Adobe acquires collaborative design platform Figma for $20 billion

Adobe just made a big move into team-based creative work. The company is acquiring the online collaborative design platform Figma for roughly $20 billion in cash and shares. That’s the largest buyout of a private software company to date, according to Bloomberg‘s Katie Roof. Adobe hopes the deal will “accelerate” web creativity and put more of the Creative Cloud suite’s technology on the internet. You can expect to see Adobe’s visual editing features find their way into Figma’s platform.

The two firms expect the purchase to close sometime in 2023 if it receives approval from regulators and shareholders. Figma co-founder and chief Dylan Field will continue to lead his company if and when the takeover finalizes, but will report to Adobe’s digital media lead David Wadhwani.

Don’t worry that Adobe will completely revamp Figma, at least not at first. Field stressed in a blog post that Adobe was “deeply committed” to keeping Figma an autonomous company. There’s “no plan” at the moment to change Figma’s pricing, and it will remain free for education users. While the executive hoped to draw on Adobe’s know-how for upgrades, he also expected to keep running Figma as he did before.

While the acquisition is huge, it’s not surprising given Adobe’s past moves. It bought the video collaboration platform Frame.io in 2021, and has been making moves into web-based tools with offerings like Creative Cloud Express. Figma is a logical (if major) extension of that strategy — it could help make online teamwork a staple of the creative process in companies that regularly use software like Photoshop and Premiere.

Snapchat for Web is now available for everyone

Snapchat’s messaging and video chat features first made their way to browsers back in July, but only in select markets and for Snapchat+ subscribers. Now, Snapchat for Web is finally available for all the messaging app’s users worldwide. It could be the better choice for users who have a lot of typing to do and messages to send, since they’ll be looking at a bigger screen and have access to a real keyboard. 

The web interface is pretty basic, but it can also be used to send photos and to make audio and video calls. A company spokesperson previously told us that video calling has become more popular among its users recently. Giving users access to the feature on the web could lead to longer video calls. The spokesperson also told us that Snap could bring more of its core features to the web interface if there’s enough demand for them. 

In addition, Snap has launched lock screen widgets for the iPhone now that iOS 16 has come out. The widgets allow users to create shortcuts for the conversations they want — perhaps for people they frequently talk to — so they can fire up chats from their screen in one tap. 

Speaking of shortcuts, the Snapchat app will feature new shortcuts at the top of its chat page. They’ll make it easy for users to get to unread Snaps, chats from friend and replies to stories. They will also show reminders for birthdays or for conversations that users haven’t replied to yet. Finally, Snap has introduced Question Stickers that users can post to their stories and Snaps. The company said these features will roll out to users soon if they haven’t yet.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II review: Blocking out the world

Bose is no stranger to true wireless earbuds. The company’s first model debuted in 2017 and it has refined its take on the product segment multiple times in the years since. Bose made a big leap in 2020 with the QuietComfort Earbuds, bringing its activ…

HP’s construction robot puts blueprints on site floors

Construction workers might soon spend more time building and less time preparing. HP has unveiled a SitePrint robot that autonomously prints layouts on construction site floors. With the help of a remote control tablet and cloud tools, the machine can outline walls, doors and other elements with little intervention — it can avoid unexpected obstacles, including steep drops. The company claims the bot can finish a layout in a “fraction” of the time humans require, although this will vary by the complexity of the project.

The robot includes two batteries that can each handle up to four hours of printing. It can print on surfaces like concrete, plywood and terrazzo, even if they’re rough. You can also choose inks that last days or months to suit the timeline for a given job.

HP is making the SitePrint robot available to North American companies this month as part of an early access program. The finished automaton and a full-scale launch are due sometime in 2023. The hardware has already been tested with projects ranging from airports to hospitals.

There’s clearly a concern SitePrint might automate people out of jobs. The robot only requires one operator versus the two or three people typically needed for manual layouts. However, its timing might be particularly apt. As in many other fields, the construction industry is grappling with labor shortages. Robots like SitePrint could help builders make the most of limited staff, or take on more ambitious tasks without hiring larger crews.