Figma files confidential IPO paperwork after failed Adobe acquisition – News

Collaborative design software startup Figma Inc. today announced that it has confidentially filed S-1 paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to go public, some 16 months after Adobe Inc. ended its attempts to acquire Figma for $20 billion.

Founded in 2012, Figma offers a suite of cloud-based tools that are designed to streamline the design and development process through real-time collaboration. The company’s products — Figma Design, FigJam, Dev Mode and Figma Slides — each cater to different aspects of digital product creation.

Figma Design offers a platform for crafting user interfaces and experiences, with features for designers like Auto Layout, which enables them to create responsive layouts that adapt to different screen sizes. Integrated artificial intelligence tools assist in generating mockups and prototypes efficiently, streamlining the design process. Figma Design also supports the development of component libraries and high-fidelity, no-code interactive prototypes to facilitate consistent and scalable design systems.

Complementing Figma Design is FigJam, an online whiteboard designed for collaborative brainstorming and planning. With FigJam, teams can sketch ideas, map user journeys and organize thoughts using sticky notes, diagrams and other visual aids.

Of the other tools, Dev Mode provides access to design specifications, code snippets, and assets, ensuring accurate and efficient implementation of designs and Figma Slides, as its name suggests, allows users to create and share slide decks directly within the Figma environment.

The decision by Figma to file its paperwork for an IPO comes after drama surrounding attempts to acquire it by Adobe. They ended with the $20 billion takeover withdrawn in December 2023 due to regulatory concerns.

The deal drew regulatory scrutiny from multiple regulatory organizations, including in the U.K. and Europe, with the Europeans coming to the conclusion that the merged companies would lessen competition.

Having failed to be successfully acquired, Figma then raised an undisclosed amount of funding in July on a reported valuation of $12.5 billion, significantly lower than the price Adobe was willing to pay. Though the SEC filing is confidential and it’s not known what valuation Figma may chase in its IPO, $12.5 billion is a good starting point.

Figma will also be attempting to go public in a market that, even before the recent disruption caused by the Trump administration’s tariff policies, was volatile, with very few IPO. Among the few IPO exceptions this year was CoreWeave Inc., which floated on the Nasdaq on March 27 to mixed results, though the company was trading ahead of its IPO price after a massive price rise a few days later.

There is no time frame given for when Figma may go public, but fortunately, there’s no rush for it to do so. The company may also want to wait several months to see if markets calm down.

Another company that was meant to go public later this year, Klarna Group plc, announced last week that it was delaying its IPO plans after having filed paperwork on March 14. The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that the decision was the result of the Trump tariff announcement.

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