Figma’s so-far successful debut on the New York Stock Exchange points to a renewed appetite on Wall Street for tech companies after a slow stretch for initial public offerings.
Stocks of Figma soared to $147 per share Thursday night before cooling and settling at $90 on Tuesday — still a big win for the San Francisco-based company and its founder considering the initial $33 share price.
So what are investors so excited about? Answers may lie in Figma’s growth strategy, which follows some of the same priorities C-suite executives shared in a Forbes Research survey late last year.
Figma, the maker of a web-based design tool, is placing large bets on collaboration, artificial intelligence and tech as a growth factor as it plans for further expansion.
The Forbes Research 2025 CxO Growth Survey polled 1,001 C-suite executives running organizations with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion. Here are their keys to growth:
Technology is the new growth frontier. CxOs are no longer only prioritizing technology; they’re betting on it as their No. 1 growth opportunity, cited by 39% in 2025, a significant jump from 29% last year.
Collaboration is essential. Eighty-eight percent of C-suite leaders anticipate increased investment in communication and collaboration tools over the next two years.
AI brings automation and agents to marketing. Figma’s IPO filing highlights its deep commitment to AI. This mirrors the C-suite’s strategy, which focuses on AI’s ability to optimize workflows and inform decision making:
- A majority of chief marketing officers (56%) anticipate spending more on AI agents. However, only 25% say they use AI to develop creative and engaging campaigns to enhance customer experience. The gap suggests a promising growth area for AI use.
- Nearly three-quarters of executives (74%) say the next generation of C-suite leaders will redefine marketing and branding by seamlessly integrating human creativity with AI insights.
- Seventy percent of CEOs say combining human creativity with automation’s precision, through human-robot interaction, is crucial for enterprise growth.
For many executives, breathing life into these priorities will lead them to put AI tools into as many hands as possible: Sixty-six percent of CxOs agree that AI democratization in their organization is already leading to more innovation and better decision making.
And when teams make it a point for all members to learn new tech, rather than select individuals, the results are often superior, said Kristine Francisco, vice president of content design in the Forbes Content & Design Studio.
“Collaboration has always been at the heart of great design,” she said. “But as the survey suggests, the most innovative teams are the ones that leap into new technologies together, not in silos.”
Ross Gagnon is the executive director of research in the Forbes Content & Design Studio, a multidisciplinary team that works on a variety of paid programs and events.