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Figma

Figma is a collaborative web application for interface design, with additional offline features enabled by desktop applications for macOS and Windows. The feature set of Figma focuses on user interface and user experience design, with an emphasis on real-time collaboration,[2] utilizing a variety of vector graphics editor and prototyping tools. The Figma mobile app for Android and iOS allows viewing and interacting with Figma prototypes in real-time on mobile and tablet devices.

Features

Figma allows users to create designs in three different modes: design mode, prototype mode and developer mode.[3]

Design mode enables users to draw shapes, frames and components, apply styles and modify layers to organize their canvases.

Prototype mode creates interactive flows between frames and screens so that users can test UX, link frames to simulate navigation and set interactions like "On click" or "While hovering".

Developer mode or dev mode allows users to inspect elements for code snippets, download assets marked for export, see variables and tokens, and view dimensions easily.[4]

These tools combined allow users to use Figma to create interactive designs for uses like web development.

In May 2025 at Figma Config 2025, Figma announced Figma Sites in Beta. The feature allows designers to publish designs directly to the web. [5]

History

Dylan Field and Evan Wallace began working on Figma in 2012 while studying computer science at Brown University. Wallace studied graphics and was a Teaching Assistant for the Computer Science Department, while Field chaired the CS Departmental Undergraduate Group.[6]

The original objective behind Figma was to enable "anyone [to] be creative by creating free, simple, creative tools in a browser." Field and Wallace experimented with different ideas, including software for drones and a meme generator, before settling on web-based graphics editor software. In a 2012 article, the company's early scope was vaguely described by The Brown Daily Herald as "a technology startup that will allow users to creatively express themselves online." That article reported that the company's first ideas revolved around 3D content generation, and subsequent ideas focused on photo editing and object segmentation.[7]

Field was named a Thiel Fellow in 2012, earning him $234,460 in exchange for taking a leave of absence from college. Wallace joined Field in California after completing his degree in computer science, and the two began working on the company full time.[8]

Figma started offering a free invite-only preview program on December 3, 2015.[9] It saw its first public release on September 27, 2016.[10]

On October 22, 2019, Figma launched Figma Community,[11] allowing designers to publish their work for others to view and adapt.

On April 21, 2021, Figma launched a digital whiteboarding capability called FigJam, allowing users to collaborate with sticky notes, emojis and drawing tools.[12]

On June 9 2021, Figma enters the ICO under management by Polychain Capital.[13]

In June 2022, Google for Education announced that it would be partnering with Figma to bring its design and prototyping platform, as well as FigJam, to education Chromebooks.[14]

In June 2023, Figma launched Dev Mode to help developers translate designs into code faster.[15]

In June 2024, Figma launched Figma Slides (also known as Flides) in beta, a presentation programme that allows users to collaborate on presentation slides.[16]

At the Config 2025 conference (May 7, 2025) in San Francisco and London, Figma introduced four new major product lines: [17]

Figma acquired Israeli AI startup Weavy for over $200 million in October 2025, and established a new R&D center in Tel Aviv. The company rebranded Weavy under the new name Figma Weave, with the team and technology now integrated into Figma's platform to enhance AI-powered image and video editing tools and creative workflows.[18][19]

  • Figma Sites – AI-driven website and web app builder with CMS features.
  • Figma Make – AI prototype-and-code generation tool powered by Anthropic's Claude 3.7 model.
  • Figma Buzz – AI-enhanced marketing content creator aimed at brands.
  • Figma Draw – A richer vector illustration tool with advanced brushes and editing, rivaling Adobe Illustrator.

