The four cofounders of Bending Spoons have become billionaires this week.
Reportedly, CEO Luca Ferrari’s share in the tech firm headquartered in Milan is now worth $1.4 billion. Forbes estimates, relying on shareholder data from the Italian Business Register, suggest cofounders Matteo Danieli, Luca Querella, and Francesco Patarnello each possess stakes valued at $1.3 billion.
These valuations follow Bending Spoons’ recent funding round: $270 million from investors like T. Rowe Price and earlier backers Baillie Gifford, Cox Enterprises, Durable Capital Partners, and Fidelity, plus a $440 million secondary share sale by current shareholders. It’s uncertain if any cofounders sold shares in the secondary transaction. Bending Spoons has not commented on its cofounders’ equity.
Despite its memorable name, Bending Spoons has largely flown under the radar. The 12-year-old business typically gains attention only when adding a well-known brand to its expanding portfolio — most recently this week, when it agreed to purchase AOL. for an undisclosed sum.
However, Bending Spoons is not a typical private equity firm or a purely financial investment entity. Its aim is to buy underperforming yet popular tech brands, and then revamp them to more efficiently serve millions of users.
The company often makes the news when it restructures the companies it acquires, frequently through substantial layoffs, or when it makes controversial alterations to beloved products — as seen in the cases of Evernote and WeTransfer.
Even with a product roster serving over a billion individuals, 300 million monthly active users, and 10 million paying subscribers, Bending Spoons remains relatively unknown. Here’s what you should know about the company reshaping some of the internet’s most recognizable brands.
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What is Bending Spoons?
Bending Spoons presents itself as a company that acquires and transforms digital businesses. With a team of 400 to 500 “Spooners,” it primarily focuses on improving existing products and services.
Yet, this wasn’t always the approach; Bending Spoons’ founders initially attempted to create their own apps and products before changing direction.
The lesser-known origin story reveals that Bending Spoons arose from the ashes of Evertale, a Copenhagen-based startup that participated in Disrupt SF 2011’s Startup Alley and secured seed funding for its photo sharing app, Wink.
Evertale failed shortly thereafter, giving investors a way out, but its founders and a few employees continued to collaborate, starting with internal apps. Before long, the team executed its first acquisition, followed by many more, according to CEO and cofounder Luca Ferrari on the 20VC podcast in a rare interview.
In 2020, Bending Spoons deviated from its norm to create and donate Immuni, Italy’s official COVID-19 contact tracing app. Otherwise, it has largely been refining its model: Bending Spoons pinpoints a successful product it believes it can enhance from within and without, and acquires it from owners who have reached their limits.
Post-acquisition, Bending Spoons acts as a very active owner, modifying the products’ user experience and features, as well as the technology underpinning them, and, notably to outsiders, the monetization strategy — including pricing — and team structure — including staffing levels.
While this emphasis on efficiency and revenue aligns with private equity tactics, Bending Spoons asserts a crucial difference: it “intends to hold indefinitely and has never divested an acquired business.” It aims to maintain a vibrant portfolio, rather than amassing internet relics or managing a tech graveyard.
To clarify, Bending Spoons’ acquisition targets thus far haven’t necessarily been failing enterprises — many still boasted sizable user bases and revenues. However, they’ve often been static, overlooked, or had owners seeking to exit. Let’s review these significant deals and what transpired afterward.
What companies has Bending Spoons acquired?
Although Bending Spoons acquired several companies between 2014 and 2021, including AI photo enhancer Remini, its most prominent acquisitions have occurred more recently.
In 2022, it acquired Filmic, recognized for its well-known video and photo editing apps, and laid off the entire staff in December 2023.
Also announced in 2022 and completed in early 2023, Bending Spoons also acquired Evernote, the note-taking app that reportedly achieved a $1 billion valuation before experiencing difficulties. Following the acquisition, layoffs occurred, and Evernote’s free offering was reduced.
The first half of 2024 was particularly busy, marked by the acquisition of Meetup, app maker Mosaic Group, and Hopin’s StreamYard.
In July 2024, it proceeded to acquire the publishing platform Issuu and the file transfer service WeTransfer, where it subsequently reduced staff and modified the free plan, introducing tighter limitations. Later that year, Bending Spoons revealed its plan to spend $233 million on an all-cash take-private transaction to acquire video platform Brightcove.
The acquisitions have persisted at a rapid pace in 2025, including the acquisitions of the outdoors route planner Komoot and management software creator Harvest.
Bending Spoons also disclosed its intent to acquire Vimeo in a $1.38 billion all-cash transaction, and even more recently, to acquire AOL from Yahoo. (Disclosure: AOL and Yahoo both formerly owned TechCrunch, in which Yahoo still has a minor stake.)
Bending Spoons anticipates that the AOL and Vimeo acquisitions will be finalized by year-end, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including, for Vimeo, stockholder approval.
How much is Bending Spoons worth?
As of the conclusion of October 2025, Bending Spoons stands as one of Europe’s few tech decacorns (companies valued above $10 billion). The startup was last valued at $2.8 billion in 2024, making its most recent round a considerable advancement.
Despite being bootstrapped for a long time, Bending Spoons had previously completed several equity financing rounds, including in September 2022 and early 2024. Its cap table also features notable figures, including tennis and entertainment icons Andre Agassi and Bradley Cooper; tech leaders Eric Schmidt, Mike Krieger, and Xavier Niel; and artists The Weeknd, The Chainsmokers, and Maluma.
According to Bending Spoons, the new funding will bolster upcoming acquisitions and investments in its exclusive technology and AI capabilities. This is in addition to the $2.8 billion in debt financing the company announced alongside its plan to acquire AOL, which will finance the AOL deal and subsequent acquisitions.
What’s next?
Bending Spoons expresses its intention to continue seeking new acquisitions that broaden its range of consumer and enterprise digital products, and it now has the funding to pursue more prominent targets in the future.
Even if deal terms remain confidential, AOL and Vimeo already possess greater name recognition than previous targets. These properties also enjoy a substantial reach. When announcing the AOL deal, Bending Spoons stated that AOL is still among the top 10 most-used email providers globally, with 8 million daily active users and 30 million monthly active users. (Shortly before acquiring AOL, Bending Spoons was also rumored to be considering app maker Elysium and Typeform, the Barcelona-based SaaS company known for its form creation tools.)
Evidently to support its ongoing acquisition efforts, Bending Spoons also has openings across multiple roles, with new hires initially based at its Milan headquarters before having the option to work from offices in London, Madrid, and Warsaw, or remotely.
In fact, despite cautioning candidates that Bending Spoons presents a “demanding environment,” the company reports receiving more than 600,000 job applications in 2025, a number that is likely to increase as its recent deals attract more attention.
