Figma managed something unusual in today's market. It survived the failed Adobe acquisition, remained independent and published on its own terms. However, post-IPO performances have a more complicated story about the 2025 startup exit.
“This is a bit of a stock of memes,” said Jay Dass, president and partner of Sapphire Ventures, in an episode of this week's episode. Das joined Rebecca Veran to analyse that Figma's IPO is really signaling the current climate of the startup exit.
With over 12 IPOs under his belt, including Mulesoft, Square and Box, Das knows what a powerful debut looks like. Figma's IPO is a 40x oversubscribe, and it surged briefly to $125 per share before approaching $90. Despite its impressive finances, DAS warned that the foundations were not the only force.
“The price of a stock is driven a bit by cash flow and revenue, but a lot of it is driven by human behavior, what people know, what people are talking about,” he said.
In other words, piping hot hype.
While Figma stands out, Das noted that most of the big exits for 2025 look very different. In AI, M&A is dominated by the acquirers, not by product acquisitions. Google reportedly paid $2.7 billion just to hire a team at Charache.ai, with Microsoft, Amazon and others doing similar moves, prioritizing talent over technology.
Hear and listen to the entire episode:
What is Figma's post-IPO inventory movement like in other markets? Why is AI focused on talent more than tech, and whether it is sustainable. Jay sees early promises beyond AI, from defense technology to space technology and crypto infrastructure.
Equity will return on Friday with weekly news roundups, so stay tuned.
Equity is TechCrunch's flagship podcast produced by Teresa Loconsolo, posted every Wednesday and Friday.
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