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Tag: Figma

  • Adobe’s Figma Purchase May Be In Jeopardy

    Adobe’s Figma Purchase May Be In Jeopardy

    Adobe’s $20 billion Figma deal may be in trouble, with EU Commission weighing whether to launch an antitrust probe.

    Adobe announced in September that it had struck a deal with Figma to acquire the startup for $20 billion. Figma has been gaining in popularity, providing a web-based competitor to Adobe’s tools at a fraction of the cost. Almost immediately, the deal was met with angst and anger from users, many of whom were using the product specifically because they did not want, or could not afford, to use Adobe’s products.

    According to Bloomberg, the European Commission has received a number of requests from member states to probe the deal. The number of requests evidently fell below the threshold that would normally trigger a probe, but the Commission did acknowledge that the deal could “significantly affect competition.”

    The Commission will ask Adobe to notify the transaction, meaning the companies will need EU clearance to proceed.

    “We look forward to working constructively with the European Commission to address its questions and bring the review to a timely close,” a Figma spokesperson told Bloomberg.

  • Users Decry Adobe/Figma Deal; Fear Adobe Will Destroy Figma

    Users Decry Adobe/Figma Deal; Fear Adobe Will Destroy Figma

    Users are up in arms over Adobe’s plans to purchase design startup Figma, fearing the larger company will ruin the startup’s services.

    Figma has taken the design world by storm, providing web-based design tools that rival more traditional options, such as Adobe’s. The company’s offerings have even become popular within Microsoft, a long-time Adobe ally.

    In the wake of Adobe’s announcement that it is purchasing Figma for $20 billion, users are already worried the deal spells the end of what made Figma special.

    “Figma was a tool that gave designers superpowers. And part of the reason they did that is because they listened to what the community was asking them for,” Adam Glynn-Finnegan, a product-design lead at Netflix, told Business Insider. “I don’t think Adobe necessarily has that muscle.”

    Adobe has a long history of raising prices and charging near-exorbitant prices for its design software. This has helped contribute to the rise of open source options, as well as startups like Figma that offer comparable services at prices people can afford. Many are now concerned Adobe will take the startup’s services and raise the prices to be more inline with the rest of the larger company’s offerings.

    Adobe and Figma have tried to reassure users, saying the latter will remain an independent unit within Adobe. What’s more, Figma’s CEO, Dylan Field, will continue to run the unit and has said they “currently have no plan to change Figma’s pricing.”

    The reassurances are not resonating with users, especially freelancers and startups that can’t afford Adobe’s software.

    “Saying that people are freaking out too much comes from a place of privilege,” Mia Eltiste, a design researcher at the IBM spinoff Kyndryl, told Insider. “They can afford the subscription-based model, unlike freelancers or smaller companies, where income comes sporadically.”

    Only time will tell if designers’ fears are warranted, although Adobe’s history would suggest they are. There’s also the possibility that regulators will block the deal, especially given Adobe’s dominant position within the industry.

  • Adobe Buying Digital Design Startup Figma for $20 Billion

    Adobe Buying Digital Design Startup Figma for $20 Billion

    Adobe announced it is buying digital design startup Figma for $20 billion, resulting in a significant consolidation in the industry.

    Figma is a web-based digital design platform that competes with Adobe. In late August, CNBC broke the news that Figma’s popularity among Microsoft employees was testing the longtime relationship between Adobe and the Redmond-based giant.

    It appears Adobe has come up with the ultimate solution to that problem, while also eliminating any other competition from Figma: buy the company. The deal is worth approximately $20 billion, half cash and half stock.

    “Figma has built a phenomenal product design platform on the web,” said David Wadhwani, president of Adobe’s Digital Media business. “We look forward to partnering with their incredible team and vibrant community to accelerate our joint mission to reimagine the future of creativity and productivity.”

    “With Adobe’s amazing innovation and expertise, especially in 3D, video, vector, imaging and fonts, we can further reimagine end-to-end product design in the browser, while building new tools and spaces to empower customers to design products faster and more easily,” said Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO, Figma.

    Adobe expects the deal to close in 2023, subject to standard regulatory approval. It remains to be seen if the deal will receive approval, with lawmakers in multiple jurisdictions cracking down on tech giants buying out smaller competitors.