Antitrust Threat to Figma-Adobe Deal Thwarts Hopes for VC Rebound

Adobe’s $20 billion plan to buy design software startup Figma in September offered Silicon Valley venture capitalists brief relief from the downturn’s tight grip. But they might want to put the champagne away.  

European regulators plan to launch an investigation of Adobe’s deal, the Financial Times reported earlier this week. A few months earlier, Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Department of Justice was also preparing to sue to block the deal. Adobe can certainly move on without Figma, but Figma’s venture capital backers have substantial returns riding on it.