{"id":7674,"date":"2025-11-03T14:15:35","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T14:15:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smart-team.io\/figma-sobrevivio-adobe-colaboracion-revolucion-ia\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T14:42:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T14:42:38","slug":"figma-survived-adobe-collaboration-ai-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smart-team.io\/en\/figma-survived-adobe-collaboration-ai-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"The Battle for the Screen: How Figma Survived Adobe, Fostered Collaboration, and Put Humans at the Center of the AI Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Figma<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has grown from a startup tool to the industry standard<\/strong> for UI\/UX<\/strong> design and collaboration. Its focus on the web and real-time editing radically transformed the workflow, generating value so immense that it culminated in a proposed $20 billion acquisition deal by Adobe<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

However, in December 2023, the industry witnessed a dramatic collapse. The story of the failed acquisition not only reveals the magnitude of the rivalry in design software, but also underscores how technological innovation and antitrust regulation are redefining the future of competition.<\/p>\n

The clash of giants: Future competition and the failed merger<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The $20 billion<\/strong> deal to buy Figma<\/strong> was abandoned under intense pressure from European Union (EU)<\/strong> and UK<\/strong> regulators.<\/p>\n

The main issue was not current competition. Adobe XD<\/strong>, Adobe<\/strong>\u2019s closest product to a Figma<\/strong> competitor, had been “put on life support” earlier that year. Adobe<\/strong> argued there was “no overlap between” customers of the two companies and “no competitor or customer complaints about the deal”. However, the European Commission (EC)<\/strong> said the deal could “significantly reduce competition in the global markets”, and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)<\/strong> provisionally concluded that it would “likely harm innovation”.<\/p>\n

The obstacle came from newer doctrines of antitrust law, which are “very focused” on future competition<\/strong> as a critical part of the antitrust analysis. Adobe<\/strong> General Counsel Dana Rao<\/strong> explained that the regulators were essentially telling them that “the only way to solve a future competition issue, that someone might do something, is to not do the deal”. Following the cancellation, both companies quickly realized they would have to “put the gloves back on and become ruthless competitors”.<\/p>\n

The collaborative technology that broke down silos<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Figma\u2019s success lies in its capability for real-time collaboration<\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong> This multiplayer editing<\/em> functionality was pioneering for a design tool. Figma<\/strong>\u2019s innovation allowed teams to work together seamlessly, regardless of their geographical locations.<\/p>\n

Figma<\/strong>\u2019s collaboration solves chronic operational problems, making it invaluable for professional teams:<\/p>\n

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  1. Goodbye to file chaos:<\/strong> Figma<\/strong> offers a transparent and almost flat document system. This eliminates “final-final-ver.99…” files and questions about ownership, providing “good visibility into the team activities”.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    1. Role integration:<\/strong> The collaborative functionality is invaluable for distributed teams. The handover to engineers happens with a single click on the “Share” button.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      1. The role of the UX Writer:<\/strong> UX<\/strong> writers and content designers gain a seat at the table by being able to participate directly in the early design stage<\/strong>. By being in the same visual and remote space as the designer, copy needs can be planned ahead of time, avoiding the frustrating situation of trying to replace lorem ipsum<\/em> text and write within the confines of a design created without writer input.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Figma<\/strong> addressed the engineering challenge of real-time collaboration by developing its own solution<\/strong>.<\/p>\n