WeTransfer

WeTransfer is a Dutch internet-based computer file transfer service company that was founded in 2009. It is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.[2]

WeTransfer
IndustrySoftware
Founded2009
Headquarters
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Alexandar Vassilev , Martha Lane Fox, Melissa Nussbaum, Damian Bradfield
ServicesSaaS
Revenue€72m (2021)[1]
Number of employees
300+ (2021)
Websitewetransfer.com

History

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

In 2012, WeTransfer implemented a re-design and introduced a 'Plus'[4] service with support for much larger file transfers (up to 5GB) and storage (50GB) as well as sending files to a maximum of 100 recipients for a price.[3]

In 2013, WeTransfer reached profitability.[5]

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.[6] These bursaries 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.[7] They also added venture capitalist Troy Carter to its board.[8]

WeTransfer file transfer limit is 200GB for pro subscribers as of September 2021.[9]

2016 – present

In 2016, WeTransfer announced the acquisition of digital design studio Present Plus,[10] established in 2010 by Damian Bradfield and WeTransfer co-founder Nalden.[10] In September, WeTransfer opened its first office in the United States at Venice Beach, Los Angeles.[11]

In early 2017, Gordon Willoughby became the company's Chief Executive Officer, taking over from Bas Beerens, who became Executive Chairman.[12]

In January 2018, WeTransfer launched content arm "WePresent".[13] In August, WeTransfer acquired app developer FiftyThree, who owned sketching app Paper and collaborative presentation app Paste.[14] In October, WeTransfer relaunched its mobile app with the name "Collect by WeTransfer".[15][16]

In June 2019, WeTransfer experienced a security incident in which files were "sent to the wrong people".[17] In August, the company closed a €35 million secondary funding round led by HPE Growth.[18]

In May 2020, India banned the WeTransfer app, citing security reasons.[19] In June, the company became a certified B Corporation.[20]

In February 2021, WeTransfer achieved carbon-neutral certification, having pledged the previous year to reduce emissions by 30% by 2025.[21] 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.[22] In April, the WeTransfer Foundation, "Supporting Act", focused on helping emerging creative talent was launched and the company pledged to donate 1% of revenues from 2022 onwards.[23] In October, WeTransfer announced sales in 2020 of €65m.[24]

In April 2021, Reuters reported that the WeTransfer logos and likeness were used in high-profile phishing scams.[25]

In January 2022, WeTransfer planned for an IPO for a valuation of up to $800 million but ended up cancelling the offering shortly before listing citing market volatility.[26]

In 2022, Alexandar Vassilev took over as the company's Chief Executive Officer.[27]

Leadership

Bas Beerens founded the file-sharing platform WeTransfer[28] with Nalden (Ronald Hans) and Rinke Visser in 2009.[29] Beerens also runs the design consultancy OY Communications (initially OY Transfer) from which WeTransfer was developed.[30][31] In 2012, he founded WeMarket, a global B2B marketplace for buyers and suppliers in any industry.[32]

Damian Bradfield, co-founder, joined the company in 2010. Bradfield is currently WeTransfer's Chief Creative Officer.

Chief Executive Gordon Willoughby joined WeTransfer in January 2017.[33] He announced his departure from the company in May 2022 and was replaced by former Chief Technology Officer Alexandar Vassilev.[34]

Chief Financial Officer Melissa Nussbaum joined WeTransfer from King in September 2020.[35]

Martha Lane Fox joined WeTransfer as chair in July 2020.[36]

Technology

WeTransfer is based on Amazon's infrastructure and technology. It uses Amazon S3 for storage and for sending files.[37]

Services

WeTransfer offers a free service where users can send up to two gigabytes of data[38] and a paid option called WeTransfer Pro where users can send up to 200 gigabytes of data as well as have some additional customization options.[39] In May 2023, WeTransfer announced it reduced 78% of server emissions as part of its environmental commitments.[40]

Revenue model

WeTransfer has a dual revenue model split between advertising and premium ("pro") subscriptions.[41]

WeTransfer displays full-screen advertisements while transferring[42] instead of banner ads.[43] The company donates 30% of the advertising inventory to creatives and charitable causes.[44]

