Figma has acquired the team behind Bud, a vibe-coding and AI agent platform formerly known as Orchids, as the design software company moves to expand beyond static design tools into app building and prototyping.
The deal was announced in July 2026. As part of the acquisition, both the Bud and Orchids platforms will shut down on July 18, 2026, requiring existing users to migrate their projects before that date.
Bud, backed by Y Combinator, originally launched as a vibe-coding platform allowing users to create apps for mobile, web, Slack, and browser environments. The startup later rebranded as Bud and shifted toward an agent platform capable of browsing the web, accessing various services, and writing code to automate tasks. CEO Kevin Lu posted on X that Figma is “one of, if not the, defining product companies of our time” and described it as “a natural home for this exciting new era of work.”
Figma did not specify how it plans to use the Bud team. However, the company’s recent product activity suggests it is working to give teams more tools for building and prototyping apps. Last year, Figma released Figma Make for creating web apps. In 2026, it integrated with tools including Codex and Claude Code and launched its own agents.
The acquisition comes with some context around Bud’s prior security issues. Earlier this year, the BBC reported, citing a security researcher, that apps created on the Orchids platform were susceptible to cyberattacks.
For Figma users and the broader design-to-development space, the move suggests the company may be working to close the gap between design ideation and functional app creation — though Figma has not detailed specific plans for the acquired team.
Source: TechCrunch