Based in Amsterdam, WeTransfer has revolutionized how users share large files by creating a format that is as simple as attaching what you want to an email.
The Dutch startup company has grand plans, as a recently unveiled press release announces WeTransfer's plans to expand into the "U.S., Europe and beyond." To that end, founder Bas Beerens has raised $25 million in new funding to grow the company into larger avenues.
For those unfamiliar with the company and its processes, WeTransfer allows users to utilize a cloud-based service that enables them to submit large files just as securely and easily as email attachments. According to the company's press release, WeTransfer has 25 million active users who send 70 million files every month. Beerens, who set up the company in 2009, has been increasingly profitable since 2013 and employs around 30 staff members.
This is the company's first ever funding round.
Highland Capital Partners Europe valued the company in a $25 million Series A funding round. HCPE believes that service is worth between $100 and $200 million, and now has a minority share in WeTransfer. HCPE partners Tony Zappalà and Irena Goldenberg will be jumping onto WeTransfer's board. With company sales doubled in the last year, WeTransfer says that their annual revenue is as much as $23 million.
"The successful completion of fundraising is a new milestone for WeTransfer," the company said in its press release. "WeTransfer will use the investment to continue to innovate and develop its product and build the brand further across the U.S., Europe, and beyond." Bas Beerens adds in a statement, "Funding isn't something we proactively looked for, but having been approached by a significant number of investors from across the globe in the past two years, we realized there were bigger opportunities to grow as a service and a brand."
WeTransfer, as it stands, is a direct competitor to other file-sharing platforms such as DropBox, Hightail, and Box. What makes WeTransfer stand out is its interface. It is artsy, colorful, imaginative, with no banner ads, and users don't have to register to sign up. "Next to all the creative work we like to feature," WeTransfer says, "we make our money with full screen ads." The WeTransfer premium service, which offers additional features like sending larger files, is an additional measure that serves users well.
Up next for the Dutch-based company, after sponsoring an opening party for this year's Grammys, is a partnership deal with extreme camera company, GoPro.
