According to TechCrunch, Bending Spoons’ four cofounders have joined the billionaire ranks following a $270 million funding round and $440 million secondary share sale. CEO Luca Ferrari’s stake is reportedly worth $1.4 billion while cofounders Matteo Danieli, Luca Querella, and Francesco Patarnello each hold $1.3 billion stakes. The Milan-based tech conglomerate, now valued over $10 billion, recently agreed to acquire AOL for an undisclosed amount and announced a $1.38 billion all-cash deal for Vimeo. The 12-year-old company has built a portfolio serving over 300 million monthly active users and 10 million paying customers through its strategy of acquiring underperforming but popular tech brands like Evernote, Filmic, and WeTransfer. This rapid expansion raises important questions about the future of digital nostalgia brands under new ownership.
Table of Contents
The Unconventional Acquisition Playbook
What makes Bending Spoons particularly interesting isn’t just their acquisition spree, but their operational philosophy that sits somewhere between traditional private equity and tech incubator. Unlike typical financial buyers who might flip companies after cost-cutting, Bending Spoons claims they “aim to hold forever” according to their corporate messaging. This creates a fundamentally different incentive structure – they’re not optimizing for quick exits but for sustainable transformation of digital products that have lost their way.
The company’s approach represents a new model in the tech consolidation space. While private equity firms often focus on financial engineering and operational efficiency, Bending Spoons appears to be building what could be described as a “digital product renewal engine.” They’re targeting brands that still have significant user loyalty and recognition but have stagnated technically or commercially. This is evident in their recent acquisition of komoot and other outdoor planning tools alongside enterprise software.
The Restructuring Reality
Bending Spoons’ operational changes following acquisitions have been anything but subtle. The complete staff layoffs at Filmic and significant cuts at Evernote demonstrate a ruthless efficiency focus that contrasts sharply with the company’s low public profile. This pattern suggests they believe many of these acquired companies have become bloated or lost their product-market fit despite maintaining user bases.
The critical question for users of Evernote and other acquired platforms is whether this efficiency comes at the cost of innovation. When a company lays off the entire development team, as happened with Filmic, the long-term product roadmap becomes uncertain. While Bending Spoons may improve monetization and streamline operations, they risk losing the creative talent that made these products special in the first place.
Funding the Ambition
The financial engineering behind this expansion is equally impressive. With $2.8 billion in debt financing disclosed alongside the AOL acquisition announcement and their latest equity round, Bending Spoons has assembled a war chest that rivals much more established players. Their investor roster reads like a who’s who of both tech and entertainment, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Instagram cofounder Mike Krieger, and celebrities like The Weeknd and Bradley Cooper.
This diverse shareholder base suggests Bending Spoons is positioning itself as more than just another tech company. They’re building bridges between Silicon Valley, European tech, and mainstream entertainment – a strategy that could prove valuable as they acquire consumer-facing brands like AOL that still have cultural relevance despite their diminished commercial stature.
The Talent Magnet Phenomenon
Perhaps the most surprising revelation is that this relatively unknown company received over 600,000 job applications in 2025 despite describing itself as a “demanding environment.” This suggests Bending Spoons has cultivated a reputation within tech circles as a place where ambitious professionals can work on scaling well-known products without the bureaucracy of larger tech giants.
The company’s geographic strategy is also noteworthy. While headquartered in Milan, they’re expanding to London, Madrid, and Warsaw offices, positioning themselves as a pan-European tech leader at a time when European tech is hungry for success stories. Their ability to attract top talent could become their most sustainable competitive advantage as they take on more complex integrations.
The Road Ahead: Integration Challenges
The real test for Bending Spoons will come as they attempt to integrate vastly different companies like Vimeo, AOL, and komoot into a cohesive portfolio. Each of these serves different markets with different user expectations and technical challenges. The acquisition of Mosaic Group assets shows they’re comfortable managing diverse product categories, but the scale is now increasing dramatically.
Another critical challenge will be regulatory scrutiny. As Bending Spoons grows larger and acquires more prominent companies, they’ll inevitably attract more attention from competition authorities, particularly in Europe where tech regulation is becoming increasingly assertive. Their claim that AOL remains a top-10 email provider with 8 million daily users means they’re now playing in markets with significant consumer protection implications.
The company’s future likely depends on whether they can prove that their transformation model creates sustainable value rather than just extracting it. If they can genuinely revitalize these nostalgic tech brands while maintaining their core value propositions, they might establish a new blueprint for tech consolidation. If not, they risk becoming just another corporate graveyard for internet relics.
