club—achieving valuations over $1 billion. Liquid Death, based in Santa Monica, is a canned water company with edgy branding and a humorous sustainability focus. Known for viral marketing and brand partnerships, it redefines bottled water as a lifestyle brand and environmental statement. In March, Liquid Death closed $67 million in strategic financing, raising its total funding to over $267 million and valuing it at $1.4 billion.

      Image Source: Altruist

      Altruist, a Culver City-based fintech platform, offers financial advisors streamlined tools to better serve their clients. With a user-friendly investment and account management platform, Altruist has gained strong traction in the finance world. In May, it announced a $169 million Series E funding round, bringing its total funding to over $449 million and earning a valuation of $1.5 billion.

      Together, Liquid Death and Altruist exemplify LA’s capacity for innovation across diverse sectors, from lifestyle branding to fintech. Whether reshaping financial tools or redefining sustainable branding, these companies showcase LA’s unique entrepreneurial spirit. Go LA!

      Check out TechCrunch’s 2024 Unicorn List here. And don’t miss Snapchat’s latest features—perfect for adding some fun, connection and maybe a few selfies this weekend!


      🤝 Venture Deals

      LA Companies

      • Freeform, a company bringing AI to metal 3D printing, raised $14M in funding from NVIDIA’s NVentures and AE Ventures to further develop its AI-powered 3D printing technology for industrial-scale production. - learn more
      LA Venture Funds
      • Anthos Capital participated in a $70M Series D round for Carbon Robotics, which develops AI-powered robotics for precision agriculture, and the funding will be used to accelerate the growth of its autonomous weeding technology. - learn more
      • Anthos Capital participated in a $3.5M seed round for Plasma Network, aimed at expanding access to USDT stablecoins on the Bitcoin network, with the investment supporting the network’s growth and efforts to enhance stablecoin accessibility through the Lightning Network. - learn more

      LA Exits


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          ⚖️FTC’s "Click to Cancel" Rule and Its Ripple Effect on Tech

          🔦 Spotlight

          Happy Friday Los Angeles,

          The FTC’s new “Click to Cancel” rule is shaking up subscription-based tech. Now, instead of navigating a maze of cancellation hurdles, users can cancel subscriptions as easily as they signed up—with a single click. This shift is a wake-up call for SaaS, streaming, and app-based companies, where once-hidden exit options often kept users around simply because canceling was a hassle.

          The rule also requires businesses to send regular renewal reminders, ensuring customers stay informed about upcoming charges. It's more than a cancellation button—it’s about transparency and giving users control over their decisions.

          For startups, the impact goes deeper than UX adjustments. Many have relied on "dark patterns," which subtly discourage cancellations by hiding the exit. Now, companies must shift toward building genuine loyalty by delivering real value, not by complicating exits.

          While this might affect retention rates initially, it could lead to more sustainable business models that rely on satisfaction-driven loyalty. Investors may start prioritizing companies that emphasize transparent, long-term engagement over those that depend on dark patterns to maintain retention metrics.

          The rule opens the door to more ethical UX design and a truly user-centered approach across the tech industry. It may even set a precedent against manipulative design in other areas, such as privacy settings or payment methods.

          Ultimately, the “Click to Cancel” rule presents an opportunity for the tech industry to foster trust and build stronger customer relationships. Startups and established companies that embrace transparency will likely stand out as leaders in a new era of customer-centric tech, where trust—not tricky design—is what retains users.

          As the tech landscape continues to evolve, LA Tech Week 2024 offers a chance to explore these shifts in real-time. Check out the upcoming event lineups to stay informed and make the most of your time:

          For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.


          🤝 Venture Deals

          LA Companies

          • Ghost, a company supporting top brands and retailers with streamlined logistics and fulfillment solutions, raised a $40M Series C funding round led by L Catterton to fuel its continued growth and innovation. - learn more

          LA Venture Funds
          • Assembly Ventures participated in a $27M Series A round for Monogoto, a provider of software-defined connectivity solutions that enable secure, cloud-based IoT and cellular network management on a global scale. - learn more
          • Angeleno Group participated in a $32M Series C round for REsurety, a company that recently launched an innovative clean energy marketplace aimed at providing better financial and operational insights to support renewable energy transactions. - learn more

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