The Rise of Bending Spoons
Bending Spoons, the Milan-based tech conglomerate known for acquiring iconic digital brands like AOL and Vimeo, made its public debut on the Nasdaq this week. The IPO briefly pushed its market capitalization above $25 billion, doubling its previous private valuation of $11 billion. Although the stock has since slipped slightly, the strong debut signals investor confidence in the company’s unique playbook and growing portfolio, which includes Meetup, Eventbrite, WeTransfer, and Evernote.
How It All Started
The little-known origin story of Bending Spoons traces back to Evertale, a Copenhagen-based startup that raised venture capital for its app, Wink. When Evertale failed, investors exited, but its founders and a few employees stayed together, initially building in-house apps. Soon, they made their first acquisition, followed by many more, as CEO and co-founder Luca Ferrari recounted on the 20VC podcast before the IPO.
In 2020, Bending Spoons made a rare exception to its policy of not building its own products, creating and donating Immuni, Italy’s official COVID-19 contact-tracing app. Apart from that, the company has honed a formula: identify popular products that can be improved, then acquire them from owners who have reached their limits.
For years, this approach ran counter to VC norms, and Bending Spoons remained bootstrapped. Eventually, it raised equity financing from investors including Baillie Gifford, Coatue, and Durable Capital Partners. Pre-IPO, it also attracted VIP backers like tech luminaries Eric Schmidt, Mike Krieger, and Xavier Niel, as well as celebrities Andre Agassi, Bradley Cooper, Maluma, The Weeknd, and The Chainsmokers.
Acquisition Strategy and Operations
Bending Spoons’ strategy shares similarities with private equity, but with a key difference: it aims to hold acquired brands forever and has never sold a business. Its focus is on making them more financially successful through technology, AI, and often controversial price hikes and layoffs.
Speaking to TechCrunch, co-founder and chief product officer Matteo Danieli acknowledged scrutiny, noting that products like Evernote were genuinely loved by users. However, he stated that customer retention has been “remarkably stable” despite changes.
What Happens After an Acquisition?
After acquiring a company, Bending Spoons actively revamps the user experience, features, underlying tech, monetization strategy (including pricing), and team organization (including headcount). This efficiency-driven approach mirrors private equity, but the company insists it is building a live portfolio, not a tech graveyard.
Financial Performance and User Growth
As of March 2026, Bending Spoons’ portfolio served over 500 million monthly active users and more than 9 million monthly paying customers. The company reported $1.31 billion in revenue for 2025. Its market capitalization indicates investors anticipate even greater growth. Entrepreneur Joe Hyrkin, who sold Issuu to Bending Spoons in 2023, defended the company on LinkedIn: “They acquire products with real customer behavior, then integrate them into a centralized system of product, engineering, data, monetization, AI, and operating discipline.”
Notable Acquisitions Timeline
- 2022: Filmic (video/photo-editing apps) and Issuu (digital publishing platform).
- 2023: Evernote (note-taking app, once valued at $1 billion).
- 2024: Brightcove (video platform, $233M all-cash take-private), Meetup, Splash, WeTransfer, and AOL (from Yahoo for an undisclosed amount).
- 2025: Vimeo (for about $500M, far below its $2.75B 2018 valuation), Eventbrite, Issuu management software maker, and more.
In December 2025, Bending Spoons acquired Vimeo; the deal closed in the latter half of that year, followed by layoffs affecting most of the workforce, including the entire video team. WeTransfer co-founder Nalden later criticized the company’s decisions, saying he was disappointed.
Controversies and Criticism
Bending Spoons has faced backlash for price increases and layoffs after acquisitions. However, the company maintains that its approach works. The company added 1,830 full-time equivalent team members through the acquisitions of AOL, Eventbrite, and Vimeo, but has already “parted ways” with many. It expects only a few hundred to remain once transformations are complete later in 2026.
Future Outlook
The four co-founders — Matteo Danieli, Luca Ferrari, Francesco Patarnello, and Luca Querella — retain over 80% voting power and became billionaires on paper after the IPO. Core headcount (“Spooners”) stands at about 620, with only 286 hires out of 800,000 applications in 2025. Revenue per full-time equivalent Spooner rose from $1.12 million in 2023 to $2.57 million in 2025, partly due to AI.
Bending Spoons sees opportunities in the current SaaS reckoning: “As many businesses struggle to adapt, our ability to expand the earnings of an acquired business may improve.” The company sourced over 2,500 acquisition opportunities in 2025, deeply analyzed about 200, and completed six. Ferrari noted they have identified over 1,000 attractive digital businesses representing nearly $400 billion in estimated 2025 revenue. “As AI enables us to accomplish more with fewer people, the scalability of our acquisition and transformation model should improve,” he predicted.