912: Why did Figma buy a CMS?
Jun 17, 2025•26 min
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Summary
Wes chats with James Mikrut, founder of Payload CMS, about their acquisition by Figma. They discuss the strategic reasons behind Figma integrating a CMS, focusing on bridging the gap between design, code, and data, and leveraging AI with declarative systems. James reassures the community that Payload will remain open source and explains how the acquisition will lead to deeper integrations and new opportunities within the Figma ecosystem.Episode description
Wes chats with James Mikrut, founder of Payload CMS, about being acquired by Figma! They discuss building an open source business, the future of UI design, AI interfaces, and what this means for the future of Payload and Figma.
Show Notes
- 00:00 Welcome to Syntax.
- 01:06 What is Payload CMS?
- 01:56 The big announcement.
- 03:03 Why does Figma want a CMS?
- 05:23 This has got to be about AI, right?
- 09:37 Brought to you by Sentry.io.
- 10:02 What will the interface be?
- 14:02 Generative, user-specific UI.
- 16:17 Agents make everything look like ShadCN.
- 18:18 What does this mean for Payload users?
- 20:23 How this improves Payload.
- 22:31 Trying to stand out as a CMS.
- 23:35 Is this going to cost users?
- 25:12 Sick Picks & Shameless Plugs.
Sick Picks
- James: Triumph Street Triple, Malört Liquor.
Shameless Plugs
- James: PayloadCMS.
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