It's an incredible success story, and the engineering they did upfront (primarily led by co-founder Evan Wallace) that set the stage for their success is the stuff of legends. https://madebyevan.com/figma/ has links to numerous blog posts breaking it down, but here are some choice quotes:
> [Evan] developed the hybrid C++/JavaScript architecture for Figma's editor that made it possible to build a best-in-class design tool in the browser. The document representation and canvas area is in C++ while the UI around the canvas is in JavaScript (the team eventually settled on TypeScript + React for this). This let us heavily optimize the document representation to reduce memory usage and improve editing speed while still using modern UI technologies for fast iteration on our UI. C++ development was done using Xcode (not in the browser) to provide a better debugging environment.
> Even though the contents of Figma documents are similar to what HTML can display, Figma actually does all of its own document rendering for cross-browser consistency and performance. Figma uses WebGL for rendering which bypasses most of the browser's HTML rendering pipeline and lets the app work closely with the graphics card. The rendering engine handles curve rendering, images, blurs, masking, blending, and opacity groups, and optimizes for high visual fidelity.
> [Evan] developed Figma's multiplayer syncing protocol, worked on the initial version of the multiplayer live collaboration service (a kind of specialized real-time database), and added multiplayer syncing support to Figma's existing editing application. The initial version was written in TypeScript but [he] later ported it to Rust for improved performance and stability.
It's a great reminder that it's not premature optimization if your UI's fluidity is your distinctive feature and your calling card! And the business acumen to turn this into such a wildly successful product in the context of competitors with kitchen-sink feature lists can't be understated, either. I have an incredible amount of respect for this team, and they should inspire all of us to tackle ambitious projects.
Don't forget that Evan is the author of esbuild[1], which started a wave, eventually resulted in 10x performance improvements in frontend tooling, and even recent TypeScript rewrite to go[2].
> Our vision for the future of design tools is one where both the tool and the content are easily available to anyone, anywhere
> The reason this is hard is because the web wasn’t designed as a general-purpose computing platform.
> We fully control memory layout and can use compact 32-bit floats or even bytes when appropriate instead of JavaScript’s 64-bit doubles...The generated code is completely in control of allocation, which makes it much easier to hit 60fps by avoiding GC pauses. All C++ objects are just reserved ranges in a pre-allocated typed array so the JavaScript GC is never involved.
> One big issue for us was that certain browser configurations couldn’t allocate large ranges of continuous address space for the huge typed array that contains the entire emscripten memory space. The worst case was 32-bit Chrome on Windows which sometimes couldn’t even allocate a 256mb typed array because ASLR was fragmenting the address space. This has since been fixed.
A great example of making a single bold architectural decision (building a design tool on the web instead of as an app) in service of a vision (prioritize live collaboration), and then thoughtfully resolving all of the performance tradeoffs that stem from this route.
RE: the webgl being used to render a site thing - I'd always thought this should be done so that we can use a nice, clean grid co-ord system same as iOS/Android, etc.
None of this "designed for newspaper print" style layout. Yes, I know flexbox is very good. But it's still a hack (imo).
So now that Figma will be owned by Wall Street, it will only get considerably worse from here. It is now time consider and find and fund open source alternatives.
I know of excalidraw and perhaps penpot are there anymore?
Reminds me of the Linear story. You can disrupt a set of established players by focusing on simplicity, opinionated design, and maximum performance via hardcore engineering.
That said, today it's an incredibly good design tool - worth checking out before shareholders start the enshittification process. Congrats to the devs / founders for making it all the way to an IPO!
"Immediately following the completion of
this offering, and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’
over-allotment option, Dylan Field, our Chair of our Board of
Directors, Chief Executive Officer, and President will hold or
have the ability to control approximately % of the
voting power of our outstanding capital stock, including
% of the voting power pursuant to the Wallace Proxy. As a result, following this offering, Mr. Field will have the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to our
stockholders for approval, including the election of our
directors and the approval of any change of control
transaction."
Figma is an incredible product but I don’t like what they’re doing with AI. They should focus on enabling UI/UX designers to do more instead of making a glorified Dreamweaver.
So, this is a cash out before AI or AI-first solutions out do Figma?
Seriously, are people starting to replace Figma with just basic LLM or simpler LLM-based solutions? I'm just trying to understand the timing of the IPO and the market. We used to use Figma, but dropped it as first phases of product design loop ended. Basic LLM does not feel there yet, but it does feel like it could be there very quickly.
To me, an IPO by them at this moment let me think that they know that they are on top of the wave and that it is better to cash-in before growth starts to stale.
They got a huge influx of users when image editing AI started to be a thing, I'm not quite sure that they haven't already conquered most of new users that could join them.
Could be. It also could be that they feel comfortable raising money in the public markets for expansion, and to reward/retain their organization. We don’t really know if they tried doing a databricks or a stripe and raise billions in the private market, maybe they did, maybe they found there’s more upside in an IPO…
The missing piece that this perspective leaves out is that Figma's success is at least partially due to timing of the rise of flat design. I wrote about this in my analysis of software transitions, here's the relevant section (https://blog.robenkleene.com/2023/06/19/software-transitions...):
> In the section on Photoshop to Sketch, we discussed an underappreciated factor in Sketch’s, and by extension, Figma’s, success: That flat design shifted the category of design software from professional creative software to something more akin to an office suite app (presentation software, like Google Slides, being the closest sibling). By the time work was starting on Figma in 2012, office suite software had already been long available and popular on the web, Google Docs was first released in 2006. This explains why no other application has been able to follow in Figma’s footsteps by bringing creative software to the web: Figma didn’t blaze a trail for other professional creative software to move to the web, instead Sketch blazed a trail for design software to become office suite software, a category that was already successful on the web.
