August 21, 2018–WeTransfer today announced the acquisition of popular applications Paper® (an immersive sketching app) and Paste™ (a presentation tool for fast-moving teams). WeTransfer acquired the team, the entire patent/IP and trademark portfolio, and all assets for the applications from New York and Seattle-based FiftyThree Inc. With this acquisition, WeTransfer will expand its suite of services for creatives, enabling the effortless transfer of ideas from initial inspiration through to final delivery.
Since its founding in 2009, WeTransfer has stood for simplicity and transparency, allowing its users to share ideas by sending large files around the world with a clean interface and no mandatory signup process. This allows WeTransfer’s more than 42 million monthly users to work without distractions—no spam, no flashing ads, no unnecessary clicks—and has made their file-transferring service a favorite among creative professionals. FiftyThree, which is named for the original tools for human creativity—the 53 centimeters that connect head, heart, and hand—likewise has built beautifully simple tools on the values of creative flow.
Gordon Willoughby, WeTransfer’s CEO commented, “As WeTransfer continues to expand we remain committed to serving the creative community and providing products that enhance and improve their workflow. This acquisition expands WeTransfer’s family of obvious creative tools, both on mobile and the web. FiftyThree’s products are beautiful and easy-to-use, and as a business they share a sense of ethics and transparency that resonate with our core values. We have a great fit with the highly talented FiftyThree team, and we look forward to further building on the multiple synergies between our products.”
Paper®, the immersive sketching app that launched in 2012 and has defined creation on mobile, has been downloaded over 25 million times and was named Apple's iPad App of the Year. Just as Paper has become an essential tool for individuals, Paste™ was launched in December and has become the collaborative tool of choice for over 100,000 creative teams. It brings teams together and spurs innovation for a wide range of businesses from Artsy to Peloton. Paste combines team communication, applications, and workflows in beautiful slides fast. Named one of the best productivity tools of 2018 by Fast Company and top apps for Slack, it’s a versatile tool for teams to quickly and effortlessly collaborate.
FiftyThree co-founder and CEO Georg Petschnigg noted, “We believe technology should serve the human need to create. Our combined products support the transfer and transformation of ideas while keeping creative teams in their flow. Over the last seven years, we shaped the very nature of creation on mobile, and with WeTransfer we will expand the focus to the web.”
FiftyThree’s founders Georg Petschnigg and Andrew Allen and the Paper® and Paste™ teams in New York and Seattle will join WeTransfer to continue to grow and develop WeTransfer’s suite of creative tools.
This is WeTransfer’s first acquisition of an American company, and marks the second major step in the organization’s expansion into the United States, which began with the opening of a Los Angeles office in 2016. With this acquisition, WeTransfer will expand its geographical footprint in the United States. FifthyThree has a presence in two American cities (New York, and Seattle).
About FiftyThree
FiftyThree builds beautifully simple tools for creativity. They are the makers of Paper®, the essential sketching app for getting ideas down and Paste™ the collaboration tool for fast-moving creative teams. Internationally recognized for design excellence and innovation, they’ve received awards from Apple, IDSA, The Edison Awards, and IxDA. FiftyThree’s products reach more than 25 Million creative thinkers worldwide. Founded in 2011, FiftyThree’s design and patented technologies set the standard for creation on mobile.