Retool was founded in 2017 by David Hsu in San Francisco. The company recognized that developers spend a huge amount of time building internal tools — admin panels, dashboards, approval flows, customer support interfaces — that are necessary but not differentiating. Retool raised over $450 million in funding and reached a valuation of $3.2 billion.
The platform provides a drag-and-drop builder with pre-built UI components (tables, forms, charts, maps, wizards) that connect directly to databases and APIs. Developers assemble interfaces visually, write SQL or JavaScript for logic, and deploy internal tools in hours instead of weeks. It’s low-code, not no-code — it’s built for engineers who want to move fast, not replace them.
Retool is used by thousands of companies, including Amazon, NBC Universal, DoorDash, and Brex. The typical use case involves building tools that a handful of internal users need — things like order management systems, customer lookup tools, content moderation dashboards, or data correction interfaces.
The platform connects to virtually any data source: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, REST APIs, GraphQL, Google Sheets, Snowflake, and many more. Retool also offers Retool Mobile (for mobile internal tools), Retool Workflows (for backend automation), and Retool Database (a built-in PostgreSQL database). Self-hosted deployment is available for enterprises with strict data requirements. For engineering teams tired of building the same CRUD interfaces over and over, Retool is a practical time-saver.
