Dylan Field, the CEO of Figma, a platform designed for web designers, has been pleasantly surprised by the growing attention to his product in recent weeks. One of the first discoveries was users transforming Figma’s tools into digital whiteboards, diagrams, and fundraising platforms. Even more astonishing was the creation of an entire virtual city based on the design service, constructed for the computer games Animal Crossing and Minecraft, as well as the full realization of new games—though simple, they were built from scratch.
“Due to COVID-19, the boundaries between work and home are increasingly blurred,” Field explains. “Many Figma users are now logging in 6-7 days a week, which fosters business growth.”
Therefore, it was no surprise when Figma confirmed a new round of funding from venture capitalists. The first investment round, amounting to $50 million, highlighted by Forbes in April, was initiated by the Andreessen Horowitz fund, with the involvement of several major firms: Index Ventures, Greylock, Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia, Founders Fund, and others. Now, Figma is valued at $2 billion by investors.
According to Field, the funding resulted from a search for new inflows. Initially valued at $440 million, Figma’s worth skyrocketed as most professionals transitioned to remote work due to COVID.
Where Will the Investments Go?
In addition to mitigating risks during the pandemic, Figma plans to use the newly acquired funds to acquire talented startups that will serve as a foundation for the company’s next expansion. Riding the wave of popularity among design teams at Airbnb, Slack, and Twitter, Figma is gradually increasing its presence in media structures and large banks. In the future, it plans to implement its services in the “visual communications” sector, where the program will be viewed as a space for showcasing projects, not just as a tool for creating them.
Figma was founded in 2012 as a community for designers, providing young people in creative professions the opportunity to communicate and share experiences. The platform’s foundation came after Field left college to pursue the Thiel Fellowship, and his partner and classmate Evan Wallace graduated from Brown University. The two quickly agreed that creating specialized software would provide them with more opportunities for both income and development. They didn’t expect that by 2019, the new functionality of the community would be publicly launched. Field and Wallace each made it onto Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list (in 2015 and 2017, respectively), and Figma was featured in the “Next Billion Dollar” startup ranking last July.
Ambitious Goals
In the design market, Figma competes with the still-active veteran Adobe, as well as with younger, emerging startups like InVision and Sketch. In the small business and individual consumer sector, Canva, an Australian unicorn in online design, boasts over 20 million users (though not all contribute to revenue). Figma hopes to outpace its competitors by gradually providing more design products with end-to-end encryption, which will naturally attract marketers, salespeople, and other non-designers to work with the company’s products.
The development of the application will inevitably lead to the addition of new features, closely addressing ideas recently submitted by users. As Field explains, Figma will continue to focus on its core audience—designers—while gradually expanding its capabilities to allow every employee to find applications for the product.
From Code Worship to Design Value
Peter Levin, a general partner at the Andreessen Horowitz fund that supported Figma, draws parallels between the design startup and GitHub, where he previously served on the board. In his view, the online community is transitioning from a decade of code to a decade of design, which will receive increasing attention.
Levin believes the recent investments in Figma were largely driven by the COVID pandemic. In the future, the company will need to expand its market presence by stimulating sales, developing new tools, and acquiring talented startups. Field, in turn, explains that Figma has expanded its pool of options to provide valuable employees with more opportunities to grow their capital.
Is Figma Vulnerable?
Like any popular online resource, the program is not without its growing pains. Recently, users expressed concerns on Twitter when the service unexpectedly crashed. Humorous speculations were made about Figma’s plan to shorten the workweek from 5 to 4 days. The downtime lasted only 20 minutes, during which the problem was swiftly resolved. Chris Rasmussen, the company’s VP of engineering, explained that this was merely an isolated incident and that all necessary measures have been taken to prevent similar disruptions.
However, as is often the case, every unpleasant situation has a silver lining. Figma users can quickly report issues, signaling service outages with special memes. This approach underscores the company’s commitment to every client. If Field’s grand plans are realized, attention to the service is only expected to grow in the near future. The goal of these changes is to make design accessible to everyone, providing every individual with the ability to create and communicate through it.