Adobe to acquire Frame.io in $1.28 billion deal

Frame.io's co-founders Emery Wells and John Traver will join Adobe after the acquisition

Adobe to acquire Frame.io in $1.28 billion deal

Adobe has announced that it will be acquiring Frame.io in a $1.275 billion deal. Frame.io is a video review and collaboration platform. It was founded in 2014 by Emery Wells and John Traver. It helped filmmakers with certain workflow challenges they faced regularly. 

Frame.io also helps creative professionals to arrange their video creation process by “centralizing media assets, including dailies, scripts, storyboards, work-in-progress and more, while also allowing for frame-accurate feedback and comments, annotations and real-time approvals.” It will also allow faster uploads than other cloud hosting platforms like Vimeo, Box, Dropbox, and others. 

Frame.io was able to raise $90 million in total in venture funding. Its $50 million Series C funding was announced in November 2019, which was led by Insight Partners and joined by Accel, FirstMark, and Shasta Ventures. 

Adobe is planning to combine its creative software which includes Premiere Pro and After Effects with Frame.io’s review and approval functionality to “deliver a collaboration platform that powers the video editing process.” Adobe added in a statement that “Whether it’s the latest binge-worthy streaming series, a social media video that sparks a movement, or a corporate video that connects thousands of remote workers, video creation and consumption is experiencing tremendous growth,” and “…Today’s video workflows are disjointed with multiple tools and communication channels being used to solicit stakeholder feedback. Frame.io eliminates the inefficiencies of video workflows by enabling real-time footage upload, access, and in-line stakeholder collaboration in a secure and elegant experience across surfaces.”

The deal will close by the fourth quarter of Adobe’s 2021 fiscal year. It will be subjected to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Both Wells and Traver will join Adobe’s team after the acquisition. This acquisition will help Adobe to move higher in the field of the creative process as noted by Forrester senior analyst Nick Barber