Figma Expands AI Ambitions by Acquiring the Team Behind Vibe-Coding Startup

Figma is continuing its efforts to evolve beyond a traditional design platform by investing more heavily in artificial intelligence and bringing software development and prototyping capabilities closer to its collaborative design workspace. As part of that strategy, the company has acquired the team behind Bud, the AI agent and vibe-coding platform previously known as Orchids.

Announcing the move on X, Bud CEO Kevin Lu praised Figma’s vision, saying the company is among the defining product organisations of this era. He noted that Figma has become the place where ideas are created, refined, and transformed into real products, making it a natural environment for the next generation of AI-powered work.

Backed by Y Combinator, the startup initially launched as a vibe-coding platform that enabled users to quickly build applications for mobile devices, the web, Slack, browsers, and other platforms using AI. Over time, the company shifted its focus. It rebranded as Bud, introducing an AI agent platform capable of browsing the web, connecting with multiple services, generating code, and automating a wide range of workflows.

Following the acquisition, the company confirmed that both Bud and its earlier Orchids platform will be discontinued on July 18. Existing users have been advised to migrate their projects before that date, as the services will no longer be available afterwards.

Earlier this year, the BBC, citing findings from a cybersecurity researcher, reported that applications built with the Orchids platform contained vulnerabilities that could leave them exposed to cyberattacks.

Figma has not disclosed exactly how it plans to integrate the newly acquired team into its product roadmap. However, the company’s recent launches suggest it is steadily expanding beyond design tools to provide more comprehensive application-building and prototyping capabilities. Last year, Figma introduced Figma Make, a feature designed to help users create web applications. More recently, it added integrations with AI-powered coding tools such as Codex and Claude Code while also launching its own AI agents to strengthen its growing development ecosystem.