Canva launched an employee share sale at a valuation of $42B, up 30% from the $32B 2024 valuation. The Australia-based company reported over $3.3B in annualized sales and over 240M active monthly users ahead of its IPO later this year.
The company said the employee stock sale would allow it to remain private while providing much-needed liquidity. Canva also disclosed that it was working with Fidelity and JPMorgan to create a sustainable model for continuing employee liquidity rather than being a one-time event.
The company’s valuation surge coincided with intense competition from established players like Figma, which increased its valuation to $34B following its successful July IPO.
The online design software platform also stressed that the increase in its annualized sales to $3.3B positioned it as a strong competitor to Adobe’s AI-powered Firefly.
Obrecht says the funding round was oversubscribed
Canva’s co-founder and COO, Cliff Obrecht, said his company’s latest funding round was oversubscribed. However, details about the number of shares available for sale were not disclosed.
“The overwhelming demand from both new and existing investors is a huge vote of confidence in our momentum and the scale of what still lies ahead.”
–Cliff Obrecht, Co-founder and COO of Canva
An investor at Primary Venture Partners, Jason Shuman, asserted that the design platform’s 35% YoY growth was a sign of its business resilience and durability.
The online design platform has invested heavily in enhancing AI design tools to grow revenue. The launch of its new AI-powered conversation-based photo editor in April aimed to lure institutional clients away from rivals like Adobe.
Felix Wang, the Managing Director and Partner at Hedgeye Risk, believes the online design platform will soon go public through an IPO.
The Canva team also claimed that Sidney’s Surry Hills suburb would be full of overnight millionaires once the employees’ stock sale started. Eligible former and current “Canvanauts” will soon offer up to $3 million (~AUD 4.6M) of their vested equity for sale at $1,646.14 per share.
Blackbird raises Canva’s valuation after Figma IPO
Blackbird, an investor in Canva, raised its valuation of the Australian design platform by over 14% following the debut of Figma on Nasdaq. The revised figure, based on input from external valuers, added roughly $7.1 billion to the design company’s valuation. The venture capital firm recently sold part of its Canva stake and claimed that Figma’s IPO warranted further review of the design platform’s valuation.
The VC firm noted that the design software platform had recorded seven years of consistent profits. It added that the online design tool could target an IPO valuation of between $195 billion and $210 billion due to its current size. Blackbird believes the design platform could hit a 65-70x revenue multiple similar to the post-IPO trading multiple recorded by Figma.
Blackbird also noted that the design platform had a stronger financial profile than Figma during its IPO. The online graphic design platform had a peak valuation of $40 billion in 2021, which increased to $56 billion after the June secondary sales. However, its current valuation range of $37 billion to $56 billion is based on different secondary transactions.
The VC firm claimed the design platform’s AI investments were aggressive enough to position it for AI-driven premium valuation. Integrating AI into its core business also helped increase the company’s market share in the graphics software sector by 12.7%. Nearly 85% of Fortune 500 companies also use the online tool for various tasks relating to graphic design.
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