Adobe agreed to buy collaboration-software company Figma for around $20 billion, using the biggest deal in its history to acquire a small-but-fast-growing rival that the tech giant hopes can give it access to a broader group of customers.
Figma is relatively little known to the wider public but its cloud-based collaboration tools have gained a loyal following among software developers and product managers who build apps and other technology products. Adobe executives said they think the acquisition will enable them to tap into demand from such users in a way that is complementary to the base of designers who use its existing software tools.