Enlarge / Evernote’s self-conception of its brain-decluttering powers. It lacks only for a step where many more users pay for premium accounts than currently do. (credit: Evernote)

Evernote, the app that has sought for two decades to find a large paying audience for its “external brain,” is moving its operations to Italy, home of its parent company Bending Spoons. It’s yet another big shift for a company that’s been useful, but not quite profitable, since at least 2004.

Bending Spoons, which acquired Evernote in November 2022, had laid off 129 workers in February 2023, stating that Evernote had been “unprofitable for years” and “unsustainable in the long term.” Whatever unspecified number of remaining employees remain in the US (and Chile) received notice of the move on June 23, then the layoff on July 5, according to a company blog post. Staffers typically received 16 weeks of salary, one year of health insurance, and a pro-rated performance bonus, along with assistance for those working on visas.

“Our plans for Evernote are as ambitious as ever: Going forward, a dedicated (and growing) team based in Europe will continue to assume ownership of the Evernote product,” wrote Francesco Patarnello, Evernote’s CEO. “This team will be in an ideal position to leverage the extensive expertise and strength of the 400-plus workforce at Bending Spoons, many of whom have been working on Evernote full-time since the acquisition.”