San Francisco startup Paper closed a $34 million Series A on July 23, 2026, building a design platform that renders every element in real HTML and CSS, positioning it as a direct competitor to Figma.
San Francisco‑based startup Paper announced a $34 million Series A round on July 23, 2026, positioning its design platform as a direct challenger to Figma by rendering every element in real HTML and CSS.
The Funding Round
The round was led by a group of venture firms that include Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, with participation from several angel investors familiar with design‑tool ecosystems. Paper’s founders said the capital will accelerate product development, expand the engineering team, and launch a broader go‑to‑market strategy.
Why Real HTML and CSS Matters
Unlike traditional design tools that export static assets, Paper generates live HTML and CSS code as designers work. This approach promises to eliminate the hand‑off friction between design and development, allowing developers to copy‑paste production‑ready code directly into codebases.
The claim is that this workflow can reduce the time spent translating design specifications into functional front‑end components, a pain point that many enterprises cite as a major bottleneck in product cycles.
Market Context and Figma’s Valuation Shift
Figma, acquired by Adobe in 2022 for $20 billion, saw its market cap halve earlier this year after a combination of macroeconomic pressures and competitive pressures from emerging tools that promise tighter design‑to‑code integration.
Analysts note that while Figma remains a dominant player, the emergence of platforms like Paper reflects a broader industry trend toward “code‑first” design solutions that aim to bridge the gap between designers and engineers.
- Real‑time HTML/CSS output
- Collaboration features comparable to Figma
- Plugin ecosystem for custom integrations
- Enterprise‑grade security and compliance
We believe designers should be able to create and ship without a separate hand‑off step.
Paper’s CEO emphasized that the platform is built from the ground up to support responsive design, accessibility standards, and modern CSS frameworks, positioning it as a future‑proof alternative for teams scaling their front‑end workloads.
The $34 million raise underscores investor confidence that a design‑first tool that outputs production‑ready code can capture a meaningful share of the market that Figma once dominated.
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