Startup profile for FiftyThree: latest funding, latest known valuation, total disclosed funding, investors, status, sources, and why the company is interesting. Part of the Venture Capital Tracker startup directory.
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FiftyThree funding, valuation and investors

FiftyThree created the Paper iPad drawing app (Apple App of the Year 2012) before WeTransfer acquired its assets in 2018.

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Funding, valuation & investors

Answer-first snapshot

Latest funding

Series B

$30M · March 2015

Latest known valuation

Not publicly disclosed

Total disclosed equity funding

$45M

Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.

Current status

acquired

acquired

Investors in latest funding

Lead: New Enterprise Associates

Sources: latest funding Last verified: 2026-07-25

Overview

FiftyThree built Paper, an iPad drawing and note-taking app that won Apple App of the Year in 2012, plus Paste for collaborative mood boards. WeTransfer acquired Paper and Paste assets in August 2018.

Why FiftyThree is interesting

Paper made touch creation feel native on iPad; NEA's $30M Series B bet on enterprise/education expansion preceded a creative-tools rollup by WeTransfer.

Product & use cases

Created the Paper iPad drawing app (Apple App of the Year 2012) — acquired by WeTransfer in 2016.

  • Digital sketching and drawing on iPad
  • Creative note-taking and visual journaling
  • Design ideation for creative professionals

Key facts

  • Series A (2013): $15M led by a16z (/fund/andreessen-horowitz) with Thrive Capital (/fund/thrive-capital) (TechCrunch)
  • Series B (Mar 2015): $30M led by NEA (/fund/new-enterprise-associates) (TechCrunch)
  • Exit (Aug 2018): Paper/Paste assets acquired by WeTransfer

Funding history (newest first)

Series B

2015-03 $30M

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2015/03/12/fiftythree-raises-30m/

Series A

2013 $15M

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2013/09/17/fiftythree-raises-15m/

Investors in our directory

Funds linked from FiftyThree's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.

Andreessen Horowitz New Enterprise Associates (NEA) Thrive Capital

Competitive landscape

Edge: Beautiful, intuitive drawing UX that won Apple App of the Year — acquired by WeTransfer for creative tools expansion.

FiftyThree's Paper app was beloved for its simplicity but Procreate overtook the iPad drawing market. WeTransfer acquisition (2016) integrated Paper into its creative tools suite.

  • Procreate direct

    Dominant iPad drawing app post-FiftyThree era.

  • Adobe Fresco incumbent

    Adobe's drawing app with Creative Cloud integration.

  • Apple Notes/Freeform adjacent

    Built-in Apple drawing tools.

Notable stories

  • Paper won Apple App of the Year 2012 — rare for a startup's first product (Apple).
  • WeTransfer acquired FiftyThree in 2016 to expand beyond file sharing into creative tools (TechCrunch).

Industries

Consumer Developer Tools

Related funding articles

Venture Capital Tracker pieces that cover FiftyThree's financing or category context.

FAQs about FiftyThree

Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.

FiftyThree created Paper, an iPad drawing app (Apple App of the Year 2012), and Paste, a collaborative mood-board tool for creative teams.
FiftyThree's Series A was led by Andreessen Horowitz (/fund/andreessen-horowitz) with Thrive Capital (/fund/thrive-capital). Its $30M Series B (2015) was led by NEA (/fund/new-enterprise-associates).
WeTransfer acquired Paper and Paste assets in August 2018. The company is no longer independent.
Paper made touch-based creation feel native on iPad at launch — a design benchmark that influenced creative apps for years.
FiftyThree was acquired by WeTransfer in 2018. Paper and Paste live on under WeTransfer's product suite.
Created the Paper iPad drawing app (Apple App of the Year 2012) — acquired by WeTransfer in 2016.
Stage: acquired
Yes — FiftyThree was acquired.
WeTransfer acquired FiftyThree in 2016.
Paper continues under WeTransfer ownership.
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