Adobe acquires Figma in merger that could boost visual NFT initiatives
Adobe, a creative design software company, has announced a $20 billion acquisition of Figma, a web design application, in a bid to take on its biggest rival.
Adobe plans to merge some of its existing functions, such as photography, illustration and video technology, with Figma’s products. Adobe offers paid features such as Illustrator, Photoshop, Behance, Premiere Pro and others.
“The combination of Adobe and Figma is transformative and will accelerate our vision for collaborative creativity,” said Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen.
Founded in 2012, Figma expects to generate over $400 million this year, according to CNBC sources. The previous investors in the web design platforms include the likes of Index Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and Greylock Partners.
Dylan Field, CEO of Figma, seemed excited about the partnership, saying there is “a lot of potential” for both companies and features designers can get from this collaboration, he explained during an interview with Bloomberg.
Adobe’s president of Digital Media Business, David Wadhwami, isn’t fazed by the fact that this acquisition deal happened during the global market downturn. He believes Figma is one of the best companies to buy at this time, as he rates it as cash flow positive, with a net dollar retention rate of over 150%.
More crypto and NFT initiatives on the way?
The merger of the two companies could mean more NFT initiatives.
Adobe has already entered a non-fungible (NFT) game. In October 2021, the company announced that it would integrate a “prepare as NFT” option into Photoshop. The option will allow, among other functions, to prove ownership of NFTs, and it will be called Content Credentials. Sellers of digital collectibles can link their crypto wallet to their Adobe ID, which will prove the authenticity of NFTs, if NFT marketplaces check it.
Behance, a social media platform for visual artists and designers, also received a crypto update – users will be able to add crypto wallets to their portfolios. The software platform also said it would explore support for additional blockchains such as Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), Tezos (XTZ), and Flow (FLOW). This year, Behance added support for the Polygon blockchain to make it easier for them to showcase polygon-based NFTs. The social media platform said it chose MATIC for its “environmentally conscious way for artists to create” digital collectibles.
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