The highest-valued U.S. software company IPO in three years, understand Figma in one article

The highest-valued software company IPO in three years has arrived!

On July 31, Figma listed on the New York Stock Exchange at a price of $33 per share, with a valuation of $19.3 billion, becoming the highest-valued enterprise software public company since the decline of the U.S. IPO boom in 2021.

Against the backdrop of a global venture capital retreat and technology startups "collectively waiting and seeing," Figma's high-profile listing has not only reignited enthusiasm in the primary market for the "AI + design" sector but is also seen as a key indicator of Silicon Valley VC's return and the warming of the IPO market.

The Unicorn Adobe Missed

Founded in 2012, Figma focuses on online UI design tools and has become an industry innovator due to its support for real-time collaboration, seamless cloud-based version control, and a well-developed plugin ecosystem.

In 2022, Adobe made a bid of up to $20 billion in an attempt to acquire Figma; however, this merger ultimately failed in 2023 due to regulatory hurdles.

Despite the failed transaction, Figma benefited significantly—Adobe paid a $1 billion "breakup fee," providing ample ammunition for subsequent product refinement, AI capability expansion, and profit acceleration.

Now, Figma is returning to the capital market with robust growth: this IPO is priced at $33 per share, raising $1.2 billion, and the company's valuation reaches $19.3 billion, nearly matching the valuation peak at the time of the attempted acquisition.

On the business front, Figma is also demonstrating rare dual-driven growth and profitability.

According to the prospectus, in the first quarter of this year, Figma's revenue reached $228 million, a year-on-year increase of 46%; net profit reached $45 million, with a gross margin of 91% and an operating profit margin of 18%. The company expects revenue to reach $749 million by 2025, a year-on-year increase of 48%.

The latest research report from Cinda Securities estimates that Figma achieved an average annual revenue compound growth rate of 53% from 2021 to 2025, and its Non-GAAP operating profit margin has steadily increased, with a net revenue retention rate of 134% in 2024 and strong customer repurchase intent.

AI Reshaping the Design Process, Figma's Product Strength Continues to Enhance

Cinda Securities believes that the key driving factor behind Figma's popularity among investors during the IPO is its continuously strengthened AI-driven product strength. Figma has deeply integrated AI into the design process and built a complete toolchain from conception and design to development:

• Early-stage collaborative brainstorming: FigJam and Figma Slides help teams quickly generate ideas and collaborate synchronously;

• Visual design: Figma Design supports real-time editing and multi-person version control;

• Development Transformation: Dev Mode provides developers with code transformation and implementation interfaces;

• AI Empowerment: It allows for the direct generation of editable UI interfaces through natural language descriptions, reshaping the design approach.

Xinda pointed out that this end-to-end design collaboration process forms an ecological advantage that is distinctly different from traditional tools (such as Sketch, Adobe XD), with significantly improved platform stickiness and user retention rates.

Figma currently has 13 million monthly active users and over 11,000 enterprise clients contributing more than $10,000 annually. Although it has penetrated 78% of the Forbes Global 2000 companies, the proportion of clients paying more than $100,000 annually is only 24%, indicating significant potential for customer deepening and structural optimization in the future.

The "Icebreaker" of Tech IPOs, Leading the Wave of AI Software Listings?

Matthew Kennedy, a senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, stated that Figma's strong performance may signal a rebound in the IPO market.

Kennedy said, "If Figma becomes the highest-valued software company in over three years and is warmly welcomed, it will open doors for many IPO-bound companies that have been on the sidelines. Equally important, Figma will become the highest-valued enterprise software IPO since the economic boom of 2021: it will be the first software company since then to have a price-to-earnings ratio exceeding 20 times."

He added, "I believe we will see more high-profile software IPO cases like Netskope, Avalara, and SymphonyAI in the short term. One of the largest private unicorns, Canva, is directly related to Figma's valuation, so if the deal goes smoothly, they will easily determine the IPO pricing."

For this Figma IPO, VC supporters include Kleiner Perkins, Greylock Partners, and Sequoia Capital. Kennedy added:

"(Figma IPO) is also important because VC-backed technology is a key pillar of an active IPO market, and this pillar has been missing for more than three years." Since 2022, IPO trading activity has been below average, and at the same time, VC-backed tech deals have also been scarce. Therefore, the return of deals like Figma signifies a rebound in the overall IPO market.

Xinda Securities also pointed out that Figma's successful IPO is another signal of a successful listing of an AI-driven B2B tech unicorn following cases like Circle and CoreWeave, and it may become a trigger for a batch of companies in design, AI, and SaaS to enter the public market.

In the report, Xinda clearly stated:

"Generative AI and agent-driven creative design tool products are entering a rapid evolution phase, with strong customer willingness to pay and repurchase, and the commercialization prospects are being validated."

Conclusion: A Strong Signal of IPO Recovery

The success of Figma's IPO not only indicates its mature business model and well-recognized product experience but, more importantly, it brings confidence and valuation anchors to many VC-backed tech companies that are under the shadow of "valuation correction."

As Xinda Securities summarized, "Figma has fired the first shot for the tech IPO market under the AI era with the 'design tool unicorn'."