See also

References
  1. "WeTransfer owner seeks Amsterdam IPO, plans $182 mln share issue". Reuters. 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  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.
  3. "WeTransfer". wetransfer.com. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  4. "WeTransfer: The Internet's Cleanest and Simplest File Sharing Drops a New Beta Version". HYPEBEAST. 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  5. Lunden, Ingrid (17 February 2015). "WeTransfer, Funky Dutch Cousin Of Dropbox And Box, Gets $25M To Go Large In The U.S." TechCrunch. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  6. "MA Material Futures Announces New Bursaries". Central Saint Martins. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  7. "Dutch startup WeTransfer just raised $25 million to expand into the US". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
  8. "Troy Carter Joins The Board Of WeTransfer". Fast Company. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  9. WeTransfer (2021-09-14). "WeTransfer Unveils Teams, Raises File Transfer Limit to 200GB for Pro Subscribers". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  10. Lunden, Ingrid. "Dropbox rival WeTransfer acquires Present Plus to boost product and design teams". Techcrunch. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  11. Kissel, Chris (3 October 2016). "How to Make Your Tech Company Cool: Throw a Party With Kamasi Washington". LA Weekly. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  12. Lunden, Ingrid (15 December 2016). "WeTransfer's founder leaves CEO role, ex-Amazon exec steps in for commercial push". TechCrunch. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  13. Kiefer, Brittaney (December 13, 2021). "WeTransfer's Creative Work Has Qualified for the Oscars". Adweek. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  14. "WeTransfer buys creative apps Paper and Paste from FiftyThree". The Verge. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
  15. Hardwick, Tim (October 30, 2018). "WeTransfer Relaunches Mobile File-Sharing App as 'Collect'". Mac Rumors. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  16. Lucic, Kristijan (October 29, 2018). "WeTransfer App Gets Rebranded To 'Collect by WeTransfer'". Android Headlines. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  17. "WeTransfer Security Incident Sent Files to the Wrong People". BleepingComputer. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  18. O'Hear, Steve (19 August 2019). "HPE Growth backs WeTransfer in €35M secondary funding round". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  19. "WeTransfer 'Partially' Blocked in India, Company Says". NDTV Gadgets 360. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  20. Aziz, Afdhel. "WeTransfer Announces It Is Becoming A B-Corp". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
  21. "WeTransfer turns to offsets to achieve carbon-neutral certification". edie.net. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  22. "Riz Ahmed wins Oscar for The Long Goodbye". the Guardian. 2022-03-27. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  23. Tait, Simon (22 April 2021). "WeTransfer sets up foundation to train future creatives". artsindustry.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  24. "WeTransfer Sales Jump to $76 Million in 2020 Before Possible IPO". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  25. Browne, Ryan (2021-04-24). "Fake 'WeTransfer' file download steals Aussies' personal details". Yahoo. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
  26. Browne, Ryan (2022-01-27). "The stock market is so volatile that one European tech firm has canceled its IPO". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  27. Levingston, Ivan (2022-05-03). "WeTransfer Boss Willoughby to Exit, CTO Vassilev to Succeed". Bloomberg News.
  28. Send large files to clients with these 11 free tools on creativebloq.com. Retrieved 16 July 2018
  29. Gratis en eenvoudig grote bestanden te delen met WeTransfer on eenmanierom.nl. Retrieved 16 July 2018
  30. "WeTransfer". Resource. No. 16. Summer 2011. p. 82. Retrieved 16 July 2018 – via Issuu.
  31. 2012 Article on european-startups Wired. Retrieved 16 July 2018
  32. B2B marketplace WeMarket launches for global companies on internetretailer.com.
  33. "File-sending scaleup WeTransfer CEO Gordon Willoughby on becoming a B Corp: 'It fits our purpose'". 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  34. "WeTransfer Boss Willoughby to Exit, CTO Vassilev to Succeed". Bloomberg L.P. 2022-05-03. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  35. Trentmann, Nina (2020-09-24). "File-Sharing Company WeTransfer Names First CFO". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  36. Aziz, Afdhel. "WeTransfer Announces It Is Becoming A B-Corp". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  37. "AWS Case Study: WeTransfer". Amazon Web Services, Inc. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  38. "Controlling the cloud: how to make the most of your online storage". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  39. "How to share huge files online". Popular Science. 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  40. "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.
  41. "WeTransfer Case Study". Amazon Web Services, Inc. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  42. "Behance". behance.net. April 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  43. "How The Cofounder Of WeTransfer Went From Blog To Startup". Fast Company. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  44. Budds, Diana (2017-10-12). "WeTransfer's Plan To Disrupt The Creative Process". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
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