Canva Hits $65B Valuation, Staff Share Sale Creates Overnight Millionaires
Australia’s homegrown design giant Canva has reached a milestone that would have seemed unthinkable just over a decade ago. The company has launched a staff share sale at a jaw-dropping valuation of $65 billion , officially making it worth more than Telstra, Woodside, and Woolworths combined. And with that move, thousands of Canva employees—affectionately known as “Canvanauts”—are suddenly finding themselves on the path to becoming millionaires overnight.
The share sale is already oversubscribed, showing just how much investor appetite there is for a slice of Canva. In an email to staff, co-founder and chief operating officer Cliff Obrecht explained that the transaction was open to both current and former employees, giving them a rare chance to turn their once-illiquid shares into real cash. This is not just a windfall for employees—it’s also a strong signal of market confidence in Canva’s trajectory.
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Founded in Perth 11 years ago by Obrecht, Melanie Perkins, and Cameron Adams, Canva began as a scrappy alternative to design heavyweights like Adobe. Over time, it transformed into one of the most widely used creative platforms on the planet, with more than 240 million monthly users producing everything from business presentations to party invitations. Unlike many other high-growth software companies, Canva has remained profitable for the last eight years, bringing in more than $4.6 billion in annual revenue .
What’s remarkable is how Canva has managed to not just survive but thrive during the tech sector’s recent rollercoaster ride. While many firms saw valuations collapse and layoffs sweep through their ranks, Canva continued hiring and avoided redundancy programs. Its valuation did dip to around $39 billion in 2022, but the rebound to $65 billion shows how much strength it has retained in global markets.
Part of Canva’s surge is tied to its bold push into artificial intelligence. The company has made big bets in this space, acquiring the much-hyped Leonardo.ai for $320 million and snapping up marketing startup MagicBrief. Its AI-powered design tools have now been used more than 20 billion times , cementing Canva as not just a design platform but one of the fastest-growing AI players worldwide.
For investors, this share sale has been described as a “once in 100 years” kind of story for Australia. Square Peg partner Paul Bassat, one of Canva’s earliest backers, called it a transformation from a local startup into a global software powerhouse . New investors like J.P. Morgan Asset Management have joined the latest round, pointing to Canva’s unique position in combining design and AI as a driver of long-term value.
And perhaps the biggest question looming now: when will Canva go public? A 2026 IPO seems increasingly likely, with the company already setting up its parent entity in Delaware to prepare for a Nasdaq listing. That move may have frustrated some staff, who face hefty tax bills, but it is also seen as a step toward securing Canva’s future on the world stage.
Obrecht himself summed it up best—he believes Canva is still “just one percent of the way there.” For employees, investors, and the Australian tech scene at large, that statement feels less like optimism and more like a promise of just how big Canva might still become.
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