Figma CEO announces plans to absorb the cost of AI upgrades for customers in 2024.

• This week at the Aspen Ideas Festival, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that he doesn't view AI as a "competition."
• Figma CEO and founder Dylan Field announced that the company will offer AI upgrades to its customers for free in 2024, in a bid to stay competitive with design rivals Canva and Adobe.
• Field stated that they will bear the cost for 2024 because they are uncertain about how people will utilize the features, the number of users who will be interested, and the effectiveness of the features.

Figma is not charging customers for its first major AI upgrade, as CEO and founder Dylan Field wants to ensure customer satisfaction amid rising AI adoption and demand.

"Field stated in an interview with CNBC's Deirdre Bosa on Thursday that the company will bear the cost for 2024 because they are uncertain about how people will use the features. They do not know how many users will be interested, and they do not know how good the features will become. Field advised watching the usage in the beta and determining the costs before deciding on pricing."

The new toolbox "Figma AI" was introduced in Figma's UI3 redesign, which was released in limited beta on June 26 and has a waitlist for more users.

Six months after antitrust scrutiny halted Adobe's acquisition of Figma, the redesign that integrates AI functionality is another competitive edge in the battle between Adobe and Canva, a highly valued design startup with a $25 million valuation and a growing presence in the enterprise market.

While Figma ranked No. 26 on this year's CNBC Disruptor 50 list, Canva came in at No. 6.

Figma's all-in-one product design functions, which can be accessed over a browser and have experienced rapid growth, are now competitive with Adobe's lineup. This core innovation by Figma, similar to how Google Docs are shared and revised, eliminates the need for designers to work in silos on desktop apps and struggle to keep track of multiple file versions. Canva, known for its user-friendly software tools, continues to expand, targeting business accounts, integrating AI, and intensifying its competition with Adobe.

Figma emphasized the importance of prioritizing user needs over trendy technology in a recent blog post. The company's top executives warned against implementing AI features like chat boxes that may feel like an afterthought and detract from the core purpose.

Field stated to CNBC that the focus is on integrating AI functionality into the product, rather than simply adding AI elements to improve the designer's experience.

The AI industry is experiencing a race to adopt the most consumer-desired features, according to Field. This is driven by web companies rapidly adopting AI features in order to gain market share. Figma is feeling the pressure to keep up with this trend.

Field stated that building for an audience, consisting of people making products, is crucial for individual companies.

In June, Adobe experienced its greatest surge in shares since the Covid bull market of 2020 due to better-than-expected financial results and the integration of AI into its products, Firefly and its Enterprise business platform.

Field stated on CNBC that change is the only constant, and as large language models from Amazon, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Meta become faster, prices are decreasing.

Figma's UI3 utilizes generative AI to simplify and standardize the creative process from ideation to execution. The tool generates aesthetics and prompts design ideas with directives for pages. It also improved design for Figjam, an AI-powered workspace that generates agendas and enables web design collaboration. Figma Slides, a new product, is a potential rival to Google Slides and Canva. Figma's design tools are integrated into enterprise offerings from companies such as Google and Oracle.

Figma's AI competition is a step towards a potential IPO after the failed Adobe deal. In May, Figma announced a tender offer to allow current and former employees to sell shares at a $12.5 billion valuation, up 25% from a 2021 fundraising but below Adobe's $20 billion acquisition offer. Canva also recently completed a transaction to allow early employees and investors to cash out at a $26 billion valuation, below its peak private value of $40 billion. Both companies are highly anticipated IPO candidates.

"We have tried either an M&A or IPO, so you can predict which option will be in our future," Field stated.