⛵ Figma’s Exit Sketch

Good Morning, Early Adopters!
Figma sells shares, supersonics break bans, and Oracle rewrites Hollywood’s backend. Welcome to version control—at planetary scale.

IPO
Figma's Public Launch, But Not Everyone’s Staying

👀 What’s the move: Figma just kicked off its IPO roadshow, aiming to raise $1B by selling over 36M Class A shares at $25–$28 apiece. Final pricing lands the week of July 28. But here’s the kicker: only 12.5M shares are new. The rest? A massive VC sell-off—nearly 25M shares dumped by Index, Sequoia, Greylock, and friends. CEO Dylan Field is cashing out $62M but still clings to 74% of the vote thanks to supervoting B shares and a proxy over his cofounder’s stake.
💡 Why it’s not boring: A $15.9B valuation (midpoint) tops Figma’s last private round ($12.5B), but falls short of Adobe’s abandoned $20B offer. The company isn’t cash-hungry—its backers are. This IPO isn’t a growth play; it’s a liquidity event disguised as one. With venture markets still parched, this is less a public debut and more a calculated escape hatch.
⛵ Key takeaway: This isn’t Figma’s coming-out party—it’s venture capital’s exit ramp. July 28 will show if the market still wants to catch falling knives.
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AEROSPACE
Supersonic's Back on the Table

👀 What’s the move: On July 21, NASA’s X‑59 kicked off taxi tests—a key milestone in the Quesst mission, with first flight expected by year-end and “quiet boom” community trials slated for 2026. On the same day, the U.S. issued an executive order to lift the domestic ban on civilian supersonic flights, directing the FAA to establish new noise certification standards.
💡 Why it’s not boring: This is the green light the supersonic revival has been circling for. NASA is setting the decibel benchmark, Boom Supersonic already broke Mach 1 with its XB‑1 and has commercial orders in hand (United, American, JAL), and Lockheed’s Skunk Works is anchoring the tech stack. With regulation, hardware, and market appetite finally aligned, it’s not just about flying faster—it’s about flying legally.
⛵ Key takeaway: The U.S. quietly just legalized the future of flight—and it’s Mach-speed or bust.
CLOUD
Oracle’s $100M Cloud Grab Comes With a Family Discount

👀 What’s the move: Oracle is closing in on a $100M/year cloud deal with Skydance—contingent on the FCC greenlighting Skydance’s $8B takeover of Paramount. Fun wrinkle: Skydance is helmed by David Ellison, son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who’s also bankrolling the buyout.
💡 Why it’s not boring: This isn't just a cloud contract—it's a dynastic power play. Paramount's entire content pipeline (CBS, MTV, and beyond) moves to Oracle Cloud, giving Oracle a juicy AI/media foothold. But with Congress eyeing CBS’s recent bias settlement, the deal’s stuck in political molasses. Nepo baby or not, David Ellison just turned Dad’s server farm into a Hollywood backend.
⛵ Key takeaway: When your dad owns the cloud, legacy media becomes a line item.
STARTUP SPOT
🪐 Skydance
“Hollywood IP meets AI scale.”
Film/TV/gaming studio merging with Paramount to fuse tech pipelines + blockbuster content. Uses AI in animation & game dev; Oracle cloud partner; Free Press acquisition in talks.
→ Founded by David Ellison (son of Larry); $8.4B deal backed by KKR, RedBird, Tencent; merger closes Oct ’25 amid FCC scrutiny & Senate heat.
🛩️ Boom Supersonic
“Concorde, reimagined for today.”
Mach 1.7 passenger jet with AI-augmented design, quiet sonic profile, SAF engines. XB‑1 test jet hit Mach 1.1; Overture to launch 2029.
→ Founded by Blake Scholl; 130+ orders (United, JAL, American); $600M+ raised; FAA ban repeal clears U.S. supersonic routes.
🧠 Lockheed Martin
“AI-first defense, at scale.”
Building AI-powered SAR for maritime surveillance & hardware autonomy → flight-tested SAR target recognition, AI Fight Club trials across air/sea/space.
→ Founded 1995 by merging Lockheed & Martin Marietta; AI Center + Skunk Works leading high-assurance GenAI (Astris AI subsidiary); X-62A “Vista” AI piloted fighter tests. Embedded AI across sensors, simulations & cyber; contracts for TPY‑4 AESA radars and USC quantum R&D; launching DOD-focused AI competitions in Q4 2025.
BAY AREA MEMOS
- Anduril alums raise $24 million in a series A round to modernize military logistics with their new startup, Stitch.
- AI voice company Hyper raises $6.3 million to automate non-emergency 911 calls and reduce dispatcher workload.
- OpenAI and SoftBank scale back their $500B Stargate AI project, now aiming for a single small data center by year-end.
- The AI in home automation market is projected to reach $75.16 billion by 2029, driven by the increasing adoption of smart devices and voice assistants.
- Tesla has officially opened its retro-futuristic diner and Supercharger station in Hollywood, with Elon Musk suggesting more locations could follow globally.
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