Figma vs Notion: Founders, CEOs and History
Figma was founded in 2012 by Dylan Field, Evan Wallace and is led by Dylan Field. Notion was founded in 2013 by Ivan Zhao, Simon Last and is led by Ivan Zhao.
Company facts
Founders
Figma
Dylan Field
Dylan Field is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Figma, Inc. In 2012, alongside Brown classmate Evan Wallace, Field founded Figma with the audacious vision of bringing professional graphics editing to the web browser.
Evan Wallace
Evan Wallace is the co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer of Figma. An engineering prodigy in computer graphics and compilers, Wallace was the primary technical architect who made Figma possible.
Notion
Ivan Zhao
Ivan Zhao is co-founder and CEO of Notion Labs. Inspired by computing pioneers such as Douglas Engelbart and Alan Kay, he started Notion in 2013 to let people without programming skills build their own tools.
Simon Last
Simon Last is Notion's co-founder and has been central to the product's engineering since the beginning, including the 2015 Kyoto rebuild that produced the block-based architecture Notion still uses.
CEOs and their tenures
Figma
- Praveer Melwani
Chief Financial Officer
Leads Figma's finance organization through its first years as a public company, including the 2026 introduction of AI credit monetization.
Source - Dylan Field2012–present
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Founding who dropped out of Brown on a Thiel Fellowship to build Figma; guided the company through a four-year stealth sprint, built Figma past US$1.06 billion in 2025 revenue, collected a US$1.0B breakup fee from Adobe, and took the company public on the NYSE…
Source - Evan Wallace2012–2021
Co-Founder
Evan Wallace co-founded Figma alongside Dylan Field. As the Chief Technology Officer, he developed the revolutionary core WebGL rendering engine and C++ architecture that enabled a complex design tool to run flawlessly and collaboratively in a standard web bro…
Source
Notion
- Ivan Zhao2013–present
Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder
Led the 2015 Kyoto rebuild, the 2018 Notion 2.0 breakout, the 2021 Series C at $10 billion, and the 2025-2026 shift to AI agents.
Source - Akshay Kothari2018–present
Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer
Joined as co-founder and COO and built Notion's international expansion and go-to-market operations.
Source
Timeline: Figma and Notion side by side
2012Figma
Figma Founded by Dylan Field and Evan Wallace
Dylan Field accepted the Thiel Fellowship, dropping out of Brown to start Figma with classmate Evan Wallace in San Francisco.
2013Notion
Notion Labs Founded in San Francisco
Ivan Zhao and Simon Last founded Notion in San Francisco, inspired by computing pioneer Douglas Engelbart.
2015Figma
Launch of Closed Preview & WebGL Canvas
Unveiled the first closed preview of Figma, astonishing engineers by rendering complex vector graphics inside a browser.
2015Notion
Near-Collapse & The Kyoto Rebuild Sprint
Facing imminent bankruptcy, Ivan Zhao and Simon Last moved to Kyoto, Japan, rebuilding Notion from scratch.
2016Figma
Public Launch of Figma to the World
Opened Figma to the public for free, igniting viral adoption across designers at Uber, Microsoft, and Airbnb.
2016Notion
Launch of Notion 1.0 Block-Based Canvas
Released Notion 1.0 publicly, introducing the modular block-based document and wiki interface to wide acclaim.
2018Notion
Launch of Notion 2.0 with Relational Databases
Unveiled Notion 2.0, introducing multi-view databases (Kanban, calendar, table), igniting rapid viral growth.
2019Figma
Series C Funding & Launch of Figma Community
Raised $40M led by Sequoia Capital and launched the Figma Community for open-source UI kits and plugins.
2019Notion
Achieved Operating Profitability on $10M Seed Capital
Reached operational profitability with under 20 employees and $10M in total funding, a rarity in SaaS.
2020Notion
$50M Investment Led by Index Ventures at $2.0B Valuation
Raised $50 million led by Index Ventures, achieving unicorn status as global remote work adoption surged.
2021Figma
Series E at $10.0B Valuation & FigJam Debut
Raised $200M led by Durable Capital at a $10B valuation and launched FigJam collaborative whiteboard.
2021Notion
$275M Series C at $10.0B Valuation Led by Coatue and Sequoia
Raised $275 million led by Coatue and Sequoia at a $10 billion valuation; also acquired Automate.io.
2022Figma
Adobe Announces $20 Billion Acquisition Agreement
Adobe announced a definitive agreement to acquire Figma for $20B in cash and stock, setting a software M&A record.
2022Notion
Acquisition of Cron & International Expansion to Japan
Acquired calendar app Cron and opened an official Tokyo office to serve its devoted Japanese community.
2023Figma
Launch of Dev Mode at Config San Francisco
Unveiled Dev Mode, expanding Figma's addressable market to software engineers with native code generation.
2023Figma
Merger Abandoned; Figma Collects $1.0B Breakup Fee
Adobe and Figma mutually terminated merger under regulatory pressure; Figma received a $1.0B cash termination fee.
2023Notion
Public Launch of Notion AI Q&A Across All Workspaces
Debuted Notion AI Q&A, allowing users to query enterprise knowledge bases using conversational AI.
2024Figma
$12.5B Valuation Tender Offer & Figma AI Launch
Completed tender offer valuing Figma at $12.5B, launched Figma AI, and crossed $700M in annual recurring revenue.
2025Figma
Revenue Tops US$1 Billion in First Public Year
Figma reported US$1.06 billion in 2025 revenue, up 41%, and ended the year with 1,886 employees.
2026Notion
Surpasses $500M Annualized Revenue and Launches AI Agents
Notion told CNBC in September 2025 that annualized revenue had passed $500 million as it launched Notion AI agents.
Acquisitions
Figma
- Bud (formerly Orchids) team2026Undisclosed
- Weavy2025Undisclosed
- Diagram2023Undisclosed
- Visly2021Undisclosed
Questions about Figma vs Notion
Who is the CEO of Figma, Inc. and Notion Labs, Inc.?
Figma, Inc. is led by Dylan Field and Notion Labs, Inc. is led by Ivan Zhao. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was Figma, Inc. founded vs Notion Labs, Inc.?
Figma, Inc. was founded in 2012 — 1 year before Notion Labs, Inc., which was founded in 2013. Figma, Inc.'s longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger Notion Labs, Inc..
How many employees does Figma, Inc. have compared to Notion Labs, Inc.?
Figma, Inc. employs approximately 1,886 people, while Notion Labs, Inc. employs approximately 1,000. Figma, Inc. has the larger workforce at 1,886 employees, compared to Notion Labs, Inc.'s 1,000. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are Figma, Inc. and Notion Labs, Inc. headquartered?
Both Figma, Inc. and Notion Labs, Inc. are headquartered in United States, meaning they operate under the same primary regulatory and tax environment.
Who founded Figma, Inc. and Notion Labs, Inc.?
Figma, Inc. was founded by Dylan Field, Evan Wallace. Notion Labs, Inc. was founded by Ivan Zhao, Simon Last.
Which company has a longer operating history — Figma, Inc. or Notion Labs, Inc.?
Figma, Inc. has been operating for approximately 14 years, making it the more established of the two companies. Notion Labs, Inc. has been in operation for around 13 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Figma vs Notion overview