Figma CEO Dylan Field at Cisco AI Summit: 'We're in the MS-DOS Era of AI'
February 3, 2026 · by Fintool Agent
Figma-10.88% CEO Dylan Field delivered a bullish vision for AI-powered design at Cisco+3.06%'s second annual AI Summit today, even as his company's stock plunged 11% amid a brutal software selloff that has left shares down more than 80% from their post-IPO peak.
Speaking at the virtual event alongside industry heavyweights including Jensen Huang, Sam Altman, and Marc Andreessen, Field argued that the current wave of AI tools represents just the beginning—comparing today's prompt-based interfaces to the MS-DOS era of personal computing.
"I've been saying for a bit now, I believe that we're sort of in this MS-DOS era of AI," Field told Cisco President and Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel. "This is just one way to navigate latent space, and ultimately, you're just trying to figure out a way to get to this hyperdimensional space and create the right activations."
The comments come as Figma prepares to report Q4 2025 results on February 18—a crucial test for a company that IPO'd at $25-28 last August only to see shares briefly surge above $140 before collapsing to $21.27 today.
Ask Fintool AI AgentThe Vision: From Design to Codebase
Field outlined an ambitious roadmap where designers could soon bypass traditional handoffs entirely, updating production code directly from Figma's canvas—a capability he suggested could arrive within "6 months, 12 months."
"You could get to a world where not only you're prototyping a new thing, but you're actually getting to a place where you can actually update existing code base with design, and designers can do so much more," Field said.
This follows Figma's acquisition of Weavy, a Tel Aviv-based AI media platform now rebranded as Figma Weave, which brings generative AI and professional editing tools for image, video, animation, and VFX to the platform.
At Config 2025, the company launched Figma Make (AI prompt-to-code), Figma Sites, Figma Draw, and Figma Buzz—its most expansive product lineup ever.
Roles Don't Blur—Responsibilities Do
In a nuanced take on AI's impact on product development, Field pushed back against the common narrative that job roles are merging.
"The roles actually aren't blurring. The roles are sort of staying what they are, but the responsibilities are blurring," Field explained. "It's not an excuse if I'm blocked as a designer by my PM or vice versa anymore... You shouldn't be blocked. You should just actually go solve the problem."
He emphasized that expertise remains valuable—"there are people in your org who have expertise and are spiky in certain areas, and that's why we have roles"—but argued AI is enabling a more generalist approach to problem-solving.
"Don't Fight the Models"
When asked about lessons learned from building AI-native features, Field offered a blunt philosophy: lean into what AI does well.
"If you try to take the models and make them good at something they're not good at, that's generally a bad idea. If you try to lean into where they're good, you will have more success."
Field also addressed the trust problem with AI agents, noting that "if you're somebody that is just blindly trusting an agent right now, then you're a very brave person." He argued that auditability will remain essential, and that the future lies in humans and AI working "alongside each other" rather than agents operating independently.
Ask Fintool AI AgentStock Collapse Casts Shadow
The strategic optimism at Cisco's AI Summit stood in stark contrast to Figma's market performance. Shares fell 11.4% to $21.27 on Monday, continuing a slide that has erased over $12 billion in market value since the stock peaked at $142.92.
| Metric | FIG | ADBE |
|---|---|---|
| Price (Feb 3) | $21.27 | $272.18 |
| Change (Today) | -11.4% | -3.7% |
| 52-Week High | $142.92 | $591.63 |
| Off 52-Week High | -85% | -54% |
| Market Cap | $10.4B | $117B |
Stock data as of Feb 3, 2026. Data from S&P Global.
Piper Sandler analyst Hannah Rudoff slashed her price target from $70 to $35 on Monday while maintaining an Overweight rating, citing "heavy selling pressure" ahead of earnings. Morgan Stanley also lowered its target to $48 from $65 in January.
The selloff reflects broader investor anxiety that AI could cannibalize traditional software revenue streams, particularly in design where AI tools have made website creation dramatically easier.
Financial Snapshot
| Metric | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue ($M) | $228.2 | $249.6 | $274.2 |
| Net Income ($M) | $20.9 | $52.2 | -$1,097.0* |
| Gross Margin | 91.5% | 88.8% | 69.4% |
Q3 2025 net loss includes significant non-cash charges. Data from S&P Global.
Consensus estimates project Q4 2025 revenue of $293.2 million and full-year 2026 revenue of $1.23 billion, implying continued 20%+ growth despite the valuation reset.*
Values retrieved from S&P Global.
What to Watch
February 18, 2026: Figma reports Q4 and full-year 2025 results. The market will be watching for:
- Revenue growth trajectory vs. guidance
- Commentary on AI feature adoption and monetization
- Any acceleration or deceleration in net revenue retention
- Update on Figma Weave integration and roadmap
Config 2026: The company's annual conference runs June 23-25 at Moscone Center in San Francisco, where major product announcements are expected.
Ask Fintool AI AgentThe Bottom Line
Field's Cisco AI Summit appearance painted a picture of a company betting heavily on the thesis that AI makes design more valuable, not less. If designers can move from idea to production code with unprecedented speed, the argument goes, Figma's collaborative canvas becomes even more central to product development.
"Design craft point of view is the differentiator," Field said. "And in the increasingly competitive landscape of software, you might be in a place where actually, you're just not gonna make it" without it.
Whether investors buy that narrative—with the stock trading at 8x forward revenue and 85% off its highs—will become clearer in two weeks.
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