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• Canva, co-founded in 2013 by Melanie Perkins, Cliff Obrecht, and Cameron Adams, reported annual recurring revenue (ARR) of approximately $2.7 billion as of late 2024.
  
• With over 170 million users across more than 190 countries, Canva ranks among the most valuable and widely used female-led startups globally. Its valuation is estimated between $32 billion and $49 billion.
  

When we launched Global Brands Magazine, our mission was clear: spotlight the businesses shaping the world and the people driving them. Today, Canva gives us a prime reason to do just that.

The Australian design platform, co-founded by Melanie Perkins in 2013, has reached approximately $2.7 billion in annual revenue. With this milestone, it ranks among the world’s most valuable female-led startups, valued at approximately $32 billion to $40 billion.

This isn’t just a win for Canva. It’s a signal to the global business community: female-led companies can build, scale and dominate in tech’s most competitive arenas.

A Business Built to Scale

When Perkins launched Canva from her Ì첩ÈüʹÙÍøtown of Perth, the vision was straightforward. She wanted to make design more accessible. Not just for designers â€� but for students, professionals, marketers and small businesses who lacked formal training or complex tools.

That clarity has remained consistent. Over the past decade, Canva has grown from a bootstrapped idea into a design ecosystem used by more than 170 million people in over 190 countries.

Its rise wasn’t an accident. Consider the following:

• 2013: Canva launched with limited funding and a small team.
• 2017: It reached profitability, with over 294,000 paying customers.
• 2018: Canva joined the unicorn club, valued at $1 billion
• 2024: Annual revenue surpassed $3 billion, with global user numbers climbing rapidly.

From educational institutions to Fortune 500 firms, Canva now serves a wide range of sectors, including media, non-profits, retail, and government.

What Sets Canva Apart?

A few clear differentiators stand out.

First, the product works for everyone. Canva’s core value � drag-and-drop simplicity � is unchanged from its launch. Yet today, it supports advanced features for brand management, content scheduling, team collaboration and AI-powered design.

Second, it’s cloud-native. No downloads. No compatibility issues. Just access it from anywhere.

Third, Canva listens. Product development has been deeply influenced by user feedback, which explains features like real-time collaboration and industry-specific templates.

This kind of responsiveness has paid off. By late 2024, over 95% of Fortune 500 companies were using Canva in some form.

The Face Behind the Brand

Melanie Perkins’s story is now widely referenced in entrepreneurial circles, and for good reason.

A university student who once taught basic design tools to her peers, Perkins recognised early how complex existing software was. Her first startup, Fusion Books, was a precursor to Canva � an online tool that allowed students and schools to create yearbooks.

From those beginnings, she scaled to a global tech brand.

She remains one of the youngest female CEOs of a startup at this scale. Together with Canva’s co-founder and COO Cliff Obrecht, she has pledged to donate the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. That includes efforts focused on climate, education and community building.

Beyond Design: Canva’s Expanding Role

Canva has become more than a design platform.

The company has steadily expanded into enterprise services. Its tools now integrate into workflows across marketing, sales, internal communications, and even HR.

In 2023, Canva acquired data visualisation startup Flourish and document collaboration platform Kaleido, adding even more depth to its offering.

Canva for Teams and Canva Docs now sit alongside presentation tools, whiteboards and brand kits in an ever-expanding product suite. For many businesses, Canva is now a creative operations hub.

What Comes Next?

is showing no signs of slowing.

Its generative AI tools, launched in 2023, allow users to turn text into visuals, summarise long-form content, and create on-brand campaigns at scale. Education products are being rolled out to thousands of schools globally. The company is also opening a new $50 million Sydney campus.

Looking ahead, Canva aims to be the default visual communication tool for the workplace. With Teams, Docs, AI and an API strategy in play, that future seems within reach.

At Global Brands Magazine, we’ll continue tracking this journey. Not just because Canva is a headline brand, but because it represents what’s possible when vision, leadership and execution align.

For now, it stands as a benchmark � not only in design tech but in modern brand building.