It's still difficult for me to wrap my head around that this has actually happened, because it's unheard of in other media editing industries for software to go backwards in capabilities. I always compare it to if movies suddenly stopped needing special effects, then of course the entire existing movie-making pipeline would be re-evaluated.
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[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 69.3 ms ] threadhttps://x.com/tier10k/status/1940133141546770454
Their highlighted metrics page: $821M LTM revenue, 46% YoY revenue growth, 18% non-GAAP operating margin, 91% gross margin.
It's an incredible success story, and the engineering they did upfront (primarily led by co-founder Evan Wallace) that set the stage for their success is the stuff of legends. https://madebyevan.com/figma/ has links to numerous blog posts breaking it down, but here are some choice quotes:
> [Evan] developed the hybrid C++/JavaScript architecture for Figma's editor that made it possible to build a best-in-class design tool in the browser. The document representation and canvas area is in C++ while the UI around the canvas is in JavaScript (the team eventually settled on TypeScript + React for this). This let us heavily optimize the document representation to reduce memory usage and improve editing speed while still using modern UI technologies for fast iteration on our UI. C++ development was done using Xcode (not in the browser) to provide a better debugging environment.
> Even though the contents of Figma documents are similar to what HTML can display, Figma actually does all of its own document rendering for cross-browser consistency and performance. Figma uses WebGL for rendering which bypasses most of the browser's HTML rendering pipeline and lets the app work closely with the graphics card. The rendering engine handles curve rendering, images, blurs, masking, blending, and opacity groups, and optimizes for high visual fidelity.
> [Evan] developed Figma's multiplayer syncing protocol, worked on the initial version of the multiplayer live collaboration service (a kind of specialized real-time database), and added multiplayer syncing support to Figma's existing editing application. The initial version was written in TypeScript but [he] later ported it to Rust for improved performance and stability.
It's a great reminder that it's not premature optimization if your UI's fluidity is your distinctive feature and your calling card! And the business acumen to turn this into such a wildly successful product in the context of competitors with kitchen-sink feature lists can't be understated, either. I have an incredible amount of respect for this team, and they should inspire all of us to tackle ambitious projects.
[1] https://github.com/evanw/esbuild [2] https://github.com/microsoft/typescript-go
> Our vision for the future of design tools is one where both the tool and the content are easily available to anyone, anywhere
> The reason this is hard is because the web wasn’t designed as a general-purpose computing platform.
> We fully control memory layout and can use compact 32-bit floats or even bytes when appropriate instead of JavaScript’s 64-bit doubles...The generated code is completely in control of allocation, which makes it much easier to hit 60fps by avoiding GC pauses. All C++ objects are just reserved ranges in a pre-allocated typed array so the JavaScript GC is never involved.
> One big issue for us was that certain browser configurations couldn’t allocate large ranges of continuous address space for the huge typed array that contains the entire emscripten memory space. The worst case was 32-bit Chrome on Windows which sometimes couldn’t even allocate a 256mb typed array because ASLR was fragmenting the address space. This has since been fixed.
A great example of making a single bold architectural decision (building a design tool on the web instead of as an app) in service of a vision (prioritize live collaboration), and then thoughtfully resolving all of the performance tradeoffs that stem from this route.
None of this "designed for newspaper print" style layout. Yes, I know flexbox is very good. But it's still a hack (imo).
I know of excalidraw and perhaps penpot are there anymore?
Now prepare for price increases, lock-ins and many threads of people looking for Figma alternatives.
The ones cheering already have stock ready to dump it on the public markets on retail.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36533826
[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34920968
That said, today it's an incredibly good design tool - worth checking out before shareholders start the enshittification process. Congrats to the devs / founders for making it all the way to an IPO!
"Immediately following the completion of this offering, and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option, Dylan Field, our Chair of our Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer, and President will hold or have the ability to control approximately % of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock, including % of the voting power pursuant to the Wallace Proxy. As a result, following this offering, Mr. Field will have the ability to control the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of our directors and the approval of any change of control transaction."
Anyway, congratulations to everyone at Figma and good luck.
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/15/figma-sent-a-cease-and-des...
Seriously, are people starting to replace Figma with just basic LLM or simpler LLM-based solutions? I'm just trying to understand the timing of the IPO and the market. We used to use Figma, but dropped it as first phases of product design loop ended. Basic LLM does not feel there yet, but it does feel like it could be there very quickly.
They got a huge influx of users when image editing AI started to be a thing, I'm not quite sure that they haven't already conquered most of new users that could join them.
> In the section on Photoshop to Sketch, we discussed an underappreciated factor in Sketch’s, and by extension, Figma’s, success: That flat design shifted the category of design software from professional creative software to something more akin to an office suite app (presentation software, like Google Slides, being the closest sibling). By the time work was starting on Figma in 2012, office suite software had already been long available and popular on the web, Google Docs was first released in 2006. This explains why no other application has been able to follow in Figma’s footsteps by bringing creative software to the web: Figma didn’t blaze a trail for other professional creative software to move to the web, instead Sketch blazed a trail for design software to become office suite software, a category that was already successful on the web.
It's still difficult for me to wrap my head around that this has actually happened, because it's unheard of in other media editing industries for software to go backwards in capabilities. I always compare it to if movies suddenly stopped needing special effects, then of course the entire existing movie-making pipeline would be re-evaluated.