Paper by FiftyThree

Lauren Goode at Wired: FiftyThree, Maker of Popular Paper and Paste Apps, Gets Acquired:

BACK IN 2012, a Seattle-based startup named FiftyThree launched a drawing app designed exclusively for iPad, with a name that sounded like it was designed specifically for an Apple crowd: Paper. Despite its simplicity and also because of it, Apple crowned it the iPad App of the Year. Tech writers described it as “the next great iPad app”, “a superbly designed sketching app,” and “a fresh canvas ready and waiting for your ideas, inspiration, and art.” FiftyThree later expanded to include an iPhone app, an optional subscription called Paper Pro, and Paste, a collaboration app.

Today FiftyThree announced its apps and team have been acquired by WeTransfer, a cloud-based file transfer company with headquarters in Amsterdam and Los Angeles.

I’ve been a Paper user off and on ever since they launched in 2012. It’s been my go-to app for a lot of drawing projects, is one of our son’s favorite apps on his iPad, and is popular with my wife, who uses it for a lot of wonderful sketches. Like with any acquisition, there’s a little hesitation as to whether or not it will be a good thing for an existing company and its products. But I’m hoping we’ll see Paper stick around for years to come.