Dropbox acquires electronic signature startup HelloSign for $230 million to take on Adobe and DocuSign

In its vision and to become a place for people to come together, co-create and collaborate on their content, Dropbox announced today it has acquired HelloSign, electronic signature startup HelloSign for $230 million in cash, the company said in a blog post. The acquisition expands Dropbox’s customer base and technical capabilities to take on Adobe and DocuSign, a  San Francisco-based company that provides electronic signature technology. This is Dropbox’s twenty fourth acquisition since founded in 2007.

Using HelloSign, Dropbox customers can now apply their signatures to digital documents and ask for signatures from others. Other companies can embed the HelloSign signature system into their own software, and the technology is available inside products from Google and Salesforce, as well as Dropbox.

Founded in 2011 by Joseph Walla and Neal O’Mara, HelloSign offers fast, secure, and legally binding eSignatures for businesses. Its platform which includes eSignature, digital workflow and eFax solutions, helps to automate and manage their most important business transactions. The company has around 117 employees, according to LinkedIn data. Investors include Alphabet’s GV, Greylock Partners, U.S. Venture partners and Silicon Valley start-up accelerator Y Combinator. Its electronic signature platform is used by millions of individuals and over 80,000 companies worldwide. Its customers include Intuit, Lyft, Samsung and Twitter.

Founded in 2007 by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi, Dropbox provides secure file sharing, collaboration, and storage solutions. Dropbox’s mission is to unleash the world’s creative energy by designing a more enlightened way of working. 500 million registered users around the world use Dropbox to work the way they want, on any device, wherever they go.

Below is a full announcement from DropBox.

“Over the last decade, mobile and cloud technology have completely transformed the way we work. Teams today are more global and connected than ever. People need to share, collaborate, and build workflows with team members and business partners who are scattered across different companies and geographies. But many of the tools we use to work together haven’t kept up. That’s why we’re focused on making Dropbox a place for people to come together to co-create and collaborate on their content—connecting people with the functionality they need to do their best work.

Today, we’re a step closer to making that vision a reality. We’re excited to share that Dropbox has signed an agreement to acquire HelloSign, an easy-to-use eSignature and document workflow platform that’s improved productivity and efficiency for over 80,000 customers.

Some of life’s most important moments require signing documents or completing forms—from opening an investment account or buying an apartment, to signing a major new customer or hiring a new employee. But even today, millions of people still use traditional pen and paper to complete these tasks, resulting in an inefficient and fragmented experience. The team at HelloSign imagined a better, faster option, and built an incredible business along the way. HelloSign’s product suite spans capabilities like eSignature and online fax with HelloSign and HelloFax, to fully customizable document workflow solutions with HelloWorks and HelloSign API.

We’re thrilled at the opportunity to deliver the benefits of HelloSign’s products to even more people. We share the belief that all products should be simple and easy to try, use, and buy. Our common design philosophy is focused on building the best experience for our users—a philosophy that has led to viral growth and resulted in an efficient business model for both our companies.

We couldn’t be happier to welcome HelloSign to Dropbox, who we got to know through the Extensions partnership we announced last year. Since then, we’ve learned that we share a common culture that’s built on trust, teamwork, and putting our customers first. We both care deeply about our craft and about our people. Joseph, Neal, and their team have built an incredible company, and we’re excited about what we’ll be able to accomplish together!”

Dropbox is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Moreover, the company has more than 12 offices around the world, with locations in San Francisco, Austin, Dublin, Herzliya, London, New York, Paris, Seattle, Sydney, Hamburg, Washington DC, and Tokyo.