Brightcove

Bending Spoons IPO Tests Buy‑Gut‑Hold Strategy

This analysis examines Bending Spoons’ serial-acquirer strategy—buy, cut, raise prices, and “hold forever”—in the context of its recent US IPO. The company has acquired roughly 50 businesses (Evernote, Vimeo, WeTransfer, Eventbrite, AOL among them) and reported rapid headline growth (revenue from $387M in 2023 to $1.31B in 2025) and high margins. Much of that growth was acquisition-driven: organic revenue growth was ~13% in 2025 (7% in 2024), blended net revenue retention is 94%, and capital deployed on deals jumped from $194M in 2023 to $2.01B in Q1 2026. Large purchases include Vimeo ($1.38B) and AOL ($1.45B); the IPO priced above its reference range and finished its first trading day with a multibillion-dollar valuation. The piece questions whether the model is durable in an AI-driven era and whether the public markets are correctly valuing a highly levered, consumer-exposed rollup.

Trump Mobile customer data exposed online

Reports say Trump Mobile, the cellphone provider and smartphone maker, has exposed customer personal data online, including mailing and email addresses. YouTubers Coffeezilla and penguinz0 said a researcher alerted them after finding the information; both ordered the company's T1 phone. The researcher reportedly could not reach anyone at Trump Mobile and the data remains accessible. TechCrunch contacted Trump Mobile but received no response. Unique IDs in the exposed dataset suggest roughly 30,000 orders, far fewer than a prior estimate of 590,000 pre-orders. The story cites earlier coverage noting manufacturing and marketing issues with the T1 device and questions about its provenance.

CTV Pushes Global Ad Spend Past $1T; NBCU/Walmart Shoppable TV

VideoWeek's Week in Review reports that global ad spend is forecast to exceed $1 trillion in 2024, per WARC, with total year growth around 10.8%. CTV remains the fastest-growing media, recording YoY gains above 19% in August and November, and projections around 15% for 2025 and 2026 as the market shifts toward connected TV. The piece notes regulatory uncertainty around Google and TikTok influencing forecasts amid geopolitical tensions. RTL AdAlliance launches a tool enabling SMBs to localize linear TV campaigns, targeting region-specific retailers and driving point-of-sale visits. NBCUniversal launches shoppable capabilities with Walmart across live sports, using QR codes and text-to-shop to link viewers to purchases, supported by closed-loop measurement via Walmart Connect and NBCUniversal’s data collaboration. The Week in Tech section covers related adtech developments and industry trends in programmatic adoption and regulation.