Design Startup Framer Reinvented Itself After Stalled Growth— And Now It’s Challenging Figma

Their company’s prototyping tool for detailed app and website mockups had been a hit among a small group of designers, but after six years, revenues had slumped from their peak of $4 million in late 2019. Building websites quickly and cheaply has been a winning formula for consumer-facing startups —Nasdaq-listed Wix, SquareSpace, and Wordpress’s owner Automattic, which was valued at over $7.5 billion in a 2021 share buyback. Now, after raising a $27 million Series C round (the valuation was not disclosed), Framer is attracting attention from Silicon Valley investors, and rivals like Figma, that are watching its no-code publishing tools and growth closely, Forbes has learned. The pair had relocated back to Amsterdam after a spell in Menlo Park, California, to start a new business focused on solving the problems they faced working on mobile design at Facebook. Now equipped with fresh cash from its Series C, led by Meritech Capital with existing investors including Atomico and Accel participating, Bok and van Dijk have their eyes set on international expansion.