U.S. Software Firm Figma Cuts Ties With DJI in Response to Sanctions

San Francisco-based software firm Figma reportedly started to cut ties with Chinese drone unicorn startup DJI on Saturday, in order to ensure compliance with domestic sanctions. Figma’s Chinese competitors, JsDesign and Lanhu, confirmed the report.

Founded in 2012, Figma is a graphics editor and prototype design tool, which mainly works based on web pages. Figma focuses on user interface and experience design. In June 2021, the San Francisco-based platform, which enables customers to collaborate through software, raised $200 million in round-E financing, and its valuation rose from $2 billion in May 2020 to $10 billion.

In an email sent to DJI, Figma said that it has learned that the Chinese drone firm is named in U.S.-issued sanctions and it can no longer provide the company with access to its software in order to comply with laws.

For designers and enterprises banned by Figma, the only way to deal with it is to change design tools. Lanhu, JsDesign, and other Chinese design firms started research in 2018, and their products were intensively launched after the second half of 2020. Wondershare, a listed company, also announced last year that it would split its sub-brand Pixso to focus on the field.

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Lanhu and JsDesign have swiftly responded with a helping hand minimize the impact of the access ban. JsDesign offered to help individuals and businesses hit by the measure with the transfer and backup of Figma files. Lanhu said its affiliate, MasterGo, has officially packed the functionality of importing Figma documents to help after the access ban.