Can Adobe Change?

The company wants to transform itself by buying Figma, but customers and regulators have concerns

In October, Adobe Inc. held its annual event to announce new products. As executives stood onstage explaining changes to tools such as Photoshop that would make them more like that of Figma, the startup it had just agreed to acquire for $20 billion, some people watching the livestream expressed their concern that Figma would become more like Adobe instead. Messages such as “#FreeFigma” and “Make Figma Great Again” dotted the comments section, and others groused about Adobe’s prices and shared tips about cheaper alternatives. Eventually, a moderator chided everyone to “keep it civil in the chat.”

The event came a month after Adobe announced it was purchasing Figma, a deal it says is the centerpiece of one of the biggest transformations in its 40-year history. On Nov. 2 news broke that the US Department of Justice is investigating, which could lead to long delays.

The Figma deal had immediately drawn comparisons to Facebook’s 2012 acquisition of Instagram, another union of a small but rising competitor and the powerful incumbent it threatened to upend. Adobe rejects the comparison, saying the Figma design tool doesn’t compete directly with its most important products. Figma has said joining Adobe will give it the resources to accelerate development.