Software Workers Cut as Acquisition Profits Surge

Bending Spoons reported $177 million in net income as revenue more than doubled, with acquisitions driving almost all of the growth. The company also said a large portion of Airtable’s pre-acquisition team would leave with substantial separation packages.

Acquisitions and Returns

The Milan-based company reported more than $700 million in revenue in its first earnings report as a public company in August. Net income rose 171% to $177 million. Those figures came before the Airtable acquisition closed and before the company announced its plan to buy Miro.

In August, Bending Spoons announced it would acquire workflow software provider Airtable for about $1.3 billion, nearly 90% below Airtable’s late-2021 peak valuation. On Monday, the company said a “large portion of the pre-acquisition team” would leave with “substantial separation packages.” It has also implemented layoffs at Evernote, Vimeo, WeTransfer and other companies in its portfolio.

Last month, Bending Spoons agreed to buy collaboration software vendor Miro for $1.36 billion. Miro once carried a $17.5 billion valuation. Berkshire Hathaway has invested more than $900 million in Bending Spoons, including another $330 million in a stake disclosed Wednesday. Bending Spoons’ shares rose 41% after the announcement, though some gains later receded, and the company’s market capitalization stood at about $30 billion.

The company launched in 2013 and owns older internet brands including AOL, Vimeo, Eventbrite and Evernote. Its founders—CEO Luca Ferrari, Matteo Danieli and Francesco Patarnello—used the $40,000 they had left after their mobile app Evertale failed to build an operating company rather than “products nobody wanted,” according to the IPO prospectus.

Prices, Teams and the SaaS Downturn

Bending Spoons says it aims to generate profits from acquired businesses rather than pursue an eventual exit. It focuses on technology and makes hands-on changes to software, operations and personnel. Private equity firms such as Thoma Bravo and Vista Equity Partners have sought to buy undervalued software-as-a-service companies, cut costs and improve efficiency before selling or taking them public. Bending Spoons, by contrast, says it plans to keep generating profits from its businesses.

Months after buying Evernote, the company raised the annual personal subscription price from $70 to $130 in April 2023. It later charged $100 for its starter plan and $250 for Evernote Advanced, compared with $170 for the former pro plan. Mizuho analyst Lloyd Walmsley said switching costs were high and that he stayed with Evernote despite initially thinking, “Oh man, I guess I have to switch to OneNote.”

Former Gainsight CEO Nick Mehta said “Bending Spooned” had become a Silicon Valley verb for companies acquired for pennies on the dollar. “Unfortunately, a lot of my friends in that game are stuck,” he said. “Investors want out but there are no buyers. Anything pre-ChatGPT is legacy now.” Mehta sold Gainsight to Vista in 2020. Bending Spoons said it hadn’t been outbid for a target in “several years.”

AI agents powered by large language models have put pressure on SaaS businesses in a shift called the “SaaSpocalypse.” Intuit, HubSpot and Adobe shares each fell at least 30% that year. Private SaaS companies that once attracted venture capital struggled to raise money, while public markets showed little appetite for initial public offerings.

The AI Spending Bet

Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta were projected to spend more than $720 billion in capital expenditures that year, most of it on AI infrastructure, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Alphabet expected capital expenditures of $195 billion to $205 billion in 2027, more than twice the $91.4 billion it spent in 2025. Alphabet President and Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat said the buildout remained in its early phases relative to the economic value the company expected AI to generate.

Private credit funds including Blue Owl, Apollo and KKR increasingly financed AI development. By some estimates, outstanding private loans to AI-related companies had climbed above $200 billion, often through lending to special purpose vehicles and smaller “neocloud” operators. Alphabet reported negative free cash flow in the second quarter for the first time since its 2004 initial public offering. At the end of June, long-term debt stood at about $98 billion, more than four times the year-earlier amount.

Jefferies’ global head of equity strategy, Chris Wood, called massive U.S. capital destruction the most likely long-term outcome of the AI boom. He argued that cheaper Chinese open-source models could commoditize large language models and undermine the economics of U.S. AI investment. Porat rejected that argument, saying companies that add differentiated value could still find customers willing to pay. “You must invest for long term growth,” she said. “By the time you need it, it’s too late to say, OK, now we’re going to start.”