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

Figma has achieved a notable feat in a challenging market landscape: it successfully navigated a failed acquisition attempt by Adobe, retained its independence, and launched its IPO on its own terms. However, the aftermath of its IPO reveals a more intricate narrative regarding startup exits in 2025. Jai Das, president and partner at Sapphire Ventures, characterized Figma's post-IPO situation as reflecting elements of a 'meme stock' during a recent episode of the Equity podcast. Joined by co-host Rebecca Bellan, Das explored the implications of Figma's IPO on the current environment for startup exits. With extensive experience in the IPO space, having participated in more than a dozen successful launches including those of MuleSoft, Square, and Box, Das is well-equipped to assess debut performances. Figma's IPO was met with overwhelming demand, being oversubscribed by 40 times, and saw its share price momentarily spike to $125 before stabilizing around $90. Despite the company's strong financial indicators, Das warned that the share prices are influenced not just by cash flow and earnings but significantly by market sentiment and social dynamics. "A lot of it is also driven by human behavior, what people know, what people talk about," he explained, highlighting the role of excitement and speculation in the stock's performance. While Figma's situation is distinctive, Das pointed out that the majority of significant exits in 2025 are taking a different shape. The artificial intelligence sector is witnessing a trend toward acqui-hires rather than traditional product acquisitions. Reports indicate that Google spent $2.7 billion to acquire the team from Character.AI, with Microsoft, Amazon, and others following suit by focusing on talent acquisition over technology. For a deeper dive into this topic, tune into the full episode of Equity. The podcast will return this Friday with its weekly news roundup, so don’t miss out. Produced by Theresa Loconsolo, Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, available on platforms like Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and Spotify. Follow Equity on X and Threads for updates at @EquityPod.