Marvel vs Miro

Digital decay: 25% of decade's web pages vanish

A recent analysis reveals that a quarter of web pages from the last decade have disappeared, with many vanishing from sites that are still active. This 'digital decay' is highlighted by the shutdown of design tool InVision in December 2024, which deleted all user-created prototypes and boards. The closure underscored a trend of SaaS tools shutting down and leaving users without a way to export their work in bulk, leading to the loss of portfolios and case studies. Miro, the whiteboard company, acquired InVision's Freehand product but not the associated user data. This has raised concerns about the lack of archiving mechanisms for digital content and the preservation of professional work. The article emphasizes that as more tools shut down, the web's content continues to erode, calling for better awareness and possibly new standards or services to archive and preserve online work.

• A quarter of the past decade's web pages have vanished.
• InVision shut down on New Year's Eve 2024, deleting user prototypes.
• Miro acquired InVision's whiteboard product, Freehand, but not user data.

Founders Dispatch: Bending Spoons' Bargain Acquisitions and Scale-Up Europe Fund

In the second episode of the podcast 'Founders Dispatch', Stefan Köppl of Samira Advisors and Jakob Steinschaden discuss Italy's Bending Spoons, a tech giant with a $24 billion valuation, and its aggressive acquisition strategy in Europe. The company has bought Miro for $1.8 billion (90% below peak) and Airtable for $1.3 billion (80% discount), following a playbook of mass layoffs and cash flow optimization. The episode also covers the Scale-Up Europe Fund, a €5 billion EU fund managed by EQT, which has rapidly made five investments, including in IceEye, Lovable, and a €3 billion round in Mistral AI. Mistral's challenges with profitability and a 'neo-cloud' strategy are highlighted. The discussion touches on Europe's sovereignty dilemma, noting Samsung's investment in Mistral and the broader question of technological independence.

• Bending Spoons has a $24 billion market valuation.
• Miro was acquired for $1.8 billion, 90% below its peak valuation.
• Airtable was acquired for $1.3 billion, an 80% discount from peak.

Miro + Bending Spoons: Building for the Long Term

Miro has signed a definitive agreement to join Bending Spoons, as announced in a blog post. The post includes a message from the CEO to the team about the acquisition.