Figma CFO willing to sacrifice margins for AI adoption

• Figma's CFO is willing to accept lower margins to boost AI adoption and user base.
• Figma's gross margins have fallen to the mid-80% range from over 90% historically.
• The company's stock has declined approximately 43% this year.

Figma's Chief Financial Officer, Praveer Melwani, indicated on Thursday that the company is prioritizing investment in artificial intelligence features over maintaining peak gross margins. He stated that while it's uncertain if the company will return to historical gross margin levels of over 90%, the focus is on expanding the user base and competing with advanced AI tools from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Figma has been investing heavily in AI capabilities, such as its design assistant and text-to-prototype tools, which have driven revenue growth but impacted profitability. The company has seen its quarterly gross profit margins decrease to the mid-80% range over the past year. Figma has also adopted a usage-based pricing model for AI credits to help monetize these investments. Despite these efforts, investor concerns over shrinking margins and the impact of AI disruptions have led to a roughly 43% decline in Figma's stock this year.