Bending Spoons, the Italian company behind the revival of Evernote, Meetup, and Vimeo, went public on the Nasdaq on Monday at an $18 billion valuation, with shares surging 40% by market close. The milestone marks a rare moment for European tech: a 13-year-old Milan-based acquirer proving that a disciplined, data-driven approach can turn around aging internet brands.
An Anti-Luck Philosophy Born From Failure
Before Bending Spoons existed, its founders — Luca Ferrari, Francesco Patarnello, Luca Querella, and Matteo Danieli — launched a startup called Evertale. It was an AI-powered diary app that automatically logged users’ lives. It failed. But that failure taught them something critical.
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“It sparked a reflection around the fact that you don’t always find perfect correlation between how talented entrepreneurs are and the success they have, especially from zero to one. Luck is a very big component of that equation,” Danieli told TechCrunch. “So we developed an obsession for finding a strategy that would, as much as possible, reduce the role that luck plays in growth and success.”
That philosophy is embedded in Bending Spoons’ SEC filing, which includes lines like “Luck plays a big role in finding product-market fit” and “luck is irrelevant when pursuing operational excellence.” The company’s tagline, “Impossible. Maybe,” reflects the same mindset.
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How the Playbook Works: Data, Pricing, and AI
Bending Spoons applies what looks like a private equity playbook — acquire distressed brands, cut costs, and improve technology — but with a long-term holding strategy. Danieli says the company uses “sophisticated data tracking, analytics infrastructure and experimentation toolkit” to make decisions on pricing and features.
That approach sometimes leads to price increases that frustrate long-time users. But Danieli says customer retention has been “remarkably stable.” The company also releases more features for free to drive word of mouth, a counterintuitive move in an era of subscription fatigue.
AI has accelerated the turnaround. “In the past year and a half, we’ve witnessed an incredible acceleration in the pace at which we were able to ship new features and create value for users,” Danieli said. Revenue per full-time employee jumped from $1.12 million in 2023 to $2.57 million in 2025, according to the company’s SEC filing, a leap the company attributes partly to AI.
Evernote: The Most Scrutinized Acquisition
Evernote was the first product Bending Spoons acquired that had a genuinely passionate user base. “We had very strict judges,” Danieli recalled. The company’s v11 update, which leaned heavily on AI features, eventually won over skeptics — including Evernote co-founder Phil Libin, who publicly praised the changes.
Despite the controversy around layoffs, Danieli says the Evernote turnaround is the one he’s most proud of. The company has continued to acquire: Meetup, Eventbrite, Vimeo, WeTransfer, and others followed.
From VC Skepticism to a Nasdaq Bell
Early on, venture capitalists struggled to understand Bending Spoons’ model. “We’ve got a lot of ‘you’re crazy’ reactions throughout the years,” Danieli said. The company was valued at $11 billion in a private equity round before its IPO, with a cap table that included both VC firms and high-profile names from tech and entertainment.
The IPO itself was unusual: Bending Spoons flew its entire workforce to New York to celebrate. “It’s one more tool for us to access the liquidity that we need to fuel our acquisitive strategy, but we also thought that for one day it would be the right thing to take it all in and enjoy the moment with all our colleagues,” Danieli said.
After that day, the company will return to buying. “From a buyer’s perspective and as a company that grows through acquisitions, that’s actually a great opportunity and moment to deploy capital,” he said, pointing to slashed SaaS valuations in the current market.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Bending Spoons and what companies does it own?
Bending Spoons is a 13-year-old Italian company headquartered in Milan that acquires and revitalizes aging internet brands. Its portfolio includes Evernote, Meetup, Eventbrite, Vimeo, and WeTransfer.
How did Bending Spoons achieve such high revenue per employee?
According to its SEC filing, revenue per full-time employee rose from $1.12 million in 2023 to $2.57 million in 2025, driven partly by AI-powered feature development and a data-driven approach to pricing and product improvements.
Why did Bending Spoons choose to go public on the Nasdaq?
The IPO provides liquidity to fuel its acquisitive strategy. Co-founder Matteo Danieli noted that slashed SaaS valuations present a great opportunity to deploy capital and acquire more companies.
What was the controversy around Bending Spoons’ acquisitions?
The company has faced criticism over layoffs following its acquisitions, particularly at Evernote. However, Danieli says customer retention remained stable despite price increases, and the Evernote v11 update won praise from users and even co-founder Phil Libin.
