WeTransfer

Last updated
WeTransfer B.V.
Company type Private
Industry Software
Founded2009;15 years ago (2009)
Founders
  • Rinke Visser
  • Bas Beerens
  • Ronald Hans
Headquarters
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Services SaaS
Revenue€72m (2021) [1]
Number of employees
350+ (2024) [2]
Website wetransfer.com/index/

WeTransfer B.V. is a Dutch internet-based computer file transfer service company that was founded in 2009 and based in Amsterdam. [3] In 2024, the company was acquired by Bending Spoons. [4]

Contents

History

Early history

WeTransfer was founded in 2009 by Rinke Visser, Bas Beerens and Ronald Hans (Nalden) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. [5] [3] It was created to enable the sharing of large files (up to 2GB) free of charge. [6]

In 2012, WeTransfer implemented a re-design and introduced a paid-for 'Plus' tier with support for larger file transfers. [6] [7]

In 2014, WeTransfer launched "creative-class.tv", an ongoing video series. The company initiated its first bursaries that year through a collaborative partnership with Central Saint Martins. [8] These scholarships supported two students from around the globe in their full-time studies.

In 2015, WeTransfer raised a US$25 million Series A funding round from Highland Capital Partners Europe. [9] They also added venture capitalist Troy Carter to its board. [10] [11]

2016–2022

In 2016, WeTransfer announced the acquisition of digital design studio Present Plus, [12] established in 2010 by Damian Bradfield and WeTransfer co-founder Nalden. [12] In September, WeTransfer opened its first office in the United States at Venice Beach, Los Angeles. [13]

In early 2017, Gordon Willoughby became the company's Chief Executive Officer, taking over from Bas Beerens, who became Executive Chairman. [14]

In January 2018, WeTransfer launched a content arm called "WePresent". [15] In August, WeTransfer acquired app developer FiftyThree, who owned sketching app Paper and collaborative presentation app Paste. [16] In October, WeTransfer relaunched its mobile app under the name "Collect by WeTransfer". [17] [18]

In June 2019, WeTransfer experienced a security incident in which files were "sent to the wrong people". [19] In August, the company closed a €35 million secondary funding round led by HPE Growth. [20]

In May 2020, India banned WeTransfer, citing security reasons. [21] In June, the company became a certified B Corporation. [22]

In February 2021, WeTransfer claimed to have achieved carbon-neutral certification, having pledged the previous year to reduce emissions by 30% by 2025. [23] In March, the 2020 short film "The Long Goodbye" by Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed commissioned by WeTransfer through WePresent won the 2022 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. [24] In April, the company launched a charitable arm known as "Supporting Act", focused on helping emerging creative talent, pledging to donate 1% of revenues from 2022 onwards. [25] In October, WeTransfer announced sales in 2020 of €65m. [26]

In April 2021, Reuters reported that the WeTransfer logos and likeness were used in high-profile phishing scams. [27]

In January 2022, WeTransfer planned for an IPO for a valuation of up to $800 million but ended up canceling the offering shortly before listing citing market volatility. [28]

In 2022, Alexandar Vassilev took over as the company's Chief Executive Officer. [29]

In May 2023, WeTransfer announced it reduced 78% of server emissions as part of its environmental commitments. [30]

Sale to Bending Spoons

In July 2024 Italian technology company Bending Spoons announced that it would acquire WeTransfer. [31]

In early September 2024, Bending Spoons' CEO Luca Ferrari announced that WeTransfer would be having layoffs, with 'up to 3/4 of the jobs' likely to be cut. [2] [32]

Leadership

Bas Beerens founded the file-sharing platform WeTransfer [33] with Nalden (Ronald Hans) and Rinke Visser in 2009. [34]

Damian Bradfield joined the company as a "founding shareholder" in 2010. [35] Bradfield is currently WeTransfer's Chief Creative Officer.

Chief Executive Gordon Willoughby joined WeTransfer in January 2017. [36] He announced his departure from the company in May 2022 and was replaced by former Chief Technology Officer Alexandar Vassilev. [37]

Chief Financial Officer Melissa Nussbaum joined WeTransfer from King in September 2020. [38]

Martha Lane Fox joined WeTransfer as chair in July 2020. [39]

Technology

WeTransfer is based on Amazon's infrastructure and technology. It uses Amazon S3 for storage and for sending files. [40]

Services

WeTransfer offers a free, limited service, and a paid option called "Pro" where users can send and store more data. [41] [42]

Revenue model

WeTransfer has a dual revenue model split between advertising and premium ("pro") subscriptions. [43]

WeTransfer displays full-screen advertisements while transferring [44] instead of banner ads. [45] The company donates 30% of the advertising inventory to creatives and charitable causes. [46] [ unreliable source? ]

See also

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References

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  2. 1 2 "FD: nieuwe eigenaar van WeTransfer schrapt driekwart van personeel". Tweakers (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  3. 1 2 Eva Oude Elferink (2013-10-21). "Nalden: 'Door het design van WeTransfer durven mensen het te gebruiken'". De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2013-10-28.
  4. ↑ Bergen,Bloomberg, Mark. "WeTransfer acquired by Bending Spoons, the Italian software powerhouse behind Evernote and Meetup". Fortune Europe. Archived from the original on 2024-08-22. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  5. ↑ Zeven, Martijn (3 June 2021). "Nederlands WeTransfer mikt op beurswaardering van €1 miljard" [Dutch WeTransfer aims for €1 billion market valuation]. Quote (in Dutch). ISSN   0920-8275.
  6. 1 2 "WeTransfer". wetransfer.com. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  7. ↑ "WeTransfer: The Internet's Cleanest and Simplest File Sharing Drops a New Beta Version". HYPEBEAST. 2012-09-21. Archived from the original on 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  8. ↑ "MA Material Futures Announces New Bursaries". Central Saint Martins. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  9. ↑ "Dutch startup WeTransfer just raised $25 million to expand into the US". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  10. ↑ "Troy Carter Joins The Board Of WeTransfer". Fast Company. 9 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2022-07-01. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  11. ↑ Lunden, Ingrid (17 February 2015). "WeTransfer, Funky Dutch Cousin Of Dropbox And Box, Gets $25M To Go Large In The U.S." TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2024-08-04. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  12. 1 2 Lunden, Ingrid. "Dropbox rival WeTransfer acquires Present Plus to boost product and design teams". Techcrunch. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  13. ↑ Kissel, Chris (3 October 2016). "How to Make Your Tech Company Cool: Throw a Party With Kamasi Washington". LA Weekly. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
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  30. ↑ "Tech tackles carbon: WeTransfer and Apple confirm emissions cuts, TikTok moves to tackle climate misinformation". www.businessgreen.com. 2023-04-21. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
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  32. ↑ Mehta, Ivan (2024-09-08). "Bending Spoons plans to lay off 75% of WeTransfer staff after acquisition". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2024-09-09. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  33. ↑ Send large files to clients with these 11 free tools on creativebloq.com. Retrieved 16 July 2018
  34. ↑ Gratis en eenvoudig grote bestanden te delen met WeTransfer on eenmanierom.nl. Retrieved 16 July 2018
  35. ↑ Holmes, Barry J. (24 June 2018). "Damian Bradfield — the WeTransfer boss who ships 1bn files a month". The Sunday Times . Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  36. ↑ "File-sending scaleup WeTransfer CEO Gordon Willoughby on becoming a B Corp: 'It fits our purpose'". 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
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