In 2024, the target generated a turnover of above 100 million euros and expects a 35%-40% growth for 2025.
Italian mobile apps developer Bending Spoons, a company that Francesco Patarnello, Luca Ferrari, Matteo Danieli, and Luca Querella founded, said it acquired Austrian scaleup for pets (press release).
Milbank LLP, E+H Rechtsanwälte GmbH, 42law, Ecovis, and Houlihan Lokey advised Tractive. Bending Spoons retained Freshfields LLP, JPMorgan and EY Advisory.
Michael Hurnaus (ceo), Michael Lettner, Wolfgang Reisinger, and Michael Tschernuth founded Pasching – based Tractive in 2012 and in less than a decade they achieved a global leadership in the pets wearable items sector using hardware GPS, mobile connectivity and analytics.
In 2024, Hurnaus said to sector magazine GlobalPets that the company would generate a well above 100 million euros turnover while posting a further 35%-40% growth in 2025. The 300 employees company recently acquired US brand Whistle from Mars Petcare (press release) and consolidated further in North America that became the area with the highest number of active clients out of a total of 1.4 million after having overtaken Germany.
Even though Tractive grew mainly through bootstrapping, in May 2021, it secured a 35 US Dollars round that attracted the resources of lead investor Guidepost Growth Equity and others. In different years, the company received the support of Harold Primat, the Schlumberger heir, 468 Capital, Monkfish, Taurus, Adjacent, business angel Hansi Hansmann, Runtastic co-founders Florian Gschwandtner, Rene Giretzlehner, Christian Kaar, and Alfred Luger.
“We received considerable international interest from many global players, but we wanted a partner committed for the long-term. This agreement allows the millions of pet owners who rely on Tractive to continue living with the peace of mind that comes from knowing their friends are safe. Bending Spoons provides the capital, scalability expertise and AI infrastructure to ensure that Tractive remains at the forefront for decades to come. This partnership allows us to keep the heart of our innovation in Europe, whilst benefiting from the strength of Bending Spoons as a whole”, Hurnaus said.
Reisinger, coo, added: “We built Tractive from scratch and made it a success story ensuring the safety of millions of pets and making life easier for their owners around the world. The foundations are rock-solid, and the time has come to hand over the reins to a partner with significant experience in scaling large consumer goods companies, to lead this next phase of growth”.
Ferrari, the ceo of Bending Spoons, said: “The acquisition marks for us an expansion into the hardware-backed software sector. Tractive’s deep expertise opens new technological horizons for the group, complementing its strong software and artificial intelligence capabilities. Tractive created an exceptional product trusted by millions of customers every day, and we look forward to welcoming it into our portfolio. We intend to invest significantly in Tractive over the long term, expanding its capabilities in health and safety, developing next-generation devices and making the product increasingly accessible to pet owners worldwide.”
In November 2025, Ferrari said to Reuters that Bending Spoons expect to generate an adjusted ebitda of 1.4 billion US Dollars in 2026, twice as much the expected 700 million euros for 2025 that include the closing of Vimeo and AOL acquisitions. However, Eventbrite 500 million euros acquisition in 2025 could sweeten further the figure.
Ferrari founded Bending Spoons with Francesco Patarnello, Matteo Danieli e Luca Querella. In 2025, the company acquired California’s MileIQ Inc, a provider of solutions automatic mileage tracking for tax deductions and expenses (see here a previous post by BeBeez and a previous post by BeBeez) and purchased komoot, a German route-planning platform designed for outdoor activities (see here a previous post by BeBeez and another previous post by BeBeez). In March 2025, Bending Spoons launched a take private offer on Nasdaq-listed Brightcove, a firm operating in the distribution and monetisation of streaming video (see here a previous post by BeBeez and another previous post by BeBeez). Bending Spoons previously acquired WeTransfer, Issuu, Hopin/StreamYard Top Corp, Meetup, the digital activities of Mosaic Group, and Evernote.
The Italian apps developer financed such M&A deals with the support of venture capital and venture debt investors. In October 2025, Bending Spoons secured equity for 710 million US Dollars (270 million on the primary market and 440 million on the secondary) on the ground of a pre-money value of 11 billion US Dollars. T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Baillie Gifford, Cox Enterprises, Durable Capital Partners, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Foxhaven Asset Management, Radcliff, and other investors poured money in Bending Spoons (see here a previous post by BeBeez) and may exit through an ipo (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
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