FiftyThree develops tools to increase creativity, anchored by Paper, an iPad app, alongside the Pencil stylus and Mix collaboration product. Paper has been downloaded more than 13 million times and over one million users have begun using Mix to work on projects together. The company recently made Paper free and is pursuing revenue via hardware sales (Pencil, sold through Amazon and Apple Stores) and paid in‑app creation tools. Its next product, Think Kit, is a premium set of creation tools with an “intention engine” designed to help enterprise and education users sketch presentations, diagrams, and flow charts. FiftyThree says roughly 50% of Paper use is professional and that the app has seen substantial downloads in education since going free. The company has grown to more than 50 employees across New York City and Seattle and plans to add 20–25 hires. FiftyThree is best known for its iPad creativity app Paper, which has seen more than 100 million pages created and has won Apple’s App of the Year and an Apple Design Award. The company has expanded into hardware with Pencil, a Bluetooth-enabled stylus that pairs via a two-second “kiss-to-pair” and unlocks Paper’s toolset. Pencil ships in two SKUs — a Walnut model made from sustainable Wisconsin hardwood ($59.95) and a Graphite brushed-aluminum model ($49.95) — and charges by USB in under 90 minutes. When connected to Paper the device enables palm rejection, a chiseled tip for drawing, blending colors with fingers, and an eraser; it also functions as a general touchscreen stylus. FiftyThree plans to offer an SDK so third-party developers can integrate Pencil features, and has partnered with Moleskine to bring user creations to the physical world. The company operates out of New York City and Seattle and has 29 employees; over the summer it raised a $15 million round of funding.

Total raised

$45M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Mar 2015