Milan-based Bending Spoons SpA snaps up established digital brands, then rewires their software and day-to-day operations. That often includes trimming teams and lifting subscription prices. The roster is a who's who of internet staples: AOL, Vimeo, WeTransfer and Evernote.
Ferrari said the so-called SaaSpocalypse rattled investors earlier this year, as fear set in that customers might swap some software subscriptions for AI tools. In his words, "Valuations in SaaS were unreasonably high and had been for probably a decade." He added that today's prices look sensible when you line them up with the cash these businesses can throw off. The S&P software and services index tumbled by more than 25% between the start of 2026 and early April, then clawed back to a small gain for the year. That reset, plus AI, is what Ferrari says is opening the deal window.
Buying software companies cheaply is a bet that the slump is temporary. Market Briefs covers tech M&A free every morning.
Ferrari says AI is helping on two fronts. First, it is making more acquisitions feasible and speeding the pace of product upgrades. Second, inside the company, AI now produces at least 90% of the code and supports product design, monetization optimization and candidate assessments. He chose not to put a number on savings, arguing the real edge is scaling the acquisition model and improving businesses faster.
Bending Spoons listed on Nasdaq in July, and the stock has gained 31% to date. The company closed its purchase of workplace-software maker Airtable in early September and, later that month, struck an agreement to buy Miro, the collaboration platform, at a valuation of $1.36 billion. For your wallet, here is the thread to pull: a buyer with a growing toolkit is shopping after a sector selloff that has only partially healed. If AI lets Bending Spoons fix and monetize what it buys more quickly, the payoff from those lower entry prices could matter more than the market's mood in any given week.
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