Cathie Wood and Ark Invest have officially jumped into the Figma (FIG) IPO frenzy, snapping up 60,000 shares of the San Francisco-based software firm and allocating the entire purchase to the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW). The move reflects Wood’s signature strategy of targeting disruptive, high-growth technology names.
FIG debuted on the New York Stock Exchange last week and quickly soared over 200%, surpassing $105 per share. By the end of its first trading day, the stock closed at $115.50, marking a noteworthy 250% gain. The momentum continued on Friday, with shares rising another 5.8% despite broader market weakness, before a 27% stock slump on Monday.
In pre-market action today, FIG is pointed higher again, as investors seem ready to buy the dip.
The IPO represents a remarkable milestone for a company that almost had a very different fate. Adobe (ADBE) tried to buy the company for $20 billion in 2022, but after U.K. regulators said the acquisition would likely harm competition, the deal fell apart the following year. That regulatory intervention now looks like a blessing in disguise for shareholders.
Founded in 2012 by CEO Dylan Field, Figma has emerged as a leader in collaborative design software. The company boasts more than 13 million monthly users, two-thirds of whom are not designers, with major clients including Google (GOOG) (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Netflix (NFLX), and Uber (UBER) paying upward of $100,000 annually. This broad adoption reflects Figma’s evolution beyond traditional design into comprehensive product development.
Field’s journey from college dropout to billionaire mirrors other tech luminaries, though colleagues describe him as remarkably humble. Field was part of the second batch of Thiel fellows, a group of 20 entrepreneurs who each took home $100,000 after leaving Brown University.
Wood’s swift investment signals confidence in Figma’s potential in the collaborative design space. However, investors should consider the massive first-day pop as both an opportunity and a warning. While the IPO market appears to be reopening after years of dormancy, such dramatic gains often reflect pricing inefficiencies rather than sustainable value creation.