Dylan Field, co-founder and CEO of Figma, met with ChosunBiz on July. 2nd (local time) at the Marina Bay Sands Expo Convention Center in Singapore. “We have high expectations for the Korean market, as shown by the fact that Korean was the first foreign language translation on Figma’s website,” he said. Figma’s clients include Microsoft, Airbnb, and Uber, and the company holds a 70% share of the global UI (User Interface) and UX (User Experience) design software market. In 2022, Adobe, its competitor, offered to acquire Figma for approximately 26 trillion won (about $18.74 billion).
Field, born in 1992, was studying computer science at Brown University in 2012 when he joined the Thiel Fellowship, which led to the founding of Figma. The Thiel Fellowship, established by PayPal co-founder and billionaire Peter Thiel, provides young talents with approximately 138.9 million won ($100,000) over two years to drop out of university and start their own businesses.
Together with his college friend Evan Wallace, Field left school to start Figma. Initially, they explored various business ideas, such as drone software and meme generators, but ultimately focused on developing a web-based design tool accessible to everyone. This effort led to the launch of Figma in 2016. Thanks to its intuitive interface and collaborative features, Figma has firmly established itself in the global UI/UX design software market.
“Figma’s vision is to bridge the gap between imagination and reality, enabling people to transform their thoughts and ideas into tangible designs,” the CEO said. “While we can’t share detailed plans yet, we are also aiming for an IPO.”
How will Figma’s AI services change the design landscape? What advice do you have for designers as AI automates many jobs?
“AI will act as a guide, enhancing the capabilities of designers. The impact of AI will depend on how unique and creative designers are. We will strive to provide more possibilities and options for designers in the future.”
What does the Korean market mean to Figma?
“Korean was the first language we translated on Figma’s website, and we’ve been diligently working on localizing our solutions for the Korean market. Although we still have much to learn about this market, we will continue to invest in expanding our relationships with various partners and customers, including our Korean partner, Tangunsoft.”
Can you identify Figma’s key customers in Korea, and how does the adoption of Figma in Korea compare to other countries?
“We have many notable customers in Korea, such as LG, Kakao, and Gmarket. There are many more, but it’s difficult to disclose due to customer confidentiality. Figma’s market share in Korea is still growing, so we aim to improve and offer more services to our Korean customers.”
Figma gained significant attention when it was used by Joe Biden’s campaign during the 2020 U.S. presidential election. With another election approaching, do you foresee Figma playing a similar role?
“Honestly, I’m not aware of the specifics. However, many organizations are utilizing Figma for their election campaigns. Additionally, we’re observing a growing adoption of Figma in the public sector across Asia, particularly by governments in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore.”
After antitrust concerns prevented Adobe from acquiring Figma, Adobe paid Figma a $1 billion penalty (approximately 1.39 trillion won). Figma has announced plans to use these funds for merger and acquisition activities. Additionally, we are interested in hearing about your IPO plans.
“Figma aims to become a highly efficient company. We will use Adobe’s penalty money for mergers and acquisitions, but we aren’t disclosing which companies we are targeting. Korea has many fascinating design technology firms. Although we have IPO plans, we can’t provide any specifics at this time.”
