Graphic design tool startup Canva bags $15 billion valuation, makes co-founders billionaires

Australian graphic design tool startup Canva Pty. Ltd. said today it has raised $71 million in new funding on a $15 billion valuation, making it the largest startup to come from the country since Atlassian Corp. plc.

Founded in 2012, Canva is a graphic design software solutions provider that helps users to design presentations, social media graphics and more with various layouts, images, photo filters, icons and shapes, and fonts. The company’s platform combines a drag-and-drop design tool with a stock library of photographs, illustrations and imagery.

Canva claims more that 55 million monthly active users. It’s a cliche at this point to say that it has thrived thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic but Canva did, seeing a 130% year-over-year rise in annual revenue.

Notable Canva clients included American Airlines Inc., Intel Corp. and PayPal Holdings Inc.

According to Forbes, with the new funding, co-founder and CEO Melanie Perkins, as well as co-founder and COO Cliff Obrecht, are both billionaires. Forbes estimates that Perkins and Obrecht, who married in January 2021, each owned about 15% of Canva prior to the investment, with minimal dilution from the new raise. At a $15 billion valuation, the couple each would hold stakes worth about $2 billion.

Not that they plan to keep it that way. In an interview, Obrecht says the couple are already looking into launching a foundation to contribute heavily to causes like climate change and global wealth inequality.

“It’s not our vibe to hoard money,” Obrecht says. “What motivates us is building a product that people love. And the wealth that produces, we want to give back to the world.”

Including the new round, Canva has raised $372.6 million to date, according to data from Crunchbase.