The recognitions keep rolling in.

With stellar funding, a top workplace, and the title of Italian unicorn, the success of Milan-based Bending Spoons seems unstoppable. Founded in 2013, this company quickly became a global leader in the highly competitive field of smartphone app development and marketing. Today, it’s the top app developer in Europe, and following its latest investment round, its valuation has soared to $2.55 billion. Yes, you read that right.

The story

Four young Italians in Copenhagen: Luca Ferrari, Francesco Patarnello, Luca Ferrari, Matteo Danieli, and Luca Quarella, along with their friend Thomas Greber. It was in Copenhagen that Bending Spoons, named after a famous scene from “The Matrix” was born. Unlike other Italian companies that moved abroad, Bending Spoons relocated to Milan shortly after its founding in 2013. It quickly became clear that this company was a unique player in the Italian digital landscape. From video and photo editing apps to fitness apps, every release was a hit. In 2020, Bending Spoons was tasked by the Italian Ministry of Health to develop a contact-tracing app during the Covid-19 pandemic. The result was Immuni, an app that made Bending Spoons famous across generations.

Growth through acquisitions

Starting in 2022, Bending Spoons shifted its growth strategy from purely organic to making several acquisitions: in 2022, it acquired FiLMiC, known for its video editing app, and in 2023, it bought Evernote, one of the most famous note-taking and organization apps. This was followed by the 2024 acquisitions of Mosaic Group, MeetUp, and Hopin, the latter known for the live-streaming platform StreamYard, which joined the Bending Spoons family in April.

2023 Results and future prospects

Meanwhile, the company published its 2023 financial statements, revealing the impact of its strategy. Since switching from regular to consolidated financial statements in 2022 due to numerous acquisitions, the company’s revenue has grown exponentially: from 109 million € in 2021 to 361 million € in 2023, a 138% increase year-over-year. This growth is reflected in the EBITDA margin, which reached 93 million €.

Similarly, the company’s net equity is solid, ensuring a balanced financial position with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, well below the risk threshold of 3, and a net financial position to EBITDA ratio of 1.05. With EBITDA hitting 200 million € in 2023, the company aims for 500 million € by 2026.

In 2022, Bending Spoons saw a loss of 23 million €, partly due to acquisitions, but in 2023, the group achieved a profit of 22.75 million €, with a ROE of 28%. This new acquisition strategy is evident from the growth of fixed assets, leading to increased amortization expenses.

Generous funding rounds over the years have increased gross financial debt, which includes short, medium, and long-term financial debts, and consequently, the interest expense on debt has risen. Financial income has also grown significantly, partly due to stakes in other companies.

Although not evident from the financial statements so far, reports from February this year indicate a new funding round of 155 million $, raising the company’s valuation to 2.55 billion $.

Conclusion

Since its founding in 2013, Bending Spoons has shown impressive growth, with 140 employees and 500 million app downloads worldwide, reaching 90 million active users every month. It has established itself as a global leader in smartphone app development and marketing and as one of Europe’s top tech companies, capable of competing with industry giants. This success is partly due to its strong technological focus: nearly three-quarters of Bending Spoons’ employees are highly skilled technical experts, which has helped improve efficiency and profit margins over time.

While its products are primarily geared towards the creator economy -the world of content creators for social media and apps, including influencers, enthusiasts in specific fields, and regular people who create and publish content online- its acquisition strategy shows a clear intent to diversify massively in the digital market, aiming to reach an ever-wider audience. 

Will we see it grow even more, “to infinity and beyond?” We'll expect anything, since their motto is “Impossible. Maybe.”