Kleiner Perkins is having a very good week

This week has proven to be exceptionally fruitful for Kleiner Perkins, a prominent venture capital firm, as it celebrates the success of two significant IPOs in the tech sector. Following the highly anticipated debut of Figma on Thursday, another noteworthy event unfolded with Ambiq Micro, a chip manufacturer for wearable devices, whose shares surged from an initial price of $24 to over $42 by Friday. Kleiner Perkins is a key player behind both companies, and the firm has seen substantial returns from these investments. To illustrate the scale of their success, we calculated the financial implications of their stakes. Kleiner Perkins sold 1,346,499 shares of Figma at the IPO price of $33. Furthermore, if the bankers exercised their option for additional shares, Kleiner could have sold up to 2,756,020 shares. Given the overwhelming demand, it is likely that the bankers have capitalized on this full tranche. As of now, Kleiner Perkins still holds 52,364,374 shares of Figma. The stock prices have experienced notable volatility, yet on Day 1, they closed at $115. This translates to an estimated return of approximately $91 million from share sales, with a remaining stake valued at over $6 billion. To put this into perspective, the value of Kleiner Perkins' stake in Figma is three times the amount raised in its last mega-fund, which totaled $2 billion across two funds in 2024. The partner overseeing this investment, Mamoon Hamid, also serves on Figma's board. In contrast, Ambiq Micro's IPO was on a smaller scale, raising $96 million by selling 4 million shares. Currently, Kleiner Perkins holds 2,081,831 shares of Ambiq, which are trading at a premium to the IPO price, closing Thursday at $43.85. This positions Kleiner’s stake in Ambiq at approximately $91.3 million. The firm’s positive trajectory extends beyond these IPOs. Earlier this month, Kleiner Perkins secured a commendable return from Google’s licensing deal with Windsurf, which involved the recruitment of top talent from the startup. Although the specific amount returned to Kleiner remains undisclosed, reports suggest a total return of about three times the original investment. Moreover, another Kleiner-backed company, Fleet tracking startup Motive Technologies, has recently raised $150 million led by Kleiner Perkins, with Ilya Fushman joining their board. Anticipation is building as Motive prepares for a potential IPO, possibly as early as 2025.