- Graphic design software firm Canva Inc. has raised $6 billion in funding in private capital worth of the company.
Graphic design software firm Canva Inc. has raised $6 billion in funding in private capital worth of the company.
The fresh $60 million financing round almost doubles last year’s $3.2 billion valuations and makes the Sydney-based startup Australia’s most valuable private technology business. Blackbird Ventures and Sequoia China led the round in an interview with the participation of established supporters including General Catalyst Partners, Felicis Ventures, and Bond, Chief Operating Officer Cliff Obrecht.
In 2012 Canva was co-founded and launched the following year by Chief Executive Officer Melanie Perkins, Obrecht, and Cameron Adams. Its website and software help render banners, badges, social media images, and presentations for people and businesses.
Canva operates what is known as a freemium model, with some options available at no charge and others at a fee. It also has a growing business with companies such as Hubspot Inc., Warner Music Group Corp., Skyscanner Ltd., and American Airlines Group Inc. It now has over 1.5 million subscribers paying, said Obrecht.
Canva plans to use the new capital to expand features that allow users to collaborate on real-time work. According to PitchBook Data, it previously raised over $250 million in funding.
“You can now hire hundreds of people at the same time,” Obrecht said. A brainstorming feature is one of the key features which Canva rolled out during the Covid-19 pandemic. “Everyone standing around a whiteboard and putting sticky notes to come up with an idea is replaced by it,” he said. “We did a digital version thereof. The characteristic of simultaneous collaboration is taking off.
Canva, which has more than 30 million active monthly users, bought Pexels and Pixabay free content sites last year, adding more than 1 million stock images, vectors, and diagrams to its platform, its website reveals.
The support for Canva follows on from a good few months. According to a statement, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, activity on the design platform has increased by 50 percent. “The accelerated growth of Canva is indicative of the ‘new normal’,” said Co-founder Cliff Obrecht in a statement.
“Now more than ever, all-size organizations are doubling down on building a reliable remote workplace.”
