Baseten names former Figma CMO Sheila Vashee as Chief Marketing Officer
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What happened
Baseten, a San Francisco-based AI inference company, announced on September 25, 2026 that Sheila Vashee had joined as Chief Marketing Officer. The announcement was distributed by Business Wire. Vashee most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer at Figma, where, according to the release, she spent three years leading marketing, customer support, communications, brand and growth while the company crossed $1B in revenue and completed its IPO. Earlier she was VP of Growth at Opendoor and the second marketing hire at Dropbox.
Baseten said she joins an executive team that includes Matt Slagle (CRO), Gabe Stern (Chief Legal Officer), Sameer Paranjpye (Head of Engineering) and Vivek Patel (Head of Compute), all of whom joined earlier in 2026. The company said it works with thousands of customers, reported 20X year-over-year revenue growth in June 2026 and has raised over $2 billion to date. CEO Tuhin Srivastava said her mastery of community, brand and growth would be a major accelerant. A valueaddvc.com article of the same date, citing The Information, had reported only that a senior Figma executive was joining Baseten, without a name or role. The sources read gave no compensation or equity terms.
Key points
- Baseten announced on September 25, 2026 that Sheila Vashee joined as Chief Marketing Officer.12
- She was most recently Chief Marketing Officer at Figma, for three years, during which Figma crossed $1B in revenue and completed its IPO.13
- Four other senior executives joined earlier in 2026: a CRO, a Chief Legal Officer, a Head of Engineering and a Head of Compute.13
- The company reported 20X year-over-year revenue growth in June 2026 and over $2 billion raised to date.13
- valueaddvc.com reported a $1.5 billion Series F, closed in June 2026, at a $13 billion post-money valuation.4
Why it matters
Baseten said Vashee joins a CRO, a Chief Legal Officer, a Head of Engineering and a Head of Compute who all joined earlier in 2026, adding go-to-market, legal and technical leaders in the same year.
The release says Vashee led marketing at Figma through its IPO and past $1B in revenue. That describes her experience; the sources read say nothing about Baseten's own plans for a listing.
The appointment came after the $1.5 billion Series F at a $13 billion post-money valuation that valueaddvc.com said closed in June 2026. The sources read give no newer valuation.
In context
| Round | Date | Post-money valuation | Raised | Led by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series C | Feb 19, 2025 | $825M | $75M | IVP and Spark |
| Series D | Sep 5, 2025 | $2.1B | $150M | BOND |
| Series E | Jan 23, 2026 | $5.0B | $300M | CapitalG and IVP |
| Series F | Jun 22, 2026 | $13B | $1.5B | Altimeter Capital, Conviction Partners, Sands Capital, Spark Capital, and Wellington Management |
Updated
Fact-check
- Baseten announced on September 25, 2026 that Sheila Vashee joined as Chief Marketing Officer.Confirmed by [2] Baseten's blog post dated September 25, 2026 and [3] Yahoo Finance carrying the Business Wire release; [5] MitchelLake logs the appointment on 25 September 2026.Verified
- Vashee was Figma's CMO for three years, a period in which Figma crossed $1B in revenue and completed its IPO.Confirmed by [3] Yahoo Finance, carrying the [1] Business Wire release: three years leading marketing, support, communications, brand and growth while Figma passed $1B in revenue and completed its IPO.Verified
- Matt Slagle, Gabe Stern, Sameer Paranjpye and Vivek Patel joined Baseten earlier in 2026.Confirmed by [3] Yahoo Finance, carrying the [1] Business Wire release, which says all four joined earlier this year.Verified
- Baseten reported 20X year-over-year revenue growth in June 2026 and has raised over $2 billion to date.Confirmed by [3] Yahoo Finance, carrying the [1] Business Wire release, as company-reported figures.Verified
- Baseten raised a $1.5 billion Series F, closed in June 2026, at a $13 billion post-money valuation.Stated by [4] valueaddvc.com; the other sources read do not give this round.Verified
Sources
- [1]Business Wire (opens in a new tab)Baseten Names Sheila Vashee Chief Marketing OfficerSheila Vashee joins Baseten as CMO after 3 years as CMO at Figma.
- [2]Baseten (opens in a new tab)Sheila Vashee joins Baseten as CMO
- [3]Yahoo Finance (opens in a new tab)Baseten Names Sheila Vashee Chief Marketing Officer
- [4]valueaddvc.com (opens in a new tab)Figma Exec Joins AI Inference Startup Baseten
- [5]MitchelLake (opens in a new tab)Baseten: Market Signals & The Leadership Read | MitchelLake
