Bending Spoons Wins $900M Berkshire Backing

Berkshire Hathaway has invested more than $900 million in Bending Spoons, including a $330 million stake disclosed Wednesday. The Milan-based company is using the backing to expand its strategy of acquiring established software products, including businesses their previous owners have struggled to grow. The investment gives the plan a high-profile endorsement as artificial intelligence reshapes the market for subscription software.

Berkshire backs a software-focused holding company

Bending Spoons describes Berkshire as a “longstanding inspiration” for its approach. Berkshire’s investment includes a $330 million stake, and its total investment in the company now exceeds $900 million. Bending Spoons’ shares rose 41% after the news, although some of the gains later faded; the company’s market value stood at about $30 billion.

The company went public on June 30, raising about $1.7 billion at $29 a share, and began trading on Nasdaq the following day. Its stock closed Friday at $47.07. Analysts at Mizuho described Berkshire’s additional investment, made only months after the IPO, as a vote of confidence in Bending Spoons’ model.

Buying products that have lost their shine

Bending Spoons’ acquisitions include Evernote, which it bought in 2022, Brightcove in 2024, and Vimeo, AOL and Eventbrite in 2025. The company has also moved into enterprise software: in August it announced a purchase of workflow software provider Airtable for about $1.3 billion, nearly 90% below the company’s peak valuation in late 2021.

Last month, Bending Spoons agreed to buy collaboration software company Miro for $1.36 billion. Miro had once been valued at $17.5 billion. These deals illustrate the gap between past private-company valuations and what buyers are willing to pay now, as investors reassess software businesses in a market increasingly shaped by AI.

A different playbook from private equity

Traditional software buyouts by firms such as Thoma Bravo and Vista Equity Partners have often aimed to improve efficiency, cut costs and combine businesses before selling them or taking them public. Bending Spoons says it is not pursuing eventual exits as its central goal: it wants to generate profits from the companies it owns, while making hands-on changes to software, operations and staffing.

That approach has drawn attention as financing and public listings have become harder to secure for many software companies. Former Gainsight CEO Nick Mehta said private-equity firms have been constrained after paying high prices and accumulating troubled businesses. Mizuho analyst Lloyd Walmsley has also distinguished Bending Spoons’ willingness to make substantial product changes from the more conventional buyout model.

AI pressure and the cost of a turnaround

The acquisition strategy is taking shape as generative AI puts pressure on software companies whose products were built before the current wave of AI tools. Intuit, HubSpot and Adobe shares are each down at least 30% this year, while private software businesses that were once popular with venture investors are finding it harder to raise money or pursue an IPO.

That repricing can mean opportunities for buyers, but it can also bring difficult changes for staff and customers. Bending Spoons said Monday that a large portion of Airtable’s pre-acquisition team would leave with substantial separation packages. Layoffs have also been implemented at Evernote, Vimeo and WeTransfer, showing that acquiring a product does not necessarily mean retaining its existing workforce.

Customers may face higher prices

Evernote’s pricing illustrates the trade-off for users. In April 2023, months after Bending Spoons acquired the note-taking service, it raised the annual personal subscription price from $70 to $130. Later, it introduced a $100 Starter plan and a $250 Evernote Advanced plan, replacing a Pro plan that had cost $170.

Those changes can help an owner seek stronger revenue from an established product, but they may prompt customers to consider alternatives. Walmsley said his first reaction to the Evernote increase was that he might switch to Microsoft’s OneNote. For Bending Spoons, Berkshire’s backing supports an ambitious acquisition strategy; for users, the test will be whether renewed investment in familiar software justifies the price and product changes.

Takeaway: Berkshire’s investment strengthens Bending Spoons’ push to buy and operate software businesses, but its Airtable workforce cuts and Evernote price increases show the consequences can reach beyond the balance sheet.