Bending Spoons

Europe's leading consumer app acquirer; emerging digital media and AdTech player via AOL ownership

Bending Spoons is a Milan-based technology company founded in 2013 that has grown into one of Europe's most prominent consumer app acquirers and operators. The company's strategy centers on acquiring established but underperforming digital products, applying aggressive operational efficiency and AI-driven optimization, and scaling them to profitability. Its portfolio spans productivity, social networking, video production, and legacy internet brands. The company made headlines with a series of high-profile acquisitions including Evernote (2022), Meetup (2023), Filmic Pro, and StreamYard. Its most significant deal to date was the acquisition of AOL from Yahoo, signed in October 2025 and closed in January 2026 for approximately $1.5 billion — bringing a storied internet brand and its associated advertising and media assets under Bending Spoons' ownership. This acquisition significantly elevated Bending Spoons' presence in the digital advertising and media ecosystem. In the AdTech context, the AOL acquisition is particularly significant as AOL carries legacy ad tech infrastructure, programmatic advertising capabilities, and media properties. Bending Spoons' ownership positions it as an emerging player in digital advertising, though its primary identity remains that of a consumer software operator rather than a pure-play AdTech company. The company is privately held and has raised substantial venture and growth capital to fund its acquisition-led growth strategy.