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

Overview

On an episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Sapphire Ventures president and partner Jai Das discussed Figma's IPO and what it reveals about the 2025 startup exit climate. Figma survived a failed Adobe acquisition, stayed independent and went public on its own terms, with an IPO that was 40x oversubscribed and a stock that briefly surged before settling. Das called the result a little bit of a meme stock, noting that human behavior and hype, not only fundamentals, drove the price, and he contrasted it with the rest of 2025's exits, which leaned heavily on AI acqui-hires.

Key Takeaways

Figma survived a failed Adobe acquisition, stayed independent and went public on its own terms.
Sapphire Ventures' Jai Das called Figma's IPO a little bit of a meme stock.
The IPO was 40x oversubscribed and the stock briefly surged before settling.
Das said share prices are driven partly by cash flow and earnings but a lot by human behavior and hype.
Most of 2025's big exits looked different, with AI M&A dominated by acqui-hires rather than product acquisitions.
Das sees early promise beyond AI in defense tech, space tech and crypto infrastructure.

Stats & Key Facts

#Figma's IPO was 40x oversubscribed.
#The stock briefly surged to $125 per share before settling closer to $90.
#Google reportedly paid $2.7 billion just to hire Character.AI's team.

Figma's path to going public

Das described Figma's exit as a rare outcome in the current market.

›Figma survived a failed Adobe acquisition.
›It stayed independent rather than being absorbed.
›It went public on its own terms.

Jai Das, president and partner at Sapphire Ventures, joined Equity host Rebecca Bellan to break down what Figma's IPO signals about the climate for startup exits. Das has more than a dozen IPOs to his name, including MuleSoft, Square and Box.

The 'meme stock' characterization

Das cautioned that fundamentals were not the only force behind the debut.

›The IPO was 40x oversubscribed.
›The stock briefly surged to $125 per share before settling closer to $90.
›Despite impressive financials, Das warned fundamentals were not the only driver.

Das said the price of shares is driven a little by cash flow and earnings, but a lot by human behavior, what people know and what people talk about. He summarized that as piping-hot hype, and called Figma a little bit of a meme stock.

How 2025's other exits differed

Das contrasted Figma with the dominant exit pattern of the year.

›Most of 2025's big exits looked very different from Figma's.
›In AI, M&A was dominated by acqui-hires rather than product acquisitions.
›Google reportedly paid $2.7 billion just to hire Character.AI's team.

Das noted that Microsoft, Amazon and others made similar moves, prioritizing talent over technology. The episode raises whether that talent-first approach to AI exits is sustainable.

Where Das sees promise next

Beyond AI, Das pointed to several emerging areas.

›Das sees early promise in defense tech.
›He also points to space tech.
›He names crypto infrastructure as another area of interest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did Jai Das call Figma a meme stock?

Because its share price was driven a lot by human behavior and hype, not only by cash flow and earnings, even though its financials were impressive.

How strong was Figma's IPO demand?

The IPO was 40x oversubscribed, and the stock briefly surged to $125 per share before settling closer to $90.

What made Figma's exit unusual in 2025?

Figma survived a failed Adobe acquisition, stayed independent and went public on its own terms, while most big 2025 exits in AI were acqui-hires rather than product acquisitions.

What example of an AI acqui-hire did Das cite?

He noted that Google reportedly paid $2.7 billion just to hire Character.AI's team, with Microsoft, Amazon and others making similar talent-focused moves.

Where does Das see opportunity beyond AI?

He pointed to early promise in defense tech, space tech and crypto infrastructure.

Das frames Figma's IPO as a hype-driven standout in a 2025 exit market that otherwise favored AI acqui-hires over product acquisitions.