WeTransfer
- Rinke Visser
- Bas Beerens
- Ronald Hans
- Alexandar Vassilev (CEO)
- Martha Lane Fox (chair)
- Damian Bradfield (CCO)
WeTransfer B.V. is a Dutch internet-based computer file transfer service company that was founded in 2009 and based in Amsterdam.[2] In 2024, the company was acquired by Bending Spoons.
History
Early history
WeTransfer was founded in 2009 by Rinke Visser, Bas Beerens and Ronald Hans (Nalden) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.[3][2] It was created to enable the sharing of large files (up to 2GB) free of charge.[4]
In 2012, WeTransfer implemented a re-design and introduced a 'Plus'[5] 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.[4]
In 2013, WeTransfer reached profitability.[6]
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.[7] 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.[8] They also added venture capitalist Troy Carter to its board.[9]
WeTransfer file transfer limit is 200GB for pro subscribers as of September 2021.[10]
2016–2022
In 2016, WeTransfer announced the acquisition of digital design studio Present Plus,[11] established in 2010 by Damian Bradfield and WeTransfer co-founder Nalden.[11] In September, WeTransfer opened its first office in the United States at Venice Beach, Los Angeles.[12]
In early 2017, Gordon Willoughby became the company's Chief Executive Officer, taking over from Bas Beerens, who became Executive Chairman.[13]
In January 2018, WeTransfer launched content arm "WePresent".[14] In August, WeTransfer acquired app developer FiftyThree, who owned sketching app Paper and collaborative presentation app Paste.[15] In October, WeTransfer relaunched its mobile app with the name "Collect by WeTransfer".[16][17]
In June 2019, WeTransfer experienced a security incident in which files were "sent to the wrong people".[18] In August, the company closed a €35 million secondary funding round led by HPE Growth.[19]
In May 2020, India banned the WeTransfer app, citing security reasons.[20] In June, the company became a certified B Corporation.[21]
In February 2021, WeTransfer achieved carbon-neutral certification, having pledged the previous year to reduce emissions by 30% by 2025.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24] In October, WeTransfer announced sales in 2020 of €65m.[25]
In April 2021, Reuters reported that the WeTransfer logos and likeness were used in high-profile phishing scams.[26]
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.[27]
In 2022, Alexandar Vassilev took over as the company's Chief Executive Officer.[28]
Sale to Bending Spoons
Italian technology company Bending Spoons announced in July 2024 that it would acquire WeTransfer.[29]
Leadership
Bas Beerens founded the file-sharing platform WeTransfer[30] with Nalden (Ronald Hans) and Rinke Visser in 2009.[31] Beerens also runs the design consultancy OY Communications (initially OY Transfer) from which WeTransfer was developed.[32][33] In 2012, he founded WeMarket, a global B2B marketplace for buyers and suppliers in any industry.[34]
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.[35] He announced his departure from the company in May 2022 and was replaced by former Chief Technology Officer Alexandar Vassilev.[36]
Chief Financial Officer Melissa Nussbaum joined WeTransfer from King in September 2020.[37]
Martha Lane Fox joined WeTransfer as chair in July 2020.[38]
Technology
WeTransfer is based on Amazon's infrastructure and technology. It uses Amazon S3 for storage and for sending files.[39]
Services
WeTransfer offers a free service where users can send up to two gigabytes of data[40] 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.[41] In May 2023, WeTransfer announced it reduced 78% of server emissions as part of its environmental commitments.[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
References
- ^ "WeTransfer owner seeks Amsterdam IPO, plans $182 mln share issue". Reuters. 2022-01-12. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "WeTransfer". wetransfer.com. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ "WeTransfer: The Internet's Cleanest and Simplest File Sharing Drops a New Beta Version". HYPEBEAST. 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "MA Material Futures Announces New Bursaries". Central Saint Martins. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ "Dutch startup WeTransfer just raised $25 million to expand into the US". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
- ^ "Troy Carter Joins The Board Of WeTransfer". Fast Company. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Lunden, Ingrid. "Dropbox rival WeTransfer acquires Present Plus to boost product and design teams". Techcrunch. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ Kissel, Chris (3 October 2016). "How to Make Your Tech Company Cool: Throw a Party With Kamasi Washington". LA Weekly. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ Lunden, Ingrid (15 December 2016). "WeTransfer's founder leaves CEO role, ex-Amazon exec steps in for commercial push". TechCrunch. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ Kiefer, Brittaney (December 13, 2021). "WeTransfer's Creative Work Has Qualified for the Oscars". Adweek. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "WeTransfer buys creative apps Paper and Paste from FiftyThree". The Verge. Retrieved 2018-08-21.