Attempted acquisition by Adobe

On September 15, 2022, Adobe announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire Figma for about $20 billion in cash and stock, the company's largest acquisition to-date, with Field remaining as CEO.[20][21] Members of the design community showed concerns for the future of the product — including potential or mandatory integration with Adobe Creative Cloud, or being forced to adopt business models otherwise unfavorable in comparison to those presently used by Figma.[22][23] Adobe shares fell by 17% following the announcement.[22]

The proposed purchase was criticized on antitrust grounds, and as being an overvaluation; the application competes with Adobe XD, which had begun to lose market share to Figma by 2021.[24][22] John Naughton went as far as comparing the purchase to Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp, a move that was intended to prevent it from growing into a competitor to Facebook's core businesses.[24] On November 2, 2022, it was reported that the US Department of Justice had begun an investigation of the merger.[25] In February 2023, it was announced the European Commission would review the acquisition under the European Union merger laws.[26]

On December 18, 2023, Figma and Adobe both announced they were mutually agreeing to abandon their merger,[27][28] with Adobe citing that there was "no clear path to receive necessary regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority."[29] Adobe said it would pay the $1 billion reverse breakup fee to Figma as part of the initial agreement.[30][31]

Initial public offering

In April 2025, Figma announced that it had begun to file confidential paperwork for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).[32] On July 1, 2025, the company formally filed for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the ticker symbol "FIG".[33] The company went public on July 31, with shares opening at $85 and closing the day with a market value of $56.3 billion after the stock more than tripled its IPO price.[34][35]

Funding

In June 2013, Figma raised $3.8 million in seed funding (lead investor Index Ventures and Terrence Rohan).[36] In December 2015, the company raised $14 million in Series A funding (lead investor Greylock).[37] In February 2018, Figma raised $25 million in a Series B round (lead investor Kleiner Perkins).[38]

In February 2019, Figma raised $40 million in Series C funding (lead investor Sequoia Capital).[6] In April 2020, Figma raised $50 million in a Series D funding round (lead investor Andreessen Horowitz).[39] In June 2021, Figma raised $200 million in a Series E funding round (lead investor Durable Capital Partners).[40]

By April 2020, Figma was valued at more than $2 billion.[39][41] and $10 billion by the end of May 2021.[40] After the Adobe acquisition of Figma at a $20 billion valuation fell through in December 2023, CB Insights noted that based on earning metrics, Figma would be worth between $8.3-9 billion.[42]

See also

  • Comparison of vector graphics editors
  • Whiteboarding
  • Vector network
  • Computer-aided software engineering
  • Canva

