Bending Spoons to buy collaboration tools maker Miro for $1.36B, 90% less than its 2022 valuation | TechCrunch
Short summary
Bending Spoons is acquiring Miro, the remote collaboration startup that hit a $17.5 billion valuation in 2021, for $1.36 billion—a stark illustration of how SaaS valuations have collapsed since the pandemic boom. The deal reflects a broader pattern where once-hot software companies are now selling for a fraction of their former price despite remaining profitable with solid revenue streams.
- Miro's valuation dropped 92% from its 2021 peak, though the company remains healthy with $600 million in annual recurring revenue, 4 million paying users, and profitability
- SaaS multiples have unwound dramatically since 2021 as pandemic tailwinds faded and businesses consolidated tools, pushing companies like Miro aside in favor of integrated suites from better-funded competitors like Figma and Microsoft
- Bending Spoons is systematically acquiring recognizable SaaS companies that were priced as future giants but matured into slower-growth, profitable businesses—Airtable sold to them for $1.28 billion last month after a $11 billion 2021 valuation
Full summary
Bending Spoons just bought Miro for $1.36 billion, which is a staggering 92% drop from its $17.5 billion valuation in late 2021. Miro started as RealtimeBoard, a whiteboarding tool that exploded during the pandemic when remote work became standard. The company built real momentum—growing from 5 million to 30 million users in two years and expanding its paying customer base by 550%. It added integrations with 250+ apps, partnerships with Atlassian, Cisco, Microsoft, and Zoom, and eventually rebranded itself as an "AI innovation workspace" with AI assistants and connectors to tools like GitHub and Slack.
Today Miro still looks solid on paper: 4 million paying users, 100 million total users, $600 million in annual recurring revenue (90% from businesses), $435 million in net cash, and profitable operations. Yet the company got crushed by market forces. When pandemic spending peaked in 2021-2022, businesses started cutting duplicate tools and consolidating into suites instead of buying individual apps. Miro faced better-funded rivals like Figma, Canva, and Microsoft's own products. The company laid off 119 people in early 2023 and another 275 in late 2024, shrinking from about 1,200 employees.
Bending Spoons has turned this pattern into a playbook. Last month they bought Airtable for $1.28 billion after it hit an $11 billion valuation in 2021. The Italian acquirer is basically buying recognizable SaaS companies that were priced as if they'd become giants but turned into slow-growth businesses with solid revenue streams. The real question is why Miro's board sold now. The company didn't need cash and wasn't desperate. Either confidence in SaaS companies finding public market exits has genuinely collapsed, or there's something about the current environment that makes founders and investors think this is the best they'll get.