Adobe throws XD overboard after losing out on $20bn Figma deal
It’s not a temper tantrum, it’s a business strategy
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It’s all over forAdobeXD. After losing out in its $20bn bid forFigma, the firm is conceding defeat in the UI design arena - for now, at least.
In thefalloutof a deal that saw the company placed under the microscope of competition authorities in Europe and the US,Bloombergis reporting that Adobe has confirmed it has “no plans to further invest” in its own UI/UXweb design software.
It might look like Adobe taking back its ball because it doesn’t want to play any more. But it feels like the inevitable conclusion for an app that was placed into maintenance mode once the company announced its surprise acquisition attempt. However, support will continue for existing users, with Adobe remaining open to new product design partners. So, there’s hope yet for XD fans.
Game over, man
When Adobe first revealed plans to buy up Figma, some Adobe XD users remained quietly hopeful that the team-up would lead to a blend of the best from both prototyping platforms. Presumably the board had the same idea, strengthening an app that had been increasingly losing market share to the more accessible Figma for a long time.
Outside the community, Adobe’s multi-billion dollar deal was eyed with a heavy dose of scepticism. Figma users feared a gutting of their favoritegraphic design software. The markets weren’t enamoured. The authorities even less so, with regulatory watchdogs in the EU, UK, and US allexamining the fine printfor evidence the merger would create a monopoly. And users of Adobe XD were dismayed to find their tool effectively shuttered, receiving only bug and security updates.
In a show of hope over experience, even once the deal fell through,online communitieswere speculating that XD might come out of maintenance mode again. Now we know the answer - and it’s not the one users wanted to hear.
Walking away from the proposed merger - at a cost one billion dollars for failing to seal the deal - the company confirmed its focus no rested on mainstays likePhotoshopandPremiere Pro.
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“We are focused on the opportunity we have across imaging, photography, design, web, animation and 3D, as well asExpressand Firefly,” the spokesperson said.
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Steve is TechRadar Pro’s B2B Editor for Creative & Hardware. He began in tech journalism reviewing photo editors and video editing software at the magazine Web User, where he also covered technology news, features, and how-to guides. Today, he and his team of reviewers test out a range of creative software, hardware, and office furniture. Once upon a time, he wrote TV commercials and movie trailers. Relentless champion of the Oxford comma.
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