From 9 cents to 115 dollars: The feast of momentum behind Figma's trillion-dollar valuation, Greylock's 40x return sets a record

According to Zhitong Finance APP, design collaboration platform Figma (FIG.US) debuted on the New York Stock Exchange last night, soaring 250% on its first day of trading, igniting the market, and its early venture capital investors reaped billions of dollars in returns. According to an anonymous insider, Figma's largest venture capital supporter, Index Ventures, invested nearly $100 million in the company's seed round during its startup phase. Based on Figma's IPO issuance price, as of Wednesday, the value of shares held by Index had reached $2.17 billion. By the close of trading on Thursday, after excluding a small number of shares sold in the IPO, the value of Index's Figma shares had climbed to $7.23 billion. However, this figure may fluctuate with stock price changes. Figma's second-largest investor, Greylock Partners, led the company's Series A financing in 2015, when the stock was valued at $0.20 per share. Insiders say Greylock's total investment in Figma was about $50 million, and at the time of the IPO, its holdings were valued at $2.03 billion—yielding a return on investment of over 40 times. Similarly, after excluding sold shares, Greylock's holdings rose to approximately $6.75 billion on Thursday. In addition to these two institutions that gained billions in returns, well-known investors such as Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital also placed early bets on this company that was still in its infancy. For the venture capital industry, which had long faced a winter in the IPO market, these substantial gains are of great significance. Three years ago, Figma's investors were on the verge of receiving returns far below what they see today. In 2022, Adobe planned to acquire Figma for $20 billion, but the deal was terminated in 2023 due to regulatory issues. This week, Figma went public at an issuance price of $33 per share, with a fully diluted valuation of $18.5 billion; by the close on Thursday, its fully diluted valuation had reached $65 billion ($115.50 per share), far exceeding the proposed sale price in 2022. Index Ventures partner Danny Rimer led Figma's seed round investment in 2013, when the company's stock was valued at just $0.09 per share. He stated that he has long been impressed by co-founder Dylan Field's product vision and agrees with Field's view that design is "the most important determinant" for many consumer-facing tech companies. Field himself holds an 11% stake in Figma, and this IPO has brought him billions in wealth. Kleiner Perkins partner Mamoon Hamid first invested in Figma during its Series B financing in 2018, when the stock price was $0.33 per share. Insiders say the firm’s total investment in Figma was $90 million, and based on the IPO issuance price, these shares are valued at $1.82 billion; by the close on Thursday, Kleiner Perkins' holdings in Figma had reached $6.05 billion Hamid has invested in several "decacorns" (referring to startups valued at over $10 billion). He stated that he is looking for "founders who want to make history" and "entrepreneurs who have an innate desire to solve problems affecting millions or billions of people." According to informed sources, Sequoia Capital, which led Figma's Series C financing, has invested approximately $150 million in the company. Based on an IPO issue price of $33, the shares held by Sequoia are valued at $1.13 billion; now, the value of this portion of shares is approximately $3.75 billion. Other major shareholders include Andreessen Horowitz, which led the Series D financing when Figma was valued at $2 billion, and Durable Capital Partners, which led the Series E financing when the company was valued at $10 billion. According to PitchBook data, Figma's total financing during its private phase exceeded $300 million