Adobe just made a significant investment in collaborative creative work. For over $20 billion in cash and stock, the business is acquiring the online collaborative design platform Figma. That represents the largest private software firm buyout to date. The agreement will boost web innovation and increase the availability of the Creative Cloud suite’s technology online. Expect to see the visual editing tools from Adobe integrated into the Figma platform.

If regulators and shareholders approve the acquisition, the two companies anticipate that it will close in 2023. If and when the acquisition is complete, Figma co-founder and CEO Dylan Field will remain in that position, but he will report to David Wadhwani, Adobe’s director of digital media. You shouldn’t be concerned that Adobe will fully redesign Figma at first. In a blog post, Field emphasised that Adobe was “strongly committed” to preserving Figma a stand-alone business. Figma’s pricing is currently “unplanned,” and it will continue to be free for users who are in the educational sector. The executive expected to continue leading Figma as he had been, even if he planned to benefit from Adobe’s expertise for updates.

Despite how significant the deal is, Adobe’s prior actions make it predictable. In 2021, it acquired the video collaboration platform Frame.io, and with products like Creative Cloud Express, it has been advancing into the web-based tool space. Figma is a logical (if significant) extension of that approach, and it may contribute to the widespread adoption of online teamwork.