Figma Acquires the Team Behind Vibe-Coding App
▼ Summary
– Figma acquired the team behind Bud (formerly Orchids), a vibe-coding and AI agent platform, to expand beyond design into coding and prototyping.
– Bud began as a vibe-coding platform for building apps and later became an agent platform that automates tasks by accessing services, browsing the web, and writing code.
– The startup will shut down Bud and Orchids by July 18, requiring users to migrate their projects before that date.
– Earlier this year, the BBC reported that apps created on Orchids were vulnerable to cyberattacks, according to a security researcher.
– Recent Figma product launches, including Figma Make and integrations with Codex and Claude Code, suggest the company aims to provide tools for building and prototyping apps, not just static concepts.
Figma is pushing beyond its roots as a design tool, betting big on AI-powered development to reshape how teams build and prototype. The company has quietly acquired the team behind Bud, the vibe-coding and AI agent platform originally known as Orchids. This move signals a clear intent to fuse the coding layer directly into its canvas.
Kevin Lu, Bud’s CEO, announced the acquisition on X, calling Figma “one of, if not the, defining product companies of our time.” He added, “It’s where ideas start, iterate, and come to life, and a natural home for this exciting new era of work.”
Bud started as a Y Combinator-backed startup focused on vibe-coding, letting users spin up apps for mobile, web, Slack, and browser environments. It later rebranded to Bud, evolving into an agent platform that accesses services, browses the web, and writes code to automate tasks.
Under the terms of the deal, both Bud and Orchids will shut down by July 18, forcing users to migrate their projects before the deadline.
Earlier this year, the BBC reported, citing a security researcher, that apps created on Orchids were vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Figma hasn’t detailed how it plans to deploy the Bud team, but recent product moves offer clues. Last year, the company launched Figma Make for building web apps. This year, it integrated with tools like Codex and Claude Code, and introduced its own agents. All of this points to a broader ambition: giving teams the power to prototype and build functional apps directly within Figma, not just design static mockups.
(Source: TechCrunch)
