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Dylan Field, the co-founder and CEO of Figma Inc., recently participated in the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference held in Sun Valley, Idaho, where he provided updates on the company’s progress.
The design software company, Figma, announced on Tuesday that it has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This confidential filing comes after a significant 16-month period during which Figma abandoned a proposed $20 billion acquisition by Adobe due to regulatory challenges in the U.K. Initially agreed upon in 2022, the deal fell through, resulting in Adobe paying Figma a $1 billion termination fee.
Figma’s software platform has gained popularity among designers across various industries, facilitating collaboration on website and app prototypes. In a tender offer earlier this year, the company was valued at approximately $12.5 billion.
Dylan Field commented on the strategic choices faced by venture-backed startups in an interview with The Verge last year, stating, “There are two paths that venture-funded startups go down: you either get acquired or you go public. And we explored thoroughly the acquisition route.”
Figma’s IPO announcement arrives at a turbulent time for the technology sector’s public offerings, which have seen a marked slowdown since late 2021. Many industry experts anticipated that the Trump administration’s promises of deregulation would stimulate new market entries.
However, the recent market instability, partly triggered by Trump’s announcements regarding extensive tariffs, led fintech firm Klarna and ticketing platform StubHub to postpone their IPOs. Similarly, digital banking provider Chime, which had confidentially filed with the SEC, also delayed its offering. Notably, Turo, a car-sharing platform, withdrew its IPO prospectus in February after three years in the filing process.
Founded in 2012, Figma has attracted investments from prominent firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, Durable Capital, Greylock Partners, Index Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, and Sequoia Capital. Ranking 26th on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list in 2024, the company reported around $600 million in annual revenue as of early last year.
— CNBC’s Ari Levy contributed to this report.
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