Bending Spoons CEO: AI-Driven SaaS Valuation Crash Opens a Window for Acquisitions

Luca Ferrari, CEO of Bending Spoons SpA, said falling software valuations open up opportunities for acquisitions. His firm expects to profit as AI reshapes the industry. Bloomberg's brief report gives neither a deal size nor a list of targets. What it does give is the stance of one of the most active buyers of mature software: while the market fears AI will wreck SaaS, he sees a discount.

Who the buyer is

Milan-based Bending Spoons builds its business on buying products with large audiences and established revenue. Its deals include Evernote (2022), WeTransfer (2024), Vimeo (about $1.4 billion, 2025) and AOL (about $1.5 billion, 2025). The playbook is well known: the company takes over a product, moves it onto its own infrastructure, restructures costs and strengthens monetization. This often comes with layoffs of the previous team, which is the main reason Bending Spoons is controversial.

For this model, the entry price matters a great deal. The lower the multiple on revenue or profit, the faster a deal pays off, all else being equal. Falling valuations work directly in the buyer's favor.

What "SaaSpocalypse" means

The market uses the word for the repricing of subscription software. Investors reason as follows. If AI agents and code generation make development cheaper, it becomes easier to build a competitor to any niche SaaS product. If an agent does work that used to take ten employees, the number of per-seat licenses may shrink. So part of the market is pricing in weaker growth and a higher risk of customer churn.

Ferrari reads the same situation differently. For him, lower prices mean assets have become more affordable, not that the businesses are doomed. The report does not say which companies he finds attractive. But his wording implies a priority on products that will survive AI pressure yet are priced as if they will not.

What the statement tells us

• Source of the thesis: Luca Ferrari, CEO of Bending Spoons SpA.
• Main thesis: falling software valuations create opportunities for acquisitions.
• Trigger: AI disrupting the industry.
• Buyer profile: acquisitions of mature products with a mass audience (Evernote, WeTransfer, Vimeo, AOL).
• Not disclosed: budget, specific targets, deal timelines, sources of financing.

Practical takeaways

For SaaS founders, the signal is direct. If your product is mature, with predictable revenue and no clear AI advantage, you fit the target profile for buyers like Bending Spoons. Check your valuation ahead of time and calculate honestly what your business is worth at current multiples, and in a scenario where agents take over some user tasks.

For investors, the question is different. You need to distinguish between companies whose data, integrations and user habits create a real barrier, and companies whose product AI can reproduce over a weekend. The former may be undervalued; the latter are getting cheaper for good reason.

For users of services that may change hands, the consequences are familiar from past deals: pricing changes, infrastructure migration and a rebuilt support operation are all possible. If you depend on such a tool, keep your data export handy and watch the subscription terms.

The main thing to watch next is the actual deals. For now there is only a statement, and prices and company names will be the test of it.