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Canva

Canva Pty Ltd. is an Australian multinational proprietary software company launched in 2013 based in Sydney, Australia. The platform provides a graphic design platform to create visual content for presentations, websites, and other digital products.[6][7][8][9] Its uses include templates for presentations, posters, and social media content, as well as photo and video editing functionality.

The platform uses a drag-and-drop interface designed for users without professional design training or experience. Canva operates on a freemium model and has added features such as print services and video editing tools over time.

History

2013–2020

Canva was founded in Perth, Australia, by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht and Cameron Adams on 1 January 2013. One of the company's early investors was Susan Wu, an American entrepreneur.[10] In its first year, Canva had more than 750,000 users.[11] In 2017, the company reached profitability and had 294,000 paying customers.[12]

In January 2018, Perkins announced that the company had raised from Sequoia Capital, Blackbird Ventures, and Felicis Ventures, and the company was valued at .[13][14][12] It raised in May 2019,[15] followed by in October 2019 and the launch of Canva for Enterprise.[16]

In December 2019, Canva announced Canva for Education, a free product for schools and other educational institutions intended to facilitate collaboration between students and teachers.[17]

2021–2025

In June 2020, Canva announced a partnership with FedEx Office[18] and with Office Depot the following month.[19] As of June 2020, Canva's valuation had risen to rising to A$40 billion by September 2021.[20][21]

In September 2021, Canva raised US$200 million, with its value peaking that year at US$40 billion.[22][21] By September 2022, the valuation of the company had leveled at US$26 billion.[23]

While Canva's value declined from its 2021 peak by mid-2022, it remained one of Australia's most prominent technology companies, alongside Atlassian.[24][25]

In March 2022, Canva had over 75 million monthly active users.[26]

In 2023, the pair were named in the Australian Financial Review's AFR Rich List as among the 10 most wealthy people in Australia.[27]

On 7 December 2022, Canva launched Magic Write, which is the platform's AI-powered copywriting assistant.[28] On 22 March 2023, Canva announced its new Assistant tool, which makes recommendations on graphics and styles that match the user's existing design.[29] On 11 January 2024, Canva launched its own GPT in OpenAI's GPT Store.[30]

The company has announced it intends to compete with Google and Microsoft in the office software category with website and whiteboard products.[23]

In May 2024, the company announced the launch of Canva Enterprise, a plan designed for large organisations, alongside new tools including Work Kits, Courses and AI capabilities.[31] In 2024, it announced a co-funded solar energy project to enhance its sustainability efforts.[32]

On 10 April 2025, Canva released Visual Suite 2. The new interface combines Canva's design and productivity tools. New features include a spreadsheets application (Canva Sheets), a generative AI coding assistant (Canva Code), a chatbot, and an updated photo editor that can modify or remove background objects.[33]

In August 2025, Canva launched a stock sale to employees, valuing the company at US$42 billion.[34]

Acquisitions

In 2018, the company acquired presentations startup Zeetings for an undisclosed amount, as part of its expansion into the presentations space.[35]

In May 2019, the company announced the acquisitions of Pixabay and Pexels, two free stock photography sites based in Germany, which enabled Canva users to access their photos for designs.[36]

In February 2021, Canva acquired Austrian startup Kaleido.ai and the Czech-based Smartmockups.[37]

In 2022, Canva acquired Flourish, a London-based data visualization startup.[38]

In March 2024, Canva acquired UK-based Serif, the developers of the Affinity suite of graphic design software, for approximately $380 million.[39][40]

In August 2024, Canva acquired the AI image generation platform and startup, Leonardo AI, for an undisclosed amount.[41]

In June 2025, it was announced that Canva had acquired Australian AI marketing startup MagicBrief for an undisclosed amount.[42]

In February 2026, Canva acquired two startups: Cavalry, which specializes in animation software, and MangoAI, which focuses on improving advertising performance.[43]

Philanthropy

Canva's co-founders, Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht, have publicly stated their intention to donate a significant portion of their personal wealth to charity.[44]