- ^ Hardwick, Tim (October 30, 2018). "WeTransfer Relaunches Mobile File-Sharing App as 'Collect'". Mac Rumors. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ Lucic, Kristijan (October 29, 2018). "WeTransfer App Gets Rebranded To 'Collect by WeTransfer'". Android Headlines. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- ^ "WeTransfer Security Incident Sent Files to the Wrong People". BleepingComputer. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ O'Hear, Steve (19 August 2019). "HPE Growth backs WeTransfer in €35M secondary funding round". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
- ^ "WeTransfer 'Partially' Blocked in India, Company Says". NDTV Gadgets 360. 31 May 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ Aziz, Afdhel. "WeTransfer Announces It Is Becoming A B-Corp". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-07-20.
- ^ "WeTransfer turns to offsets to achieve carbon-neutral certification". edie.net. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ "Riz Ahmed wins Oscar for The Long Goodbye". the Guardian. 2022-03-27. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
- ^ Tait, Simon (22 April 2021). "WeTransfer sets up foundation to train future creatives". artsindustry.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ "WeTransfer Sales Jump to $76 Million in 2020 Before Possible IPO". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg L.P. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
- ^ Browne, Ryan (2021-04-24). "Fake 'WeTransfer' file download steals Aussies' personal details". Yahoo. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Levingston, Ivan (2022-05-03). "WeTransfer Boss Willoughby to Exit, CTO Vassilev to Succeed". Bloomberg News.
- ^ Pollina, Elvira (31 July 2024). Weir, Keith (ed.). "Italy's Bending Spoons buys file sharing service WeTransfer". Reuters. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ Send large files to clients with these 11 free tools on creativebloq.com. Retrieved 16 July 2018
- ^ Gratis en eenvoudig grote bestanden te delen met WeTransfer on eenmanierom.nl. Retrieved 16 July 2018
- ^ "WeTransfer". Resource. No. 16. Summer 2011. p. 82. Retrieved 16 July 2018 – via Issuu.
- ^ 2012 Article on european-startups Wired. Retrieved 16 July 2018
- ^ B2B marketplace WeMarket launches for global companies on internetretailer.com.
- ^ "File-sending scaleup WeTransfer CEO Gordon Willoughby on becoming a B Corp: 'It fits our purpose'". 2020-06-10. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ "WeTransfer Boss Willoughby to Exit, CTO Vassilev to Succeed". Bloomberg L.P. 2022-05-03. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ Trentmann, Nina (2020-09-24). "File-Sharing Company WeTransfer Names First CFO". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ Aziz, Afdhel. "WeTransfer Announces It Is Becoming A B-Corp". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ "AWS Case Study: WeTransfer". Amazon Web Services, Inc. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
- ^ "Controlling the cloud: how to make the most of your online storage". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ "How to share huge files online". Popular Science. 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "WeTransfer Case Study". Amazon Web Services, Inc. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
- ^ "Behance". behance.net. April 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ "How The Cofounder Of WeTransfer Went From Blog To Startup". Fast Company. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
- ^ Budds, Diana (2017-10-12). "WeTransfer's Plan To Disrupt The Creative Process". Fast Company. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
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