Bending Spoons, the Milan-based technology company that buys and runs digital businesses, signed a definitive agreement on March 25, 2026, to acquire Tractive, an Austrian maker of GPS trackers and health monitors for pets. The companies announced the deal from Pasching, Austria, where Tractive is based, and from Milan.
The price was not disclosed. The deal was expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals. Bending Spoons said on May 18, 2026, that it had completed the acquisition.
Tractive's product development will stay in Europe. The companies said Tractive's hardware expertise would be combined with Bending Spoons' digital platform, and Bending Spoons said it planned to invest heavily in the business over the long term.
What Tractive built
Tractive was founded in 2012 in Pasching by Michael Hurnaus, Michael Lettner and Michael Tschernuth together with the founders of the fitness app Runtastic, including Florian Gschwandtner. It sells wearable devices that attach to a pet's collar, together with apps that show the animal's location, activity and health data. The system combines GPS, cellular connectivity and data analysis, so owners can find a lost dog or cat and follow changes in its activity over time.
The company said millions of pet owners use its products but did not give an exact figure. It also did not disclose revenue, headcount or the number of countries it serves.
Tractive is led by chief executive and co-founder Michael Hurnaus, with Wolfgang Reisinger as chief operating officer. According to the announcement, the company grew mostly by reinvesting its own earnings rather than by raising large venture rounds, and spent 13 years building the business before agreeing to the sale.
“This partnership keeps our innovation heart in Europe while gaining the muscle of Bending Spoons at large.”
Why Bending Spoons is buying
Bending Spoons has built a portfolio of consumer and business software that includes AOL, Brightcove, Eventbrite, Evernote, komoot, Meetup, Remini, StreamYard, Vimeo and WeTransfer. The company says its products have served more than a billion people, with over 400 million monthly active users and 7 million monthly paying customers.
Tractive is a departure from that list because its software depends on physical devices. Bending Spoons said it would expand Tractive's health and safety features, develop next-generation trackers and make the product available to more pet owners. Tractive said the deal would give it access to Bending Spoons' AI infrastructure and experience in scaling products internationally.
Bending Spoons says it aims to keep the businesses it buys permanently and has never sold one. After an acquisition it usually rebuilds the technology, redesigns the interface, speeds up feature releases, changes marketing and pricing, and reorganises the team. The announcement did not say whether any of those steps would apply to Tractive's staff or pricing.
What the founders said
Hurnaus said the company had looked for a buyer that would grow and own the business for the long run. Reisinger said the business had a strong foundation and that it was the right moment to hand it to a new owner.
Luca Ferrari, chief executive and co-founder of Bending Spoons, said his company intended to invest significantly in Tractive for the long run. When the deal closed in May, Ferrari said Tractive was already on a strong trajectory, and Hurnaus said he was proud of what the team had achieved.
The advisers and a busy year for Bending Spoons
Milbank, E+H Rechtsanwälte and 42law gave legal advice to Tractive's shareholders, with Ecovis on tax and Houlihan Lokey as financial adviser. Bending Spoons used Freshfields as legal adviser, J.P. Morgan as financial adviser and EY Advisory for financial and tax due diligence.
The deal came during an active stretch for Bending Spoons. It acquired AOL in January 2026 and completed its $500 million purchase of Eventbrite in March 2026, according to Startupbusiness. Tractive differs from those purchases because its business is built around devices it designs itself, which Bending Spoons will now have to keep developing and supplying.
