Lina Khan points to Figma IPO as vindication of M&A scrutiny

A wonderful figure celebrates the successful IPO of Figma: Lina Khan, former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.

On Friday afternoon Post on xKhan attached to Item about Figma’s impressive first day of business And argued that the ship is “a great remembrance that letting startups grow into independently successful companies, instead of being purchased by existing giants, can generate enormous value.”

Khan alluded to $ 20 billion for Adobe to get Figma that fell In 2023. While Adobe cited the lack of “clear road” to approval from the European Commission and the UK competition and market authority, the acquisition also faced regulatory scrutiny in the United States of concerns that it could prevent Figma from being a “effective competitor” to worship.

Khan was a FTC chair at the time, leading the agency to challenge large technology on fronts including starting acquisitions-up to the point that companies tried to avoid this scrutiny with “reverse acquisitions” in which they hired key members and licensed technology instead of getting startups directly. (The practice seems to continue Despite Khan’s departure from the FTC

While her aggressive attitude has led to intense criticism of corners of the TE industry -niche industry, She defended her approach Saying that only a small percentage of agreements received a “second appearance” and arguing that founders will ultimately benefit from “a world in which you have six or seven or eight possible claimants” instead of “just one or two.”

And although Khan – who was appointed by President Joe Biden – gave up at the beginning From the second Trump administration, her comments on Friday paint the Figma IPO as a claim for her approach, calling the IPO “victory for employees, investors, innovation and the public.”

Of course, Khan’s critics are more inclined to see Figma’s success as coming despite regulatory scrutiny, not because of it. For example, Wedbush -Security analyst Dan Ives said to Business Insider“Figma is a massive success, but it is due to the company’s innovative growth and not because of the FTC and Kahn.”