Lina Kahn is taking a victory lap over the Figma IPO
Khan nodded to Adobe's planned Figma acquisition that fell apart in 2023 under regulatory pressure.
Khan drew criticism in Silicon Valley for her antitrust enforcement in Big Tech.
The former FTC chair celebrated Figma's stellar IPO in an X post on Friday, nodding at the larger movement, including her own efforts, to block major tech mergers.
"A great reminder that letting startups grow into independently successful businesses, rather than be bought up by existing giants, can generate enormous value," Khan, who led the FTC from 2021 to 2025, said. "A win for employees, investors, innovation, and the public."
Figma went public on Thursday, valued at $19.3 billion, and closed at 250% above its asking price, valuing the design company at nearly $68 billion and delivering a windfall to investors.
The IPO came less than two years after rival Adobe dropped its planned acquisition of Figma.
The Adobe-Figma merger, valued at $20 billion, was called off in December 2023 after facing regulatory pressure from European and US officials.
It was part of a larger crackdown on antitrust enforcement that was pushed by Khan, who drew the ire of Silicon Valley thanks to her aggressive stance on antitrust issues, especially in Big Tech.
"Figma is a massive success, but it's because of the company's innovative growth and not due to the FTC and Kahn," Dan Ives, a tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, said on Friday.
Louis Lehot, a Silicon Valley-based partner at Foley & Lardner who advises on M&A and venture capital financing, said that while the blockbuster IPO was a great outcome for the company and investors, "there's a hint of schadenfreude in celebrating independent success while dismissing the potential upside of the Adobe-Figma merger."
"The Adobe-Figma merger was a missed opportunity to pair complementary strengths and unlock broader value. Independent scaling and strategic acquisition aren't mutually exclusive—each can serve innovation and the public, depending on the context," he added.
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