Figma, a popular design platform, is making significant strides in expanding its presence in India by establishing a local office and recruiting Indian talent. This move aims to strengthen its ties with one of its largest user communities and extend its reach to developers in addition to designers who already rely on the platform.
Founded in 2012 by Dylan Field and Evan Wallace, Figma initially stood out by offering a browser-based interface in a landscape dominated by desktop software. Despite facing initial skepticism, the platform gained traction as a go-to collaboration tool for UX and product teams. Now, Figma is looking to replicate this success with developers, with India being a key market for this strategic evolution.
India boasts one of the world’s largest developer communities, a fact acknowledged by tech giants like Microsoft, which has a substantial number of Indian developers on GitHub. While 33% of Figma’s global users are developers, many Indian developers still view Figma primarily as a design tool rather than a comprehensive platform for product creation.
Abhishek Mathur, VP of Engineering at Figma, emphasized the company’s goal of engaging developers in India and showcasing how Figma can empower them beyond traditional coding tasks. To strengthen its presence in the country, Figma recently inaugurated an office in Bengaluru, recognizing the growing user base and community activity in India.
With 85% of its overall usage coming from international markets, India stands as Figma’s second-largest user base after the U.S. The platform serves users across 85% of India’s states and has garnered a significant presence among the top companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Figma’s user base in India is substantial, with the “Friends of Figma” community boasting over 25,000 members. The platform introduced AI-powered features earlier this year to cater to a broader audience, positioning itself as a competitor to Adobe, Canva, and AI coding platforms like Replit and Lovable.
India has been a significant market for Figma’s AI-powered features, with users generating over 800,000 prototypes using Figma Make. The platform has witnessed increased adoption among developers in India, especially for its dev mode introduced in 2023 to streamline the translation of designs into code.
Figma’s Bengaluru office will initially focus on enhancing sales and marketing operations in India, collaborating with a diverse range of users from consumer-facing startups to IT services giants. With about half of its revenue generated from international markets in 2024, India holds strategic importance for Figma’s global expansion.
The feedback and requests from the Indian user base have influenced Figma’s product development, leading to the introduction of enhanced code-export options to produce higher-quality code outputs. The company remains committed to engaging with customers through events and continuous improvements based on user insights and preferences.
