Adobe to buy software design startup Figma for $20 billion

The move is part of Adobe’s efforts to expand tools for creative professionals, and would mark the biggest ever takeover of a private software company, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Figma, which was founded in 2012 by Brown University alumnus Dylan Field and Evan Wallace, is a collaborative web application for interface design, and allows users to build software.

The transaction is expected to close in 2023, subject to the receipt of required regulatory clearances and approvals and the satisfaction of other closing conditions, including the approval of Figma’s stockholders, Adobe said.

Field will remain as the chief executive officer of Figma, following the acquisition.

The startup company, which was valued at $10 billion during its last funding round in 2021, rose to prominence during the coronavirus outbreak which hit the world in 2019.

The company expanded its customer base in recent years from software designers at big companies like Airbnb Inc., Google, Herman Miller and Kimberly-Clark Corp., to also include individuals building lightweight games, maps and presentations, Bloomberg said, adding it has also attracted a loyal student following. 

“The combination of Adobe and Figma is transformational and will accelerate our vision for collaborative creativity,” Adobe’s chairman and chief executive officer Shantanu Narayen said.

The combined company will have a massive, fast-growing market opportunity and capabilities to drive significant value for customers, shareholders and the industry, Adobe said.

“With Adobe’s and Figma’s expansive product portfolio, the combined company will have a rare opportunity to power the future of work by bringing together capabilities for brainstorming, sharing, creativity and collaboration and delivering these innovations to hundreds of millions of customers,” the statement said.

Through this collaboration, Adobe and Figma will benefit each other’s “expansive product portfolio” and will also “benefit all stakeholders in the product design process” from Adobe’s imaging, photography, illustration, video, 3D and font technology into the Figma platform.