What is Bending Spoons? The AOL and Vimeo owner now public
If you're asking what Bending Spoons the little-known company behind AOL and Vimeo actually is, here's the answer: it's a Milan-based tech conglomerate that went public on the Nasdaq in July 2026, briefly surpassing a $25 billion market cap. Its portfolio has served more than a billion people through brands including Evernote, Meetup, Eventbrite, and WeTransfer.
Key Takeaways
- Bending Spoons listed on Nasdaq in July 2026 after a first-day surge that briefly valued it above $25 billion.
- The Italian company buys popular digital brands and runs them with a private-equity-style focus on AI, efficiency, and monetization.
- Its March 2026 filing reported 500 million monthly active users, 9 million paying customers, and $1.31 billion in 2025 revenue.
- Recent purchases include Vimeo ($1.38B), AOL, and Eventbrite ($500M), with layoffs often following acquisitions.
Why Does Bending Spoons Matter Now?
Bending Spoons made headlines when it took AOL and Vimeo under one roof and rang the Nasdaq bell on July 1, 2026. The stock popped on day one, then eased, but its market cap remained roughly double the $11 billion private valuation it carried before the IPO.
That investor appetite lands amid a broader tech frenzy. As AI startups mint unicorns at a record pace, Bending Spoons offers a different model: buy established internet brands, cut costs, and scale them through centralized engineering and AI tools. For more on how software consolidation is reshaping tech, see our Future Tech & AI Wonders coverage.
What Is Bending Spoons' Acquisition Playbook?
Bending Spoons applies a playbook that resembles private equity but with a key difference: it aims to hold brands forever and has never sold an acquired business. After each deal, it reworks user experience, underlying tech, pricing, and headcount.
The approach has drawn controversy over layoffs and price hikes at Evernote, WeTransfer, Vimeo, and Filmic. Co-founder Matteo Danieli told TechCrunch that scrutiny partly reflects how much users loved products like Evernote, yet customer retention has stayed remarkably stable.
How Big Has Bending Spoons Grown?
Founded 13 years ago from the ashes of a failed Copenhagen startup called Evertale, Bending Spoons stayed bootstrapped for years before raising equity in 2022, 2024, and 2025. Pre-IPO backers included Eric Schmidt, Mike Krieger, and Xavier Niel.
By March 2026, its portfolio served over 500 million monthly active users and more than 9 million paying customers, according to its SEC filing. The company reported $1.31 billion in 2025 revenue, with revenue per full-time Spooner rising from $1.12 million in 2023 to $2.57 million in 2025 as AI boosted productivity.
What's Next for Bending Spoons?
Four co-founders still control more than 80% of voting power after the IPO. Bending Spoons says AOL, Eventbrite, and Vimeo integrations will leave only a few hundred workers from thousands added through those deals by late 2026.
Meanwhile, CEO Luca Ferrari wrote that the company has identified more than 1,000 potential acquisition targets worth nearly $400 billion in combined 2025 revenue. In a market where many SaaS firms struggle, Bending Spoons expects that uncertainty to create buying opportunities, and that AI will let it transform each brand with fewer people than before.