Adobe launches an Adobe XD accelerator to woo developers – TechCrunch



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The design world is in a state of full-fledged competition. Never in history have designers and their respective teams had so many options to choose from. They are working on the most comprehensive experience for their users.

Adobe, the incumbent in the space, is today launching the Adobe Creative Cloud Plugin Accelerator. Essentially, individuals and teams are interested in taking advantage of Adobe's access to Adobe's product, design and engineering team, as well as a $ 20K per person stipend to offset expenses.

To be clear, Adobe is not taking equity in these projects and will have to adhere to it.

The Adobe Creative Cloud Plug-in Accelerator is supported by Adobe's Fund for Design, a $ 10 million venture fund launched in May 2018. Both the fund and the accelerator are meant to open Adobe, which has historically been a more closed ecosystem.

"For a company like Adobe, we're flexing a piece of paper in Adobe Headquarters," said Design Principal at Adobe Khoi Vinh. "It's a change of mind of the Adobe of the five or ten years ago, but we're embracing the community's energy here."

It has been opened a few years ago by Adobe with the help of other users, such as UserTesting and Airtable, among others.

Vinh says that, for now, Adobe is not sure exactly how many teams will accept the accelerator. As it's not adhering to a specific number of participants or a rigid curriculum. Vinh says that some teams may have a clear view of what they are, and that they are more likely to be able to collaborate with one another.

One thing that is clear, however, is that Adobe is looking for hyper early-stage projects.

"What ended up happening with the Fund for Design is that the grants and investments made for this group of people have been founders and already had companies," said Vinh. "The Plug-In Accelerator is meant to be a better place to start a business."

The hope is that the teams will have the chance to build great plug-ins for Adobe XD, making the platform more attractive to customers as well.

Adobe is the first design tool firm to launch a venture fund. InVision launched the $ 5 million Design Forward Fund in late 2017.

Folks interested in the Creative Cloud Plugin Accelerator can apply here.

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