Figma managed something rare on today’s market: Adobe’s failed acquisition survived, remained independent and made public on its own conditions. But his performance after IPO tells a more complex story about startup outputs in 2025.
“It’s a bit of a meme,” he said Jai dasPresident and partner at Sapphire Ventures, in the Equity episode this week. Das joined Rebecca Bellan to interrupt down what IPO Figma really signals about the current climate of starting outings.
With a dozen or so IPO, including Mlesoft, Square and Box, Das knows what a strong debut looks like. IPO Figma was 40 times over the subscription and briefly increased to USD 125 per share before setting a 90 USD closer. Despite the impressive funds, Das warned that the basics weren’t the only strength.
“The price of shares is a bit driven by cash flows and earnings, but many of them are also driven by human behavior, what people know what people are talking about,” he said.
In other words, Hype Hot Purping.
While Figma stands out, Das noticed that the majority of the large exits from 2025 look completely different. In artificial intelligence, M&A was dominated by Acqui Hires, not product acquisitions. Apparently, Google paid $ 2.7 billion for employing the character.ai team, and Microsoft, Amazon and others made similar movements, the priority of talents over technology.
Listen to the full episode to listen to:
- What spare movement figures signals the rest of the market.
- Why AI is more on talent today than technology and whether it is balanced.
- Where Jai sees an early promise outside of artificial intelligence, from defense technology to space infrastructure and cryptographic infrastructure.
Equity will return on Friday with our weekly message summary, so be vigilant.