Bending Spoons buys huge cash flows at very low prices
By Stefan Köppl ·
Founders Dispatch #2
Stefan Köppl in conversation with Jakob Steinschaden, co-founder of Trending Topics.
In episode 2 of Founders Dispatch, Stefan Köppl and Jakob Steinschaden look at two forces reshaping European tech: a buyer that collects fallen stars at steep discounts, and a new EU fund that backs champions at speed.
In one minute
- Bending Spoons, valued at around USD 24 billion on the stock market, is one of Europe's most active buyers.
- It bought Miro for about USD 1.8 billion, some 90% below its peak, and Airtable for about USD 1.3 billion.
- Its playbook is to restructure, move products onto its own platform and run them for cash flow, not to resell them.
- The EUR 5 billion Scale-Up Europe Fund, managed by EQT, is investing faster than expected.
The Scale-Up Europe Fund
Five investments in record time, among them ICEYE, Lovable and a EUR 3 billion round at Mistral. Mistral itself is experimenting with a neo-cloud strategy and working towards profitability at a valuation of around USD 24 billion.
Europe's sovereignty dilemma
Why Samsung invests in Mistral, what South Korea's AI strategy looks like, and whether Europe can become technologically independent.
This conversation first appeared on Founders Dispatch, the podcast of Trending Topics. Listen to the full episode (opens in a new tab)
