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Comment by hahaxdxd123 | Hacker News Reader

I agree. The whole point of a free market is that it should lead to a competitive market, in which profits shrink and consumer surplus expands. He literally says that Figma is threatening Adobe's margins. Stopping mergers of companies like this is ... exactly what antitrust is for?

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I think the argument is that Figma might not exist in a world where such deals are blocked (or future Figmas may not come into existence if this deal is blocked), and thus would lead to more market harm than it would help. I'm not sure I agree with that reasoning, but it is plausible.

If that is the case that means that investors cannot see themselves competing with established players in the market. That would be an indication that the current market dominators should be broken up, not that they should be allowed to acquire more companies.

400 million revenue, 20 billion acquisition price. Sounds like free market to me? They paid up to protect their business and everyone walked away happy.

> everyone walked away happy

Except Figma customers.

Why wouldn’t they be happy? Nothing bad has happened to them. I know some are grumpy on Twitter but none have articulated a real harm. It’s just as likely this is good for them, like how Microsoft really improved GitHub.

Pointing toward an exception seems to prove the rule that is worrying Figma customers like me.

> like how Microsoft really improved GitHub.

There are a lot of GH customers that are upset over the way reliability has tanked since Microsoft acquired them

They know, as everyone else does, how Adobe operates.

> none have articulated a real harm

Higher prices.

> It’s just as likely this is good for them

How?

> everyone walked away happy

Only if you define the term everyone to be the VCs.

figma raised $330+ million over the years...have there been any public breakdowns of the VC/founder/employee equity split?

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