Figma, the design software unicorn, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering more than a year after a $20 billion acquisition bid by Adobe fell apart due to antitrust concerns.   The filing signals some optimism for public debuts despite the current market turmoil set off by Pres ident Trump’s push to implement tariffs. The uncertainty has rattled investors and sown doubts about the near-term viability of many IPOs.  Figma on Tuesday announced it had submitted a draft of its IPO filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, but did not publicly release the full document, which would normally provide financial details about its operations. The valuation Figma ultimately seeks in the public markets will be something to watch. In 2021, amid a low interest rate-fueled venture capital boom, Figma was valued in its Series E at $10 billion. In 2024, Figma conducted a tender offer that valued the company at $12.5 billion.  Figma’s VC backers include Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, Greylock, Index Ventures, Founders Fund, and numerous others.  Figma has about 1,600 employees and millions of customers, including Airbnb, Google, Microsoft, Netflix, Salesforce, Spotify, Square, Stripe, and Zoom. The business is also international, with 85% of its users outside the U.S.  Figma publicly shared some financial details in May 2024, when the company told CNBC that it had $600 million in annual recurring revenue. ARR is an important benchmark for many companies, as it measures predictable revenue that’s usually tied to long-term contracts and subscription-based revenue.  Figma, founded in 2012 by Dylan Field and Evan Wallace, has made headlines in recent years, both around high expectations for when it would file for an IPO and for how it would fare in the aftermath of Adobe’s thwarted mega-acquisition. (Field and Wallace met while students at Brown University.) In 2022, Adobe announced plans to acquire Figma, but faced intense regulatory scrutiny, including from the European Commission. In 2023, the two companies backed away from the deal, and Adobe paid Figma a $1 billion termination fee.  This story was originally featured on Fortune.com ...read more read less