The archive · Developer & Business Tools · Product decision · 2024
Quadratic bets a Rust/WASM spreadsheet with native JS cells beats legacy add-ons
Source-available browser spreadsheet where JavaScript, Python, SQL and formulas run natively in cells; JS support launched via HN in 2024.
Quadratic
What the business is
Quadratic is a source-available browser spreadsheet built on Rust and WASM in which JavaScript, Python, SQL and classic formulas all run natively in cells, with GPU rendering and live API data via fetch().
How it started
Quadratic is a browser spreadsheet built in Rust and WASM that had already been in beta for quite some time when, on 2024-09-27, the team announced native JavaScript as a cell language on Hacker News (HN handle Manchego79). The framing was that Excel and Google Sheets add code only piecemeal — Apps Script, Python-in-Excel — with laggy, bolted-on experiences, while Quadratic runs JavaScript natively in any cell, in milliseconds, in the browser.
What happened
The launch thread surfaced the technical bet in detail: JavaScript executes in a web worker that communicates with the main thread via socket messages; the Rust/WASM engine renders on WebGL/GPU; a test grid reached roughly five million cells; Chart.js and npm packages arrive via ES modules; fetch() streams live API data into cells. The team described a source-available license that reserves commercial rights while allowing personal use, and said self-hosting pilots were rolling out. Skeptics pushed back — 'these approaches have been tried so many times and have failed so many times' — and questioned who needs this now that Google Sheets has Apps Script and Gemini and Excel is adding Python and Jupyter; the team answered that incumbents are adding piecemeal upgrades without the performance or experience, while Quadratic targets developers, engineers and data people, with AI-assisted code generation so non-programmers can write JS or Python too.
How it ended up
Still live as of 2026-09-05: the product page promotes the free browser spreadsheet, now framed as 'The AI Spreadsheet built for speed, clarity, and instant insights', with JavaScript, Python and SQL. The material and launch thread contain no revenue, funding, user-count or customer disclosures, so the commercial result of the bet is not established in the record.
Background
Quadratic is a source-available browser spreadsheet built on Rust and WASM in which JavaScript, Python, SQL and traditional formulas are all first-class cell languages. The bet, launched on Hacker News on 2024-09-27, is that spreadsheets remain the default way people work with data, but the product that wins will run real code natively and fast in the browser — rather than legacy tools that bolt coding support onto decades-old formula models.
The wedge was performance and code-native UX aimed at developers, engineers and data people who hit the ceilings of Google Sheets and Excel. JavaScript executes in a web worker while the Rust/WASM engine renders on the GPU; npm packages load through ES modules; fetch() pulls live API data into cells; charts use Chart.js; a test grid reached roughly five million cells. A source-available license reserving commercial rights, plus self-hosting pilots, offered an enterprise path where cloud spreadsheets hit data-protection limits.
Reception was real but contested. The launch thread drew 112 points and 48 comments: commenters ran JS in cells, then asked who needs this when Google Sheets has Apps Script and Gemini and Excel is adding Python and Jupyter, and skeptics noted spreadsheet-plus-code attempts had failed before. The team replied that incumbents ship piecemeal upgrades with subpar performance, while native cell languages — with AI assistance for non-programmers — let technical and non-technical users work in one place. As of 2026-09-05 the product is still live and free to try, with no revenue disclosed.
What has to be true
- Concrete traction: the 2024-09-27 Launch HN thread drew 112 points and 48 comments and put the product's claims to a live technical test.
- A substrate bet: instead of cloning Excel's formulas, Quadratic rebuilt the engine so JavaScript, Python and SQL are native cell languages on Rust/WASM.
- The public debate is the case: commenters argued Google Sheets' Apps Script and Excel's Python already cover the ground, and that spreadsheet-plus-code has failed before.
- It is an open result: the product is still running as of 2026-09-05, but the sources disclose no revenue, funding or customers, so the commercial bet remains unresolved.
What can be applied
To attack an entrenched category, change the substrate: Quadratic rebuilt the spreadsheet so real code is the cell language and pitched the technical users incumbents underserve, not a feature war.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-05, Quadratic is still operating: the JavaScript page at quadratichq.com promotes the spreadsheet with native JavaScript, SQL and Python, now positioned as 'The AI Spreadsheet built for speed, clarity, and instant insights', free to try in the browser. The 2024-09-27 HN launch thread remains available. The material and thread contain no disclosures of revenue, funding, user counts, enterprise customers, acquisition or shutdown, so how the bet resolves commercially is not documented in these sources.
Sources
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