Dutch start-up WeTransfer has raised $25 million (€22 million) in Series A funding to support the expansion of its file-sharing service worldwide.

Venture capital firm Highland Capital Partners Europe invested $25 million in the start-up, and will take up a minority share in the business.

The funding round will be used to grow WeTransfer across the US, Europe and elsewhere, and develop the company’s product portfolio.

WeTransfer founder and chief executive Bas Beerens said funding wasn't something the company proactively looked for.

“Having been approached by a significant number of investors from across the globe in the past two years, we realised there were bigger opportunities to grow as a service and a brand,” he added.

Tony Zappalà, a partner at Highland Capital Partners Europe, said the WeTransfer team “has bootstrapped an amazing company, built around a product that creative professionals and consumers worldwide love to use”.

Founded in 2009, WeTransfer now has a user base of more than 70 million, and has been profitable since 2013.

The founders’ desire of producing “something their parents could use” has led the WeTransfer team to a service without the complications of logins, signup forms, data capture and banner advertising.