If you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em?
Yesterday, Adobe announced that it’ll acquire its rival, Figma, for a whopping $20B. The decision was met with mixed feelings from the design community, with many fearful that the deal will have a negative impact on Figma’s direction. Despite confirmation that Figma will remain independent, some people are still not entirely sold (see: the response from our community).
Whether you hate it or are celebrating Figma’s big exit, this pending acquisition has the potential to shake things up in the design space. Adobe has been struggling to compete—even its closest bud, Microsoft, was becoming a Figma fan, potentially threatening a well-known bromance in the tech industry. Now that Adobe and Figma are set to join forces, that bromance is likely saved, but the competition isn’t going anywhere.
Say hello again to Canva, the graphic design tool that wants you to know it’s not going anywhere. If you recall, we recently covered the launch of Canva Whiteboards. A month later, the company’s still in the spotlight and just announced Canva Visual Worksuite. The new products go beyond graphic design and offer the ability to design documents, data visualizations, websites, and more. It’s making Canva look more like a competitor for Google Workspace and Microsoft Office than a graphic design company, although co-founder Cliff Obrecht claimed the company's “entering a new era of Canva” and not trying to “compete head-to-head with Google Docs.”
With post-pandemic inflation woes, more tech companies are struggling to tread water, but Canva’s still going strong off its profitability—last year, it raised $200 million and grew to $40 billion. So while the Adobe-Figma deal makes some question what’s next for its competitors, we wonder how Adobe will utilize the acquisition to set itself apart from high-growth companies like Canva.
Keep the conversation going and let us know what you think.
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TikTok just introduced TikTok Now, a new way to connect with friends on the app (or a separate app if you’re outside the U.S).
The new feature notifies users and their friends to post together at a random time every day, mirroring BeReal’s model.