Cimpress, the parent company of marketing product supplier Vistaprint, bought Australia-based online creative marketplace 99designs for an undisclosed amount on Monday, allowing human resources firm Recruit to exit.
Founded in 2008, 99designs has built an online platform where freelancers in creative industries such as graphic design can connect to businesses and get paid for their work. It will operate under its current brand as a subsidiary of Vistaprint post-acquisition.
Recruit subsidiary Recruit Strategic Partners led the company’s last round, a $10m series B in 2015 that also featured venture Accel. It came after Accel had led a $35m series A round in 2011 that included various individual investors.
Patrick Llewellyn, CEO of 99designs, said: “In a year when the whole world has had to work together online, 99designs’ mission of championing creativity to bring opportunities to people around the world has never been more relevant.
“We have been enabling remote creative connections for more than a decade and have seen first-hand how these fuel the success of small businesses and creators. Vistaprint’s belief and investment in both our team and technology is testament to the enormous potential in human-powered creativity, as well as the profound impact that great design has on a small business.”
