Milan-based tech conglomerate Bending Spoons has quietly emerged as one of the tech industry's most active acquirers, amassing a portfolio that includes well-known brands like Meetup, WeTransfer, and most recently, Eventbrite. Despite its extensive reach, serving over a billion people with more than 300 million monthly active users, the company remains largely unknown to the general public.

Bending Spoons typically makes headlines when it adds another recognizable brand to its growing collection, such as its agreement in December 2025 to acquire Eventbrite for $500 million. However, the company is not a traditional private equity firm or a pure financial investment vehicle. Its core strategy focuses on acquiring popular but underperforming tech brands, then transforming them to operate more efficiently for millions of users.

This transformation often involves significant restructuring, including layoffs—as seen with WeTransfer, Evernote, and Filmic—and controversial changes to beloved products, such as altering free plan offerings for Evernote and WeTransfer. Still, Bending Spoons continues its rapid expansion, reshaping some of the internet's most recognizable digital products.

What is Bending Spoons?

Bending Spoons describes itself as a company that acquires and transforms digital businesses. With a headcount of 400 to 500 employees, whom the company refers to as “Spooners,” its primary focus is on enhancing products and services created by others. While it didn't start this way, having initially attempted to build its own apps, the company eventually shifted its strategy.

The company's origins trace back to the remnants of Evertale, a Copenhagen-based startup that participated in Disrupt SF 2011’s Startup Alley and raised seed funding for its photo-sharing app, Wink. After Evertale failed, its founders and a few employees continued working together, initially on in-house apps. They soon made their first acquisition, a pattern that would define the company's future, as CEO and co-founder Luca Ferrari revealed in a rare interview with the venture podcast 20VC.

In 2020, Bending Spoons made an exception by creating and donating Immuni, Italy’s official COVID-19 contact-tracing app. Beyond this, its formula has remained consistent: identify popular products it believes it can improve, then acquire them from owners who have reached their operational limits.

Following an acquisition, Bending Spoons is an active owner, implementing changes to the products’ user experience, features, underlying technology, monetization strategies (including pricing), and team organization (including headcount). While this emphasis on efficiency and revenue generation aligns with private equity strategies, Bending Spoons distinguishes itself by aiming “to hold forever” and having never sold an acquired business. It focuses on building a dynamic portfolio rather than collecting internet relics.

It's important to note that Bending Spoons’ acquisition targets haven't necessarily been failing businesses. Many still boasted substantial user bases and revenue but were often stagnant, neglected, or had owners seeking an exit.

Key Acquisitions by Bending Spoons

While Bending Spoons acquired several companies between 2014 and 2021, including the AI-powered photo enhancer Remini, its most notable deals have occurred more recently:

  • In 2022, it acquired Filmic, known for its popular video- and photo-editing apps, subsequently laying off the entire staff in December 2023.
  • Also announced in 2022 and finalized in early 2023, Bending Spoons acquired Evernote, the note-taking app that once reached a $1 billion valuation. Layoffs followed the acquisition in February 2023, along with cuts to Evernote’s free offering in November 2023.
  • The first half of 2024 saw a particularly active period with the acquisition of community-building platform Meetup, app maker Mosaic Group, and Hopin’s StreamYard.
  • In July 2024, it acquired the publishing platform Issuu and the file transfer service WeTransfer. Following the WeTransfer acquisition, Bending Spoons cut staff in September 2024 and made changes to its free plan in December 2024, introducing stricter limits. WeTransfer’s co-founder Nalden criticized these decisions in December 2025.
  • In November 2024, Bending Spoons announced a $233 million all-cash take-private deal to acquire video platform Brightcove.
  • Acquisitions continued apace in 2025, including the route planner Komoot and management software maker Harvest.
  • Bending Spoons also announced its intention to acquire Vimeo in a $1.38 billion all-cash deal in September 2025, and soon after, to acquire AOL from Yahoo for an undisclosed amount in October 2025. Both deals were expected to close by the end of 2025, subject to approvals. Layoffs followed the completion of Vimeo’s acquisition in early 2026.
  • In December 2025, Bending Spoons announced its acquisition of Eventbrite for approximately $500 million, significantly less than its $1.76 billion valuation at its 2018 IPO. However, Eventbrite stockholders filed a lawsuit in Delaware in early 2026 to block the take-private deal over voting rights, a challenge Eventbrite is currently fighting.

Bending Spoons' Valuation and Financial Backing

As of October 2025, Bending Spoons achieved the rare status of a European tech decacorn, valued at over $10 billion. This milestone followed its latest funding round, which secured $270 million from investors including T. Rowe Price, Baillie Gifford, Cox Enterprises, Durable Capital Partners, and Fidelity, alongside a $440 million secondary share sale by existing shareholders.

The company’s updated $11 billion valuation represents a significant increase from its $2.8 billion valuation in 2024, propelling its four co-founders—Luca Ferrari, Matteo Danieli, Luca Querella, and Francesco Patarnello—into the billionaire ranks. Ferrari's stake is reportedly worth $1.4 billion, while the other three co-founders each hold stakes valued at $1.3 billion, according to Forbes estimates based on Italian Business Register data.

Though long bootstrapped, Bending Spoons had previously raised equity financing multiple times, including in September 2022 and early 2024. Its cap table also features notable VIP investors, including tennis star Andre Agassi, actor Bradley Cooper, tech figures Eric Schmidt and Mike Krieger, and musicians The Weeknd, The Chainsmokers, and Maluma.

Upon announcing its new funding in October 2025, Bending Spoons stated that the capital would support future acquisitions and investments in its proprietary technology and AI capabilities. This is in addition to the $2.8 billion in debt financing disclosed when it announced its intention to acquire AOL, which will fund the AOL deal and other future acquisitions.

What's Next for Bending Spoons?

Bending Spoons plans to continue pursuing new acquisitions to expand its portfolio of consumer and enterprise digital products. With substantial funding, it is now positioned to target even more prominent brands, as evidenced by its recent acquisition of Eventbrite.

The acquisitions of AOL and Vimeo already represent a significant step up in brand recognition. AOL, for instance, remains one of the top 10 most-used email providers globally, boasting 8 million daily active users and 30 million monthly active users. The company was also rumored in October 2025 to be eyeing app maker Elysium and Typeform, the Barcelona-based SaaS company known for its form creation tools.

To support its ongoing acquisition efforts, Bending Spoons is actively hiring across various roles. While new hires initially work from its Milan headquarters, they gain the option to work from offices in London, Madrid, and Warsaw, or remotely. Despite warning candidates that Bending Spoons is a “demanding environment,” the company received over 600,000 job applications in 2025, a figure likely to climb with its increasing visibility.

Beyond hiring, Bending Spoons is also reportedly interviewing banks for a potential IPO on the NYSE. In November 2025, Luca Ferrari told Reuters that should the company decide to go public, it would likely list in the U.S., where tech companies often achieve higher valuations.

This story was originally published in October 2025 and is updated periodically with new information.