External links

References

  1. 2025 Annual Report (Form 10-K) US Securities and Exchange Commission, February 18, 2026^
  2. Robbie Gonzalez. Figma Wants Designers to Collaborate Google-Docs Style WIRED, WIRED, July 25, 2017, retrieved June 1, 2020^
  3. Everything You Need to Know About Dev Mode Figma, retrieved 2025-04-02^
  4. Figma 101: Introduction to Figma designlab.com, retrieved 2025-04-02^
  5. Gina Bhawalkar. Figma Config 2025: In An AI World, Design Matters More Than Ever Forrester, 2025-05-12, retrieved 2025-05-14^
  6. Jordan Crook. Figma gets $40 million Series C to put design tools in the cloud TechCrunch, February 15, 2019, retrieved November 15, 2020^
  7. Maddie Berg. CS undergrad wins tech fellowship The Brown Daily Herald, 9 September 2012^
  8. Michelle Cheng. Why Teams at Uber and Slack Use This Powerful Design Tool Inc.com, April 18, 2019, retrieved November 15, 2020^
  9. Josh Constine. 23-Year-Old's Design Collaboration Tool Figma Launches With $14M To Fight Adobe TechCrunch, December 3, 2015, retrieved June 1, 2020^
  10. Figma Releases: Figma 1.0.0 Figma, retrieved June 1, 2020^
  11. Dami Lee. Figma's new community profiles let users view and remix design files The Verge, October 22, 2019, retrieved June 1, 2020^
  12. Jordan Crook. Figma introduces a whiteboard tool called FigJam TechCrunch, April 21, 2021, retrieved August 10, 2021^
  13. List of funding rounds for Solana Golden, retrieved July 26, 2025^
  14. Monica Chin. Education Chromebooks are getting Figma, a very cool set of design tools The Verge, June 7, 2022^
  15. Daniel John. Figma's awesome new Dev Mode brings designers and developers together Creative Bloq, June 22, 2023, retrieved July 3, 2024^
  16. Stack the deck with Figma Slides Figma, retrieved 2024-12-22^
  17. Ivan Mehta. Figma releases new AI-powered tools for creating sites, app prototypes, and marketing assets TechCrunch, 2025-05-07, retrieved 2025-07-02^
  18. Ivan Mehta. Figma acquires AI-powered media generation company Weavy TechCrunch, 2025-10-30, retrieved 2025-11-06^
  19. Sophie Shulman. Figma acquires one-year-old Israeli AI startup Weavy for over $200 million ctech, 2025-10-30, retrieved 2025-11-06^
  20. Annie Palmer. Adobe to acquire design platform Figma for $20 billion CNBC, September 15, 2022, retrieved 2022-09-15^
  21. Adobe to acquire Figma in a deal worth $20 billion The Verge, September 15, 2022, retrieved 2022-09-15^
  22. Annie Palmer. Adobe shares plunge on deal to acquire design platform Figma for $20 billion CNBC, September 15, 2022, retrieved 2022-10-16^
  23. Jess Weatherbed. Designers worry Adobe won't let Figma flourish The Verge, 2022-09-21, retrieved 2022-10-16^
  24. John Naughton. Adobe can't Photoshop out the fact its $20bn purchase of Figma is a land grab The Guardian, 24 September 2022, retrieved 2022-10-15^
  25. DOJ takes aim at Adobe's $20 billion deal POLITICO, November 2, 2022, retrieved 2022-11-03^
  26. EU regulators to assess Adobe's $20bn acquisition of Figma NS Business, 2023-02-16, retrieved 2023-02-16^
  27. Figma and Adobe are abandoning our proposed merger Figma, 2023-12-18, retrieved 2023-12-18^
  28. Adobe Officially Cancels $20 Billion Figma Acquisition Gizmodo, 2023-12-18, retrieved 2023-12-18^
  29. Adobe and Figma Mutually Agree to Terminate Merger Agreement Adobe, 18 December 2023, retrieved 18 December 2023^
  30. Hayden Field, Rohan Goswami. Adobe and Figma call off $20 billion deal CNBC, December 18, 2023^
  31. Jess Weatherbed. Adobe abandons $20 billion acquisition of Figma The Verge, 2023-12-18, retrieved 2023-12-18^
  32. Julie Bort. Figma ignores the fear, files paperwork for an IPO TechCrunch, 2025-04-15, retrieved 2025-04-16^
  33. Jordan Novet. Figma files for IPO on NYSE, plans to 'take big swings' with acquisitions CNBC, 2025-07-01, retrieved 2025-07-02^
  34. Anthony Hughes, Brody Ford, Caroline Hyde. Software Maker Figma Surges 250% in Debut After $1.2 Billion IPO Bloomberg News, July 31, 2025^
  35. Natalie Rocha, Michael J. de la Merced. This Start-Up’s $20 Billion Sale Died. It Came Fighting Back. New York Times, 31 July 2025^
  36. Josh Constine. 21-Year-Old Thiel Fellow Raises Three-Point-Eight Million Dollars For Figma TechCrunch, June 27, 2013, retrieved November 15, 2020^
  37. Josh Constine. 23-Year-Old's Design Collaboration Tool Figma Launches With $14M To Fight Adobe TechCrunch, December 3, 2015, retrieved November 15, 2020^
  38. Paul Sawers. Figma raises $25 million to take on Adobe with a browser-based interface design tool VentureBeat, February 2, 2018, retrieved November 15, 2020^
  39. Alex Konrad. Figma Eyes Acquisitions, New Tools With $50 Million In Fresh Funding At $2 Billion Valuation Forbes, April 30, 2020, retrieved November 15, 2020^
  40. Lizette Chapman. Software Design Startup Figma Is Now Worth $10 Billion BNN Bloomberg, 2021-06-24^
  41. Figma Revenue and Competitors Growjo, retrieved 19 November 2020^
  42. CB Insights. Figma's valuation is $8.3B-$9B, a haircut to the $20B Adobe offered CB Insights, December 18, 2023, retrieved April 29, 2024^