What is Retool?

What is Retool?

Retool is a private developer platform for building internal tools and business software faster than coding everything from scratch. It has reportedly raised about $165 million and reached a $3.2 billion valuation, with Sequoia as a major backer.

Retool gives developers prebuilt UI components, connectors, workflow automation, database tools, permissions, source control, self-hosting for enterprise customers, and newer AI app/agent capabilities. Its pitch is not no-code for nontechnical teams; it is faster application development for engineers who still want code and integrations.

Public company materials and third-party funding data describe a San Francisco company founded by David Hsu in 2017 and backed by Y Combinator, Sequoia, and operator angels. Retool has public customer references across technology, financial services, logistics, healthcare, and operations-heavy businesses.

For sellers, Retool is a product-led developer-tools buyer. It will care about integration quality, security, enterprise readiness, SOC/compliance posture, customer-facing reliability, and whether a tool helps it sell deeper into enterprise engineering and operations teams.

Sources:Retool official siteRetool funding profile

What does Retool offer?

Retool offers app builder, workflows, database, forms, portals, mobile, AI AppGen/Agents, integrations, permissions, environments, source control, audit logs, and self-hosted enterprise deployment.

Sources:Retool self-hostedRetool official site

How does Retool make money?

Retool makes money through seat-based SaaS and enterprise contracts, with builder/internal-user pricing, Business and Enterprise plans, external-user pricing, and self-hosted deployment for Enterprise.

Retool’s official pricing separates builders, internal users, and external users. Public pricing pages and marketplace summaries show Free, Team, Business, and Enterprise tiers, with Business commonly cited around $50 per standard user/month annually and lower-priced end-user seats; Enterprise and self-hosted deployments are custom.

Growth is driven by developer adoption, expansion from one internal app to many operational workflows, enterprise governance needs, AI app generation, and external portals. Retool’s commercial model benefits when it becomes the internal software layer for multiple teams.

Retool is private, so this profile does not invent current ARR, retention, or customer-level pricing. Third-party revenue estimates are treated as estimates, not verified company disclosure.

Sources:Retool pricingRetool funding profile

Who leads Retool?

Retool is founder-led by David Hsu, who is publicly identified as founder and CEO.

Sources:Retool aboutSequoia Retool profile

How do you contact Retool's leadership?

Retool does not publish verified personal executive emails in the sources used. Use official sales, support, security, community, and partner contact routes rather than guessed personal emails.

• David HsuFounder and CEOhttps://retool.com/contact
• SalesEnterprise sales routehttps://retool.com/contact
• SupportSupport routehttps://docs.retool.com/

Sources:Retool contactRetool about

How much funding has Retool raised?

Retool has reportedly raised about $165 million, including a Sequoia-led $50 million financing around a $925 million valuation, a $20 million round at a $1.85 billion valuation, and a later $45 million Series C/C2 at a $3.2 billion valuation.

Retool was founded in 2017 and Sequoia lists it as partnered in 2019. Public reporting says Retool raised a $50 million Sequoia-led financing at a $925 million valuation and later took a deliberately smaller $20 million round at a $1.85 billion valuation from existing investors including Sequoia.

A later $45 million Series C/C2 round led by Sequoia reportedly valued Retool at $3.2 billion, with participation from operator investors such as the Collison brothers, Nat Friedman, Elad Gil, and BOND-related investors. Tracxn and Sacra summarize total funding around $165 million.

The valuation moved as Retool expanded from internal-app builder to broader enterprise software development, workflows, database, portals, mobile, and AI agents. It remains private, so revenue and profitability are not asserted beyond public estimates and company interviews.

Sources:Retool Series C postSequoia Retool profileSacra Retool funding

How did Retool get here?

Retool moved through a series of financing, product, and scale milestones.

Sources:Sequoia Retool profileRetool Series C post

Who are Retool's competitors?

Retool competes with internal-app builders, low-code platforms, workflow automation products, and developer-oriented operations platforms.

Sources:Retool official siteRetool self-hosted