In 2021, Canva started a partnership with GiveDirectly, a nonprofit organization operating in low income areas that makes unconditional cash transfers to families living in extreme poverty. Since then, the company has donated $50 million to support GiveDirectly's work across Malawi.[45]

In 2025, Canva announced an additional $100 million commitment to expand its GiveDirectly partnership.[46]

Controversies

Data breach

In May 2019, Canva experienced a data breach in which the data of roughly 139 million users was exposed.[47]

The exposed data included real names of users, usernames, email addresses, geographical information, and password hashes for some users.[48]

In January 2020, approximately 4 million user passwords were decrypted and shared online.[49] Canva responded by resetting the passwords of every user who had not changed their password since the initial breach.

Russian operations

In May 2022 Canva was criticized for continuing to provide free access to its services in Russia, even after suspending payment processing in the country.[50]

Activists from the Ukrainian diaspora in Australia and others said this could be viewed as indirectly supporting Russia’s war effort. They noted the company was the only one of several major Australian firms to receive the lowest “digging in” rating on a tracker run by the Yale School of Management for failing to pull out of Russia.[51]

Canva responded that it had suspended financial transactions in Russia from March 2022 and maintained the free version to allow the continued creation and sharing of “pro-peace and anti-war” content for its 1.4 million Russian users.[52]

See also

  • Adobe — American multinational software company
  • Figma — Online collaborative vector graphics editor
  • Comparison of desktop publishing software

External links

References

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  2. Victoria Turk. Canva Revolutionized Graphic Design. Will It Survive the Age of AI? Wired, 12 October 2024^
  3. Jordan Novet. As Wall Street punishes software stocks over AI concerns, Canva gets more acquisitive 23 February 2026^
  4. Technical Requirements www.canva.com^
  5. Canva www.canva.com, retrieved 16 May 2018^
  6. ABN Lookup abr.business.gov.au, 2014-11-01, retrieved 2025-11-01^
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  8. Canva review: Free tool brings much-needed simplicity to design process PC World, 7 January 2014^
  9. Swallow, Erica. Canva Makes Great Design More Accessible Forbes, 18 November 2013^
  10. Susan Wu, tech entrepreneur and start-up adviser Vogue, 11 March 2018, retrieved 4 November 2024^
  11. , with a loss of Rebekah Campbell. The Problem With Going Into Business With a Friend The New York Times, 15 September 2014, retrieved 21 December 2014^
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  13. Kate Stanton, Hywel Griffith. The 30-year-old woman who designed a $1bn business BBC News, 9 January 2018, retrieved 9 January 2018^
  14. David Chau. Canva: Online design startup joins generally overvalued 'unicorn' club ABC News, 9 January 2018, retrieved 9 January 2018^
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  16. Jordan Cook. Canva, now valued at $3.2 billion, launches an enterprise product TechCrunch, 16 October 2019, retrieved 6 February 2020^
  17. James Hennessy. Canva has announced a slew of new products, including a video editing tool and an education offering Business Insider Australia, 6 December 2019^
  18. Jordan Crook. Canva design platform partners with FedEx Office as it pushes further into the US TechCrunch, 17 June 2020, retrieved 2 July 2020^
  19. Office Depot Enhances Print Services Portfolio with New Graphic Design Solutions Powered by Canva Bloomberg, 16 July 2020, retrieved 20 July 2020^
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  21. Canva: Australian online design platform valued at $40bn BBC, 16 September 2021^
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  30. Roger Hollander. The Most Popular GPTs in the OpenAI GPT Store GPTReview, 13 January 2024^
  31. Chris Wood. Canva Introduces Canva Enterprise, Work Kits and adtech apps. MarTech, 23 May 2024^
  32. Canva Method Recycling - Recycling Bins Made Beautiful, 1 May 2018, retrieved 28 July 2024^
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  34. Australia's Canva begins share sale at $42 billion valuation Reuters, 20 August 2025^
  35. Dominic Powell. SmartCompany retrieved 6 February 2020^
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  42. Deal-making Canva reports spike in paying users as it nears IPO Australian Financial Review, 17 June 2025, retrieved 22 June 2025^
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