Figma’s IPO success is ‘a bit little bit of a meme inventory,’ says Sapphire Ventures’ Jai Das

Figma managed one thing uncommon in right this moment’s market: it survived a failed Adobe acquisition, stayed impartial, and went public by itself phrases. However its post-IPO efficiency tells a extra advanced story about startup exits in 2025.

“This can be a little little bit of a meme inventory,” stated Jai Das, president and associate at Sapphire Ventures, on this week’s episode of Fairness. Das joined Rebecca Bellan to interrupt down what Figma’s IPO actually alerts concerning the present local weather for startup exits.

With greater than a dozen IPOs underneath his belt together with MuleSoft, Sq., and Field, Das is aware of what a powerful debut seems like. Figma’s IPO was 40x oversubscribed and briefly surged to $125 per share earlier than settling nearer to $90. Regardless of spectacular financials, Das cautioned that fundamentals weren’t the one pressure at play.

“The value of shares is pushed a bit bit by money circulation and earnings, however lots of it is usually pushed by human habits, what folks know, what folks discuss,” he stated. 

In different phrases, piping sizzling hype. 

Whereas Figma stands out, Das famous that almost all of 2025’s huge exits look very totally different. In AI, M&A has been dominated by acqui-hires slightly than product acquisitions. Google reportedly paid $2.7 billion simply to rent Character.AI’s group, and Microsoft, Amazon, and others have made comparable strikes, prioritizing expertise over know-how.

Hearken to the total episode to listen to:

• What Figma’s post-IPO inventory motion alerts to the remainder of the market.
• Why AI exits right this moment focus extra on expertise than tech and whether or not that’s sustainable.
• The place Jai sees early promise past AI, from protection tech to SpaceTech and crypto infrastructure.

Fairness will likely be again Friday with our weekly information roundup, so keep tuned.

Fairness is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts each Wednesday and Friday. 

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