Bending Spoons: The Italian “Software Surgeon” That Revives Old Internet Brands — and Just Had a Massive IPO

In one of the more unusual tech IPO stories of 2026, Italian company Bending Spoons successfully listed on Nasdaq, raising $1.68 billion at a $29 per share price.

On the first day of trading, shares surged around 40% to approximately $40.50, pushing the company’s market capitalization to roughly $25.7 billion (per recent market data).

The company has quietly built a portfolio of well-known but often struggling digital brands — including Vimeo, Evernote, AOL, WeTransfer, Eventbrite, Meetup, and dozens of others — by acquiring them at what it sees as undervalued prices and then aggressively optimizing them for profitability.

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The “Serial Acquirer + Deep Transformation” Playbook

Founded in 2013 in Copenhagen (later headquartered in Milan) by Luca Ferrari and a small group of co-founders with just $40,000 from a previous failed startup, Bending Spoons started modestly by buying small mobile apps. Over time, it evolved into what Ferrari describes as roughly 25% private equity and 75% technology company.

The strategy is consistent:

• Identify established digital businesses with real product-market fit but significant inefficiencies or untapped potential.
• Acquire them outright (not minority stakes).
• Fully integrate them into Bending Spoons’ platform.
• Rebuild large parts of the codebase (often using AI tools and modern stacks like Python/FastAPI/TypeScript).
• Aggressively cut costs — frequently through substantial layoffs (sometimes 50-90% of staff in acquired companies).
• Redesign user experience, add features, rethink monetization (often shifting toward higher-margin enterprise or subscription models).
• Hold and operate the assets long-term rather than flipping them.

The company now manages a portfolio serving over 500 million monthly active users across more than 50 businesses. It has developed proprietary technologies, data advantages, and a high-talent-density culture focused on operational excellence and scientific decision-making.

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Notable Revivals in the Portfolio

• Evernote (acquired 2022): One of the most high-profile turnarounds. The once-iconic note-taking app was streamlined, AI features were added, pricing was adjusted, and profitability improved significantly.
• Vimeo (acquired in 2025 for $1.38 billion): Bending Spoons has pushed the video platform toward enterprise and business use cases, with multiple rounds of cost-cutting and a shift away from some creator-focused offerings.
• AOL: Acquired more recently; the company sees substantial room for modernization and efficiency gains in the legacy internet brand.
• WeTransfer, Eventbrite, Meetup, and others: Similar patterns of operational overhaul and monetization optimization.

Critics have pointed to the human cost of these transformations — mass layoffs and shifts in product focus (e.g., away from independent creators toward paid enterprise tools) — arguing that the “revival” sometimes comes at the expense of the original community or ethos of the brands.

Strong Financial Momentum Heading into IPO

Bending Spoons has shown improving profitability alongside its acquisition spree. Recent quarters have featured strong revenue growth and high adjusted operating margins (reportedly around 50%+ in some periods). The company raised significant private capital before the IPO, including a $710 million round in late 2025 that valued it at around $11 billion, plus substantial debt facilities to fuel further deals.

The IPO — led by Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Allen & Company — priced above the marketed range and delivered a strong debut.

Proceeds will support the company’s aggressive acquisition pipeline; Ferrari has previously indicated the firm could deploy up to $2 billion on new deals.

Also read:

• Vimeo's Third Wave of Layoffs: The End of an Era for Independent Creators as Bending Spoons Tightens Grip
• Ponder AI Raises $2.5M and Delivers the Masterclass in AI Product Launch Videos
• The Real Crisis Brewing in Agentic E-Commerce
• How to Become a Trillionaire Thanks to a Massive Blunder from 20 Years Ago

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A New Kind of Tech Conglomerate?

Bending Spoons represents an interesting hybrid model: part serial acquirer in the spirit of traditional private equity, part operating company that deeply integrates and rebuilds technology assets at scale. In an era when many legacy internet companies struggle with bloated costs or outdated tech stacks, the firm bets it can systematically unlock value that previous owners could not.

Whether this approach scales successfully as a public company remains to be seen. Public markets will now scrutinize not just acquisition volume and cost-cutting, but also sustainable revenue growth, user retention after changes, and the ability to keep innovating across a growing portfolio.

For now, the strong IPO debut and post-listing pop signal that investors are intrigued by Bending Spoons’ track record of turning around distressed digital assets — and by the prospect of more “resurrections” of familiar internet brands in the years ahead.

The company that started with pocket change and small app acquisitions has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar public player with a very specific thesis: many old internet companies still have life left in them — if you’re willing to operate them with extreme efficiency and modern technology.