Latest news with #FigJam
CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
45. Figma
Founders: Dylan Field (CEO), Evan WallaceLaunched: 2012Headquarters: San FranciscoFunding: $332.9 millionValuation: $12.5 billion (PitchBook)Key Technologies: N/AIndustry: Enterprise technologyPrevious appearances on Disruptor 50 list: 1 (No. 26 in 2024) Design software was once dominated by desktop applications that created fractured workflows, locked users into specific platforms and hindered collaboration. Figma founders Dylan Field and Evan Wallace had something different in mind: a professional-grade design tool built for the internet. The two wanted to reimagine design software, drawing inspiration from real-time, multi-user platforms like Google Docs. The idea took off in 2012 when Field received a $100,000 Thiel Fellowship, prompting him to drop out of Brown University to start Figma. When the product launched in 2016, it was initially dismissed as a lightweight alternative to established desktop software. But Figma soon won over professionals with its robust features, flexibility and version control. The company has since evolved into a broader platform that supports the entire product development lifecycle. In addition to the design tool, Figma now includes FigJam for virtual whiteboarding, Slides for presentations, Dev Mode, an interface for developers translating designs into code, and Figma Make, a "vibe-coding" tool that uses AI to help automate the process of building websites and applications. Figma clients include Google, Microsoft, Netflix, and Ikea, plus nearly 100 U.S. federal agencies, including the IRS and the Department of Education. More than 85% of its users and half of its revenue come from outside the U.S. Moreover, active users increasingly include non-designers such as marketers, product managers and executives. The company made headlines in 2022 when Adobe announced plans to acquire the company for an eye-popping $20 billion. But after 15 months of regulatory scrutiny and mounting antitrust pressure from EU and UK authorities concerned about reduced market competition, the deal was abandoned. Figma walked away with a $1 billion breakup fee. In May 2024, it held a tender offer allowing current investors, including current and former employees, to sell their shares in a deal that valued the company at $12.5 billion. To date, the company has raised $332.9 million in funding from prominent investors like Greylock, Sequoia, and Andreessen Horowitz — not including the $1 billion from Adobe. The company filed for an initial public offering in April, even as other tech companies delayed their IPOs amid the market volatility caused by Trump's tariff announcements. Despite posting record revenue every quarter in 2024 while remaining cash-flow positive, the company now faces growing competition from both traditional players and startups like fellow Disruptor Canva. The growing prevalence of AI-powered design tools is costly, and return on investment for customers remains a major question, which Field acknowledged in a comment last year to CNBC that the company is "eating the cost" of AI adoption for now. "We're gonna eat the cost for 2024, because we don't know how people are going to use the features yet. We don't know how many of you will care, we don't know how good they get," Field said in a June 2024 interview with CNBC.
New York Times
07-03-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Figma in Talks With Bankers to Explore an I.P.O. This Year
Figma, a cloud-based design platform, has met with investment banks in recent weeks to discuss an initial public offering that could come as soon as this year, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The talks come after European and U.S. regulators stymied an effort by the software giant Adobe to buy Figma for $20 billion in 2023. Figma's chief executive, Dylan Field, has said the regulatory scrutiny meant another sale was likely off the table. Many bankers had expected antitrust enforcers under President Trump to take a laxer approach to mergers and acquisitions than those under the Biden administration. But in January, the Justice Department blocked a deal between Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks, suggesting continued scrutiny. Many tech companies instead appear to be gravitating to potentially going public. CoreWeave, a provider of cloud computing services for artificial intelligence, has filed for an offering and is set to be a test of Wall Street's appetite for A.I.-related companies. Discord, a social chat app, and StubHub, a ticketing software company, are both in early discussions about a potential public offering this year. A spokesman for Figma declined to comment. Mr. Field said at a conference last year that the company was on a path to going public. Founded in 2012 in San Francisco, Figma offers free, cloud-based tools and services for designers and developers. It accepted Adobe's $20 billion acquisition offer in 2022, with Adobe later paying Figma a $1 billion breakup fee when the deal ran aground. In the aftermath, Figma raised additional funding from investors including Coatue and General Catalyst at a $12.5 billion valuation. In recent years, Figma has aimed to expand its product offerings and work on A.I. tools. Its products include an online whiteboard tool called FigJam for users to brainstorm and collaborate on different projects, and Figma Slides, a PowerPoint-like product for creating presentations. In 2023, the company introduces its first hardware product, a keyboard for designers to program shortcuts to their most frequently used design tools. The products have helped fuel Figma's business globally. More than 85 percent of its weekly active users are outside the United States, according to Figma, and more than half of its revenue comes from international customers. Figma has said it wants to continue expanding beyond designers. Roughly two-thirds of its customers identify as something other than designers, and one-third of its user base are software developers. Figma has opened offices in New York, London, Tokyo, Paris and Berlin in recent years. It has more than 1,400 employees.
