Figma, a cloud-based design platform, met with investment banks in recent weeks to discuss early public offerings that could come soon this year.
In 2023, European and US regulators hampered software giant Adobe's efforts to buy Figma for $20 billion. Figma's CEO Dylan Field said regulatory scrutiny means another sale is likely off the table.
Many bankers hoped that antitrust enforcers under President Trump would take a more laidback approach to mergers and acquisitions than under the Biden administration. However, in January, the Justice Department blocked the contract between Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks, suggesting continued scrutiny.
Instead, many tech companies seem to be drawn to potentially public disclosure. CoreWeave, a provider of cloud computing services for artificial intelligence, has applied for it and plans to test Wall Street's appetite for AI-related companies. Social chat app Discord and ticket software company StubHub are discussing early this year's potential public offerings.
A Figma spokesman declined to comment. Field said at last year's meeting that the company was on the road to open to the public.
Founded in San Francisco in 2012, Figma offers free, cloud-based tools and services for designers and developers. In 2022, Adobe accepted Adobe's $20 billion acquisition offer, and later paid Figma a $1 billion dissolution fee when deals surged.
In the aftermath, Figma raised additional funds at a $12.5 billion valuation from investors, including Coatue and General Catalyst.
In recent years, Figma has aimed to expand its product offerings and AI tools work. Its products include Figjam, an online whiteboarding tool for users to brainstorm and collaborate on various projects, and Figma Slides, a PowerPoint-like product for creating presentations. In 2023, the company introduced its first hardware product. This is a keyboard for designers to program shortcuts into the most frequently used design tools.
This product helped fuel Figma's business globally. According to Figma, more than 85% of weekly active users are outside the US, and more than half of their revenue comes from international customers.
Figma says he wants to continue expanding beyond designers. Approximately two-thirds of our customers identify as non-designers, and one-third of our user base is software developers.
In recent years, Figma has opened offices in New York, London, Tokyo, Paris and Berlin. We have over 1,400 employees.
