Figma for Video Editors

I was talking to a founder friend last week who was pulling his hair out trying to coordinate video edits with his team. Three people working on the same promotional video, passing files back and forth through Slack, losing track of versions, and generally making a mess of what should be a simple collaboration.

It got me thinking: why don't we have a "Figma for video editing" yet?

I actually posted on X about it today

Riten on X about figma for video editors

If you look at the creator economy right now, video is absolutely everywhere. Every startup I know needs video content. Every brand is scrambling to hire video editors. Hell, even my mom's small business is posting Instagram Reels now.

The numbers back this up pretty dramatically:

• 82% of all internet traffic is now online video (thanks, TikTok)
• $3.3 billion where the video editing software market is heading by 2028
• 94% increase in LinkedIn job posts for video editors in just two years

So with all this demand, you'd think someone would have built the collaborative video editing tool we're all waiting for. But here we are, still emailing massive video files around like it's 2010.

Why This Is Actually Really Hard

The thing is, video editing isn't like design. When Figma came along, they were dealing with relatively lightweight vector files. Video? That's a completely different monster.

The technical challenges are massive:

• File sizes: A single 1-minute 4K clip is 400MB+. Now imagine syncing multiple clips in real-time between editors
• Latency requirements: Even a 0.2-second preview delay kills creative flow (I've been there – it's incredibly frustrating)
• Rendering complexity: Every cut, transition, or color tweak needs instant processing in-browser without requiring a $5,000 workstation

Picture this: you're working on a video with your team, everyone making changes simultaneously, and your internet connection is already crying just trying to keep up.

The Money Problem

Even if you solve the technical challenges, the economics are brutal. Collaborative video editing means you need continuous streaming plus live rendering for multiple users. That requires serious GPU power, and serious GPU power costs serious money.

The infrastructure costs are terrifying:

• Frame.io (just handles video review, not editing) already costs a fortune to run
• Cloud GPU costs: $1-3 per hour per user for real-time rendering
• Scale that to hundreds of users and your burn rate becomes absolutely terrifying

I've seen startups die on infrastructure costs alone, and this would be one of those situations.

The "Close But Not Quite" Solutions

Don't get me wrong – people have tried. But the current options each have their limitations:

Current players and their gaps:

• Descript: Fantastic for podcasts and talking heads (works with transcripts), but struggles with complex motion graphics or music videos
• Runway, Kapwing, Canva Video: Offer browser editing but don't nail the real-time multiplayer experience
• WeVideo & Flixier: Actually attempted collaborative editing but struggled with performance and pricing issues

None of them quite crack the seamless collaboration that makes Figma so magical.

Why Video Workflows Are Just... Complicated

Here's another thing that makes this harder than design collaboration: video production workflows are all over the place. With design, you're mostly working on one canvas. With video, you're juggling multiple complex steps:

The video production pipeline:

• Basic editing and cutting: trimming clips, sequencing
• Motion graphics and animations: titles, transitions, effects
• Audio mixing and sound design: balancing levels, adding music
• Color grading and correction: adjusting tone, fixing exposure
• Final rendering and export: outputting in multiple formats

Each step has its own resource requirements and often needs different specialized tools. Trying to smoosh all of that into one seamless, Figma-like experience? That's a massive undertaking.

But Maybe 2025 will be Different?

Here's what has me optimistic though: the conditions are finally starting to align.

The timing factors that make this possible now:

• Better internet infrastructure: 5G rollout and widespread fiber mean more people can handle cloud-first workflows
• AI acceleration: Tools that can pre-render previews, predict edit outcomes, and reduce computational load
• Async-first culture: Teams are comfortable with Google-Docs-style collaboration after years of remote work

Thanks to Google Docs and Figma, everyone gets the concept of real-time collaboration. People are ready for this in video.

If I Were Building This...

If I were starting a company to tackle this problem, I wouldn't try to build the next Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve. That's a losing battle against entrenched players with decades of features.

The wedge strategy I'd take:

• Target social content teams first: People making shorts, reels, and ads lighter projects with faster turnarounds
• Prioritize speed over features: Focus on fast preview, versioning, and comments before heavy color grading or VFX
• Make collaboration the core: Auto-save, live comments, inline feedback, change history all the features that make working with a team actually pleasant

Think of it as "Google Docs for video" rather than a full Hollywood editing suite. Focus on solving the collaboration nightmare first, worry about advanced features later.

The Bigger Picture

Remember how magical Google Docs felt in 2012 when you could see someone typing in real-time? Or when Figma launched in 2016 and suddenly designers could actually work together without losing their minds?

We're at a similar inflection point with video:

• The demand is clearly there everyone needs video content now
• The technology is finally catching up better internet, AI assistance, cloud infrastructure
• Current solutions are painful enough, there's real opportunity for someone to make this dramatically better

Someone's going to crack this problem soon. And when they do, it's going to change how every brand, creator, and startup tells their story.

The question is just who's going to figure it out first.