Canva employee share sale values company at $42 billion as global demand surges

Australian graphic design platform Canva has achieved a fresh valuation of $42 billion after launching a significant employee share sale. The Sydney-based business, which now employs over 5,000 staff, invited both new and existing investors—including asset managers Fidelity and JP Morgan—to participate in the oversubscribed round. Co-founder and chief executive Cliff Obrecht remarked that the result signals strong confidence in Canva’s ongoing momentum and ambitious growth prospects.

The company, founded in 2013, has seen extraordinary user growth over the past year. Daily users of Canva’s accessible design suite increased from 90 million in 2022 to 190 million last year, with 220 million users reported currently. The platform’s appeal lies in its ease of use, offering everything from wedding invitations and business pitches to sophisticated social media graphics. Recent advances in artificial intelligence now allow users to generate innovative designs and interactive elements through simple English-language prompts, as Canva intensifies efforts to attract large corporate clients and chip away at the market share of rivals like Adobe and Figma.

Felise Agranoff, a portfolio manager at JP Morgan Asset Management, commented that Canva has the potential to create enduring value for shareholders, adding that engagement with companies at the forefront of artificial intelligence advances is a key investment strategy. Canva generated $3.3 billion in annualised revenue and remains profitable, consolidating its reputation as a major force in the design and technology sector.

This latest transaction marks a sharp jump in valuation from the $32 billion achieved last October and comes against a backdrop of fervent investor interest in high-growth technology platforms. Figma, a key competitor, recently raised $1.2 billion through its Wall Street initial public offering after its own high-profile takeover talks with Adobe were terminated on competition grounds. Although Canva has declined to comment on any plans for a public listing, speculation continues that it may pursue a flotation in New York, joining a fresh wave of global tech firms keen to capitalise on surging investor appetite.