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Tech Giant's IPO Soars, Then Wobbles
5 Jul
Summary
- Bending Spoons' Nasdaq IPO briefly valued it over $25 billion.
- The company holds acquired brands, improving them with tech.
- Portfolio serves over 500 million monthly active users.
Bending Spoons, a Milan-based technology conglomerate, recently experienced a notable public debut on the Nasdaq, with its market capitalization briefly surpassing $25 billion. Although the stock has seen a slight decline since its initial surge, its current valuation remains double its previous private assessment of $11 billion. This sustained investor interest highlights confidence in its distinctive business model. The company's strategy centers on acquiring digital brands, such as Meetup, Eventbrite, and WeTransfer, and retaining them. Bending Spoons focuses on improving these brands' financial performance through technological advancements, including AI, though this has sometimes involved price increases and staff reductions.
Matteo Danieli, co-founder and chief product officer, acknowledged user affection for some acquired products but stated that customer retention has remained stable post-acquisition. The company's own user base has expanded considerably over its 13-year history, reaching over 500 million monthly active users and more than 9 million paying customers as of March 2026. This growth counters narratives that Bending Spoons targets underperforming companies. Instead, it focuses on integrating products with established user behavior into a unified system of product, engineering, data, and AI.
Originally born from the defunct startup Evertale, Bending Spoons evolved from in-house app development to a series of strategic acquisitions. The company, which largely remained bootstrapped, eventually secured equity financing in recent years and attracted notable investors. Post-acquisition, Bending Spoons actively reworks user experience, technology, monetization strategies, and organizational structures, differing from private equity by its commitment to holding acquired businesses indefinitely. This approach has led to the acquisition of significant platforms like Filmic, Evernote, Meetup, and WeTransfer, among others, with ongoing efforts to transform these entities.
