Bending Spoons

What is Bending Spoons?

Bending Spoons is a Milan-based technology company that acquires and operates established digital products and apps. It began in 2013 as a mobile app developer, building consumer apps such as Splice, Remini, and 30 Day Fitness, and then pivoted into a distinctive model: buying mature digital businesses, keeping the brands, and running them itself, using engineering, AI, and operational and pricing changes to make them more profitable. Its portfolio has grown to include well-known products such as Evernote, WeTransfer, Vimeo, Meetup, Brightcove, Komoot, Issuu, StreamYard, and AOL, among others. It was founded in 2013 by four Italian engineers who met studying abroad, Luca Ferrari (now CEO), Matteo Danieli, Francesco Patarnello, and Luca Querella, and later relocated to Milan. Its approach resembles private equity in that it consolidates and restructures what it buys, but it holds the brands long-term rather than reselling them; that has often meant layoffs and price increases at acquired companies, which has drawn criticism alongside its strong financial growth. Revenue roughly doubled to about $1.3 billion in 2025, and in July 2026 Bending Spoons listed on the Nasdaq, raising around $1.68 billion at a valuation near $18.4 billion, after earlier private rounds. For job seekers, the location picture is more open than its Milan reputation suggests. Per its own careers FAQ, Bending Spoons does not require on-site work unless a job explicitly says so, and it lets people work remotely from a defined list of countries: all EU countries plus the UK, the US, and several others such as Norway, Iceland, Serbia, Ukraine, and Israel. It does encourage regular in-person time at its Milan office, especially in the first year, and finances that travel and accommodation, and for those who want to move it offers visa sponsorship and relocation support for its hubs in Italy, Poland, Spain, or the UK.

Mission & values

Acquire, operate, and improve widely loved digital products for the long term, applying technology, AI, and operational rigor to make them better and more successful.

Qualifications

Bending Spoons is known for hiring a small number of highly selective, high-caliber people across software engineering, machine learning and AI, data science and analytics, product, design, marketing and growth, business and operations, finance, legal, and people functions. Its hiring bar is famously high, with a rigorous, multi-stage process and strong emphasis on general problem-solving ability and academic and analytical strength, not only domain experience. Application flow lives at bendingspoons.com/careers. On location, Bending Spoons is more flexible than its Milan reputation suggests. Per its careers FAQ, it does not require on-site work unless a posting explicitly says so, and it supports remote work from a defined set of countries: all EU countries plus the UK, the US, and several others (for example Norway, Iceland, Serbia, Ukraine, and Israel). It still encourages regular in-person time at the Milan office, particularly in the first year, and finances that travel and accommodation. For people who want to relocate, it can sponsor visas or residency permits for Italy, Poland, Spain, or the UK (subject to your country of residence) and provides a substantial relocation package. Some acquired brands have their own teams and arrangements, though Bending Spoons often consolidates operations after an acquisition. Check each posting for its specific location and remote terms.

Leadership

Hiring process

1. 1

   Apply at bendingspoons.com careers

   Browse engineering, ML/AI, product, design, marketing, and business roles and submit through the Bending Spoons careers site. On-site is not required unless a posting explicitly says so; one application at a time.

2. 2

   Online assessments

   Bending Spoons is known for a rigorous, multi-stage process that often begins with problem-solving, analytical, and role-specific assessments testing general problem-solving ability rather than experience alone.

   About 7 days

3. 3

   Technical or role-specific interviews

   Engineering/ML: coding, algorithms, and system or model design. Product/business: case and analytical interviews. Design: portfolio and exercises.

   About 14 days

4. 4

   Final interviews

   Deeper interviews with the team and leadership on depth, ownership, and fit. The whole process runs online and can take a few weeks to a few months.

   About 10 days

5. 5

   Offer and onboarding

   Offer in EUR. Work remotely from an eligible country, or relocate to a Bending Spoons hub (Italy, Poland, Spain, or the UK) with visa sponsorship and relocation support where applicable.

   About 7 days

Funding

Awards & recognition

• Listed on the Nasdaq at a valuation near $18.4B · 2026

  Bending Spoons

• Revenue roughly doubled to ~$1.3B, driven by its acquire-and-operate model · 2025

  Bending Spoons

Company information

• Industry: Technology / Digital Products / App Acquirer-Operator
• Location: Milan HQ, Italy (remote-eligible from all EU, UK, US & more; office visits encouraged)
• Founded: 2013
• Company size: 1000+
• Website: bendingspoons.com ↗
• LinkedIn: Company page ↗

Frequently